Mexican filmstar and director, Gael Garcia Bernal, is lending his support to Greenpeace's global Detox campaign calling for toxic-free rivers and fashion without pollution. In a video shot exclusively with the actor for Greenpeace, Gael wears a specially commissioned t-shirt created by Brazilian designer and entrepreneur Oskar Metsavaht, bearing the message "Detox our future, Clean our water", and bears the Detox symbol (and Chinese character for water) on his arm.
"We need to ask Mexico and the world to stop polluting our rivers and lakes. Let's do it for the thousands of people who are affected by this. Let's do it for the environment, for our children, for our future, because this is a problem affecting everyone. For clothes without toxics and rivers without pollution, join the Detox campaign," said Gael Garcia Bernal.
This celebrity support for the Detox campaign follows Greenpeace International's investigatory report, "Toxic Threads: Under Wraps", released on the 5th December. The report exposes dumping of industrial wastewater containing toxic and hazardous chemicals from two of Mexico's biggest textile manufacturing facilities with links to brands including Levi's. Testing on water samples taken from near the pipe mouths revealed that processed effluent contained chemicals that are toxic to reproductive systems and to aquatic life. Some of these chemicals are persistent and remain in the environment long after their release.