an end to killer jeans?

Activists held a funeral outside Dolce & Gabbana's Old Bond Street store last week to send a message to the designers that killing workers for fashion is deplorable. The protestors, rallied by workers' rights group Labour Behind The Label (LBTL), were calling on the brand to ban 'sandblasting' in its supply chain – a technique used to give denim a worn and faded effect. The practice involves firing high pressure sand at jeans, which creates a fine silica dust that gathers in the lung, eventually causing a fatal lung disease. Many workers are said to have died as a result of the practice. Luxury fashion brands Versace and Gucci are among those to have already issued a public ban on the practice. Yet Dolce & Gabbana are refusing to budge and have informed campaigners from the Clean Clothes Campaign that it has no interest in banning the practice, despite conclusive evidence of how dangerous it is. "It's outrageous that reputable brands such as Dolce & Gabbana continue to ignore the dangers presented to workers and refuse to ban this deadly practice,” said Anna McMullen from LBTL. “Killer fashion doesn't have to cost lives."