Responding to the pressure from the sustainable apparel coalition, the budget conscious retail giant, Target, has stopped selling distressed denim collections in acknowledgement of the health risks for the workers. The treatment which has been adored by the fashion lovers for providing them with the worn-in look in their denims has been under the spotlight as in recent years it has emerged as the cause of an incurable form of lung cancer for the workers of the garment industry. Levi’s and H&M were amongst the first names that had stopped selling the distressed denim collections in their stores in 2010. In 2011, fashion brand Versace had to stop sandblasting under pressure from the Clean Clothes Campaign and Change.org.
Target is now exploring methods of distressing their denim that was adopted before the process of sandblasting, which includes, scraping the fabric by hand, with safer tools, resulting in the same broken-in look. It might look a more laborious job, but, the process will save a lot of lives in the factories working hard to give good results. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition was formed at the beginning of 2011 with brands like Adidas, Esprit, GAP, H&M, Levi Strauss, Nike, Marks & Spencer, Patagonia, Timberland, Target, and Walmart that joined their hand for the cause.