Killer Jeans

PHOTO - Munir Uz Zaman/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

"Distressed Denim" has become one of fashions favourite looks over the past few years, with companies all over the globe sending their denim designs to sandblasting factories to obtain that faded or worn out look.

What most of us don't know, is that sandblasting is a deadly practice, and has caused over 1000 reported cases of the lung condition, Silicosis, in Turkey alone. 

Workers "blast" sand under high pressure at finished denim jeans, and this sand breaks down into fine Silica Sand particles in which workers inhale, causing the fatel lung disease. Doctors suspect that around 5000 factory workers may be suffering from Silicosis in Turkey at the present moment, and when estimated world-wide, this statistic could inflate enormously.

There is an over-whelming demand to ban the commercial practice, eradicating danger to the factory workers currently in positions of vulnerability. Companies which are currently using these factories also need to realise their responsibility to give medical checks, and if so compensation to those employees that have been effected by this terrible practice. 

You can find out more at http://www.killerjeans.org/. 

We urge you to make a conscious decision regarding the origins of the next pair of jeans you wish to purchase.