Some top sporting apparel brands, including Adidas, Nike and Li Ning, have been accused of buying clothes from Chinese suppliers who illegally discharge polluted water. Several groups – Friends of Nature, the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPEA), Green Beagle, Envirofriends and Nanjing Greenstone ­– put out a report accusing 48 brands and retailers of purchasing clothes from Chinese textile companies that had racked up more than 6,000 environmental violations. Other companies include Levi's, Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, H&M, Tesco, Wal-Mart, Gap, Marks & Spencer, Zara and JCPenney. The IEPA put together a China Water Pollution Map, which found secret discharge pipes, direct wastewater discharge, improper use of wastewater treatment facilities and pollutant discharge amounts well above authorized standards. China's textile industry, which makes up half of the global trade, produces almost 2.5 billion tons of wastewater and other pollutants every year. The IEPA report found that 80 percent of the discharge came from dyeing processes. The groups want the buyers to look into their supply chains and insist on eco-friendly practices.

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