Benetton commits to eco-responsibility with Greenpeace

By

Dominique Muret

Published
Jan 18, 2013

The Italian clothing group Benetton is committed to eliminating hazardous chemicals from its own industries and products by 2020 and has now announced that it is joining Greenpeace’s two-year old Detox program. The brand “will help lead a global effort to eliminate the use of any hazardous chemicals across the textile industry globally by 2020,” said a company statement.

The Venetian company’s social commitment applies to all the group’s brands: United Colors of Benetton, Undercolors of Benetton, Sisley and Playlife, sold in 120 countries through 6,500 stores.

The apparel company of Ponzano Veneto has thus reaffirmed “its commitment to the environment and consumer safety.” Benetton products have already met the most stringent international standards for safety for several years now, especially through the “eco safe” label on most of the group’s product lines. The “eco safe” label on children’s clothing signifies that they were manufactured in compliance with chemical and mechanical safety standards.

"We are one of the few companies in Italy to enforce much more restrictive standards regarding the use of toxic substances in production than those required by law. With the Detox program, we want to go further by completely eliminating the use of these substances,” said a company spokesperson.

By joining the Detox program, Benetton intends to apply control measures across its entire chain of suppliers. “This will allow for the implementation of even stricter standards and ensure that no hazardous chemicals are used by any suppliers, even if they are only potentially hazardous to the environment and people,” said the group.

“Now Benetton has become a global leader in the development of alternatives to the use of hazardous chemicals. This Italian victory comes hot on the heels of the recent commitment of brands such as Zara, Mango, Esprit and Levi's,” said a member of the environmental organization.