Moda sucia

The report details how the production of viscose, often marketed as an ecological alternative to cotton or synthetics, involves highly polluting chemical processes in China, India, and Indonesia. It documents the discharge of untreated wastewater into local water sources, leading to severe health issues such as cancer and congenital deformities, and the destruction of local ecosystems and traditional livelihoods. The investigation reveals that major global fashion brands, including H&M, Inditex (Zara), and ASOS, source their viscose from these polluting factories. The document argues that because a small group of 10 companies controls approximately 70% of global viscose production, large fashion brands have the purchasing power to force a transition toward closed-loop, less toxic production systems.

• Viscose production in Indonesia, China, and India is characterized by the discharge of untreated wastewater into lakes and water sources, causing devastating impacts on local quality of life, including suspected increases in cancer and the loss of traditional livelihoods for fishermen.
• In Java Occidental, residents are exposed to toxic chemicals by washing viscose intermediate products in the Citarum river for factories owned by the Aditya Birla conglomerate and the Lenzing Group.
• In China, viscose production by companies such as Sateri, Tangshan Sanyou, and Shandong Helon has contributed to the pollution of Lake Poyang, China's largest freshwater lake, resulting in black water, mass death of fish and shrimp, and crop failure.
• The Grasim Industries factory (a Birla subsidiary) in Madhya Pradesh, India, pollutes the Chambal river, an affluent of the Ganges, with water that smells of rotten radish—indicating carbon disulfide—leading to cancer and congenital deformities in local families.
• Major global fashion brands are linked to these polluting factories; H&M sources from six investigated factories in Indonesia and China and one in India, while Inditex (Zara) sources from three in China and one in India, and ASOS sources from two in Indonesia and India.
• The viscose industry is highly concentrated, with 10 companies controlling about 70% of global production, meaning large brands could rapidly drive a transition to closed-loop, non-toxic production systems.

APA

Changing Markets Foundation (2017). Moda sucia. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SPANISH_DIRTY_FASHION_EX_SUMMARY_SPREAD_PAGE_WEB.pdf

Chicago

Changing Markets Foundation. Moda sucia. 2017. https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SPANISH_DIRTY_FASHION_EX_SUMMARY_SPREAD_PAGE_WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Changing Markets Foundation |title=Moda sucia |date=June 2017 |url=https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SPANISH_DIRTY_FASHION_EX_SUMMARY_SPREAD_PAGE_WEB.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{changingmarketsfoundation2017moda, author = {{Changing Markets Foundation}}, title = {{Moda sucia}}, institution = {Changing Markets Foundation}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SPANISH_DIRTY_FASHION_EX_SUMMARY_SPREAD_PAGE_WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }