Levi's, Gap under fire

Cape Town - A broken municipal pipe and uncontrolled access to a dumping site are two main sources of concern highlighted by the international press about the activities of a textile factory in Maseru, Lesotho, which is a supplier to the American clothing giant Levi Strauss.

Over the weekend the London-based Sunday Times reported that Gap and Levi Strauss suppliers were apparently dumping chemical waste in Lesotho, posing a danger to local inhabitants.

The newspaper reported that the Taiwanese Nien Hsing textile factory was apparently dumping dark blue wastewater in a river used by local inhabitants. At the same time solid waste dumped on the municipal dumping ground is apparently hazardous to scavenging children.

According to Debbie Gebhardt, Levi Strauss's marketing director in South Africa, the company's social and environmental sustainability team immediately rushed to Maseru. It is understood that Gap did the same.

It was determined that a broken municipal pipe in the system legally conveying wastewater from the textile factory was leaking. Levi Strauss had a meeting with the municipality regarding its repair and the pipe has since been fixed.

The second issue for which Levi Strauss's investigating team is seeking a solution is local inhabitants? uncontrolled access to the municipal dumping ground that the textile factory is legally using.

"We were not aware that the public and children in particular could get into it. As far as I know, all the solid waste being dumped there was within the required guidelines," says Gebhardt.

As an interim measure Levi Strauss has asked the textile factory to store all solid waste on its premises until a solution can be found in collaboration with the municipality.

"Since it is a dumping ground, there will naturally be all sorts of objects like broken glass also presenting a hazard for children, Gebhardt warns.

- Sake24.com

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