Al Jazeera uncovered evidence of poorly ventilated, dusty and dirty factories at Xintang in China’s Guangdong province, where an estimated 260 million pairs of jeans are produced each year…[It] found that some of the factories used sandblasting, a manufacturing process which can lead to a fatal respiratory disease known as silicosis.

[Inside the factory]…Al Jazeera found jeans with the labels [Hollister,] American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie and Fitch.

Factory managers refused to discuss the process, but [anonymous] workers…confirmed the controversial practice continues…Some…say they suffer not only from lung problems but also from allergies caused by dyes and other chemicals used in the making of denim.

[Former employee] Shan…filmed secret footage inside the factory. “After smelling the chemicals all day, I had no appetite. I would work on an empty stomach every day,” he says. [His p]hotographs…show chemicals haphazardly stored in open containers in a crowded room. Workers with very little, or even no protective gear, spray potassium permanganate, an inorganic chemical compound onto rows of jeans…

American Eagle Outfitter’s PR Company informed Al Jazeera that all sandblasting equipment has been removed from the factory, however they refused to comment on when this took place…