Cooking Rice in West Java

Greenpeace International investigations have revealed the dumping of industrial wastewater containing a cocktail of toxic and hazardous chemicals, and caustic water, directly into the Citarum River, West Java. International fashion brands, including Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy are linked to this pollution through their direct business relations with PT Gistex Group, the textile manufacturing company behind the polluting facility. A report released by Greenpeace "Toxic Threads: Polluting Paradise”, details how the PT Gistex facility has taken advantage of a system that requires little transparency about its activities and where inadequate laws are failing to prevent the release of hazardous chemicals. A wide range of hazardous substances – including nonylphenol and tributyl phosphate – were identified in the water samples taken from the PT Gistex facility’s discharge outfalls. Many of these chemicals are toxic, while some have hormone-disrupting and highly persistent properties.