Careless Whiskers: Target Joins Levi's in Banning Sandblasted Denim

The Netherlands-based Clean Clothes Campaign, the garment industry's largest alliance of labor unions and non-governmental organizations, has already convinced apparel retailers and designers including Armani, Versace, Gucci, H&M and Levi Strauss & Co to ban sandblasted jeans for endangering workers' lives.

As the CCC's website details, giving denim that "lived in" look by high-pressured sandblasting contaminates the air and can contribute to silicosis, a fatal lung disease. Now Target has announced it is joining the global ban on the technique; find out more in the budget retailer's blog post. Still under pressure by labor activists to join the ban: Dolce & Gabbana.

Below, watch a Levi Strauss video featuring chief supply chain officer David Love marking the company's first anniversary of no-sandblasting last September.