Unearthed, a subsidiary of Greenpeace, has issued a new report, stating that off-cuts from Cambodian textile factories mixed with wood are being used to fuel brick kilns on a large scale. The kilns need to stay fired for several days at a temperature of 650° C to burn the clay bricks, which are placed into the kilns by hand. According to the Unearthed investigation, the incineration of garment waste, which contains toxic chemicals, endangers workers’ health and contaminates the environment. The organization says that reported health impacts include coughs, colds, flu, nose bleeds and lung inflammation. Unearthed has identified garments and textile waste from brands like Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren and Reebok, among others.
“The burning of acrylic garments, especially when combined with plastic bags, hangers, rubber and other waste as occurs in Cambodia, releases plastic microfibers and other toxic chemicals into the immediate environment, which compromise the health of workers and neighbors on a short and long term basis. The human impacts, in particular, are substantially worse than burning wood and have been highlighted in a recent UK parliamentary report as a major problem in the industry,” says Dr. Laurie Parsons of the U.K.’s Royal Holloway University. Parsons co-authored a seminal 2018 report exposing the practice of garment incineration in Cambodian kilns.
A 2021 report by German development organization GIZ shows it gets to kilns through a web of middlemen purchasing garment waste directly from factories and selling it to truck drivers who deliver it to kilns. A truck of garment waste purchased directly from a factory manager costs $60, one middleman supplying kilns who refused to provide his name told Unearthed. According to an Unearthed press release, the organization has contacted the brands whose waste is burned in the kilns. The companies promised the claims would be investigated and that they expected their partners and suppliers to comply with strict codes of practice.
