CNTAC-ZDHC Stakeholder Meeting on Hazardous Chemicals in the Textile Industry was held at Beijing International Hotel on August 29, 2013, co-hosted by China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC) and Zero Discharge Of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC), a group of major apparel and footwear brands and retailers made a shared commitment in 2011, to help lead the industry towards zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by 2020. 

The Meeting won extensive support and participation of stakeholders in the textile supply chain and attracted more than 300 people from relevant governmental organizations, industry associations, chemical suppliers, textile enterprises, research institutions, third-party technical institutions and non-governmental organizations. 

Sun Ruizhe, Vice President of CNTAC, and William Anderson, representative of ZDHC brands and Vice President of Social and Environmental Affairs at Adidas Group, attended the Meeting and made the opening speech. Sun said that the problem of chemicals cannot be solved in one-way thinking as seen in the treatment of “three wastes” and that the government, suppliers from the upstream and downstream of the textile industry and stakeholders should jointly improve the treatment of chemicals in each stage of the value chain including investment, research and development, production and consumption. 
As the representatives of ZDHC, Alain Renard, Unit Leader of Environmental Chemist of C&A, and Doctor Andy Chen, Regional Chemist of Nike Inc., unveiled the 13 brands of ZDHC at the Meeting, as well as ZDHC’s common policies, standpoints and follow-up actions on chemical control. 

As the first stakeholder meeting in chemical management and control in the textile industry, the Meeting organizers invited typical stakeholders in the upstream and downstream inside and outside of the textile supply chain to express their views. Mr. DU Kexiong, official of the Chemical Division of the Department of Pollution Prevention and Control of China’s Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), and Ms. MAO Yan, official of the Chemical Registration Center of MEP, introduced the governmental policy guidance, regulations and related measures on environmental management of chemicals by related environment departments. Meanwhile, several insiders delivered keynote speeches to express their positions and proposals on chemical management and control, including YAN Yan, Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection and Resource Conservation Promotion Committee of CNTAC and Deputy Director of Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC, TIAN Liming, Secretary General of China Dyestuff Industry Association and Chen Zhihua, Vice Chairman of China Dyeing and Printing Association. MA Jun from Institute of Public Environment and Professor XI Danli of Donghua University provided their professional advices on the theme of the Meeting. In best practice section of the supply chain collaboration during the afternoon session, the industrial experience was shared by Zhejiang Longsheng Group Co., Ltd. (Lonsen), Zhejiang Transfar Co., Ltd., Huntsman Textile Effects, Suzhou Xiwang Textile Printing and Dyeing Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Shenghong Group Co., Ltd. 

In addition, two forum discussions were set to enhance mutual expectation and experience exchange of the participants, which were respectively moderated by Ms. Yan Yan, CNTAC and Ms. May QIU, Director of Sustainable Manufacturing &Sourcing-Materials, Nike Inc.. The interaction between participants and speakers promoted the discussions on the theme at different levels and angles in a hot atmosphere. Mr. Yang Donghui, Director of the Environmental Protection and Resource Conservation Promotion Committee of CNTAC, and Mr. Ma Tianjie, GreenPeace Detox Campaigner participated in the forum discussions. 
As the representatives of the meeting co-hosted by CNTAC and ZDHC, Mr. Hu Kehua, Deputy Director of the Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC, and Ms. Lucy YU, Senior Manager of Nike Inc., co-chaired the Meeting. 

Note: 
Signatories to the ZDHC include adidas Group, C&A, Esprit, G-Star Raw, H&M, Inditex, Jack Wolfskin, Levi Strauss & Co., Li Ning (China) Sports Goods Co., Ltd., Marks & Spencer, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., NIKE, Inc., and PUMA SE.