On January 14th last, C&A Europe has learned of the results of a new Greenpeace study in which a total of seven C&A products were tested. According to the study, one of these products includes a high level of NPE (nonylphenol ethoxylates).These substances are used in certain detergents and cleaning agents, and, in some cases, in the manufacturing process for textiles and leather products.
According to the Greenpeace report and based on our current knowledge, the tested product is a shoe that has been manufactured for and sold exclusively in the Mexican market. As a precautionary measure, C&A Mexico is taking the product in question off the market for further investigation. Based on our current knowledge, the other products distributed in Europe that
Greenpeace tested lie within the statutory requirements. As a member of the ZDHC Initiative (Zero Discharge Hazardous Chemicals), C&A stands by its pledge to eliminate the use of NPEs and thereby contribute to environmental protection. C&A has made meaningful progress toward the goal of zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020. In the year 2013 alone, has:
• Committed to the phase out of C8 chemistry by no later than January 1, 2015.
• Tested, analyzed, and shared the results of chemical use of 20 facilities in Bangladesh, China, India, Taiwan and Vietnam.
• Developed and shared the first comprehensive chemicals database, as an important step in identifying and eliminating hazardous chemicals.
These results are based on the foundation that it has built through the Joint Roadmap developed with input from suppliers, scientists, academics, NGOs, and other stakeholders.
