Sandblasted Jeans

Having seen the effects of the lung disease Mesothelioma, which is caused by inhalation of just one minute particle of asbestos, I was shocked to learn about a process involved in making sandblasted jeans, which can leave foreign workers with a similar type of illness called Silicosis.

This is caused when grains of silica are inhaled and become embedded in the wall of the lungs, resulting in fatal damage that can occur in the short term or, like Mesothelioma, only come to light years after the initial inhalation.

Silicon is used in the sandblasting process that makes jeans look old and distressed.

Levis, H&M and British companies, Marks and Spencer and New Look, no longer use the process but some manufacturers still continue to put the lives of foreign workers at risk.

“Dead workers aren’t fashionable,” said Sam Maher, co-author of Labour Behind the Label’s Killer Jeans report, which will be published on Monday.

“The trend for killer jeans must be phased out by companies and rejected by consumers with immediate effect.” It is also calling on retailers and brands to compensate workers who have been made ill by operating sandblasting machines in the past.

In the UK, there are huge insurance claims by workers affected by Mesothelioma, many of whom did not know they had the disease until two or three decades later – at which point they only had months left to live. Silicosis is also an irreversible condition with no cure and treatment options currently focus on alleviating the symptoms and preventing complications.

I urge you all to boycott any sandblasted jeans that you may find on the shelves of your local stores.