Sports brands found using toxic chemicals in shoes, clothes

Soccer wear and shoes from three international sports brands, all of whom are major producers of apparel for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil, were found to contain toxic chemicals, according to a report issued by Greenpeace on Monday.

In its report, the environmental organization said it bought sporting goods from Nike, Adidas and Puma in 16 countries and regions across the world and conducted tests on them from March to May. It found that 81 percent of the three brands' soccer shoes and 35 percent of their soccer performance shirts had chemical residues, including plasticizer and perfluorinated compounds.

Among the tested products, the perfluorooctanoic acid index of an Adidas soccer boot named Predator had more than 15 times the standard amount of the acid, the report said.