Ministry to protect children against toxic clothing

New campaign to enlighten industry

A new campaign by the Environment Ministry will help protect children from garments containing chemicals by enlightening the clothing industry of the problem.

According to a ministry report, one third of the clothing industry in Denmark – including textile producers, importers and retailers – are unaware of the rules regarding chemicals in clothing for children (here in English).

”It mustn’t be dangerous for our children to be clothed,” Kirsten Brosbøl, the environment minister, said in a press release.

“They shouldn’t be running around in trousers containing chemicals that could cause cancer or jackets with strings so long the child risks being strangled.”

READ MORE: Child pornography victims getting younger and subjected to more violence

Look for the approved labels
As part of the campaign, the website børnetekstilregler.dk has been established so that the industry can get an overview of the rules concerning the production, importation and retail of clothing or other textile products for children in Denmark.

Brosbøl went on to reveal that the campaign was part of a goal-orientated strategy to ban and phase out illegal clothing for children.

The environmental protection agency Miljøstyrelsen recommends consumers to look for children clothing with the environmental labels Blomsten [The Flower], Svanen [The Swan] or Oeko-Tex to be extra sure that the clothes do not have dangerous chemicals.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.