Changing Markets Foundation: Aditya Birla viscose factories "highly polluting"

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 2, 2018

The latest update to the Changing Markets Foundation’s “Dirty Fashion” report has re-investigated two Aditya Birla textile factories in India and Indonesia and stated that conditions have worsened over the past year.

On February 28, the campaign group Changing Markets Foundation published a report on the Indian textile giant Aditya Birla’s viscose production as part of its regular “Dirty Fashion” report. The research was an update on the organisation’s 2017 study. The latest report states that conditions in the two Aditya Birla viscose factories in the study have in fact got worse over the past year and that the factories are pumping toxic chemicals into the nearby environment which is adversely affecting the health of the local populations and even causing premature death in some cases.

The Aditya Birla Grasim Industries viscose plant surveyed in Madhya Pradesh has, according to the report “turned the water dark red” in the plant’s nearby river. However, the Aditya Birla Group has so far denied that it is responsible for the pollution of the factory’s nearby Chambal River and has stated that the business is committed to sustainability. The report also found similarly shocking levels of water pollution around the factory discharge pipe at the Aditya Birla Indo-Bharat Rayon plant in Indonesia where the report also detailed witness reports of chemical dumping.

The Changing Markets Foundation 2017 report listed international fashion brands that practice highly polluting production methods including Asos, Zara, H&M, and Marks & Spencer. These brands among others have now signed up to the organisation’s Roadmap and a group of NGOs and the Changing Markets Foundation are now urging the Aditya Birla Group to transparently report on its air and water polluting emissions with third party verification and to hire an external auditor to asses worker health and safety.