D&G Jeans Scurrying for Cover as 29,000 Blast it Over Sandblasting

By Prarthito Maity | August 06 2011 5:14 AM

Italian Fashion giant Dolce & Gabbana (D&G) has deleted posts on its official Facebook Page after Change.org members posted messages demanding that the company ban sandblasting, a technique used to provide jeans a worn-out look which is dangerous to workers.

REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

Designers Dolce and Gabbana at Milan Fashion Week

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More than 29,000 people from the United States and Europe have joined the movement started by Change.org and have signed the petition and have demanded a ban on sandblasting.

“Killing Workers isn’t sexy,” said Marco Mosca, a supporter, in the official Facebook page. “Please ban sandblasting because there is no need for someone to die to make good looking jeans.”

Sandblasting is a process which involves workers firing sand at jeans under high pressure. The technique has known to kill workers in garment producing countries like Turkey and Bangladesh, where jean sandblasting is done manually. The large amounts of silica dust generated during sandblasting can cause silicosis, a potentially deadly pulmonary disease, as workers inhale tiny particles of silica.

Major brands such as Gucci, Levi’s, H&M and Varsace have already abolished sandblasted jeans in their collections. Versace eventually agreed to the group’s demands and said that any supplier found to be employing sandblasting as a production technique would be in breach of contract with Versace.

“No fashion....or profit is worth the health of an individual and of course you know that but profit is worshipped, isn't it. Be humane. Your customers are becoming more aware of health and environment around the world. Have no part it this abusive process,” said another supporter Deena Veronica Falco, in Change.org’s official petition page.

“The Clean Clothes Campaign has now launched an impressive social media campaign and recruited tens of thousands of supporters from all over the world to demand that Dolce & Gabbana follow in the footsteps of their competitors and ban sandblasting,” said Change.org Organizer Meredith Slater. “Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to demand action on the issues that matter to them, and it has been an honor to provide a platform for the Clean Clothes Campaign’s inspiring campaigns.”

Change.org’s campaign against sandblasting, currently, has 29,850 supporters.