Having steadfastly ignored the elephant in the room for decades, the fashion industry is now becoming increasingly accountable for its harmful impact on the planet. The 2022 greenwashing lawsuit against H&M’s conscious collection is just one example of how sustainability marketing is under a legal crackdown. From the most luxurious labels to the so-called eco-preneurs of the fashion industry – everyone is on legal trial.
With fashion’s dirty laundry hung out to dry, companies have realised that they can no longer hide behind pristine brand images and smart greenwashing tactics. Public disclosure of circular initiatives, sustainable production and ethical resource management is the minimum ask. Under pressure from conscious consumers and climate change activists, governments have mandated time-bound laws with implementation guidelines.
The fashion industry’s reliance on plastic, its tendency to turn a blind eye towards textile waste dumping yards and its complacency in sharing the bare minimum information about production practices will soon be replaced by carbon emission tracking, supply chain traceability, fair wages for garment workers and circular waste management among other such ‘greener’ strategies.
#1 Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2023 | California
Perhaps targeting the most high-impact issue of the fashion industry – trash; this bill assigns brands and companies the responsibility to finance the diversion of their post-consumer used products as well as excess inventory, from landfills. It requires stakeholders to implement a framework for repair, recycling and upcycling operations of textile waste management.
Introduced by State Senator Josh Newman in California, this February, it would be enacted under Bill SB 707. Newman shared that textiles have become the fastest-growing component of California’s landfills, but if properly sorted and processed, the fibres in most clothing and textile items are highly suitable for recycling and repurposing. He said, “Even though 95 per cent of the materials commonly found in textiles are either reusable or recyclable, the current share of used clothes and other textiles which are either reused or recycled in the US remains at only approximately 15 per cent.”
Doug Kobold, director of California Product Stewardship Council, and sponsor of this bill emphasised, “The cost burden for managing unusable textiles has fallen on thrifts, collectors, and second-hand markets, while producers keep making products with no plan for what to do with them when they are no longer wearable.” In this regard, SB 707 will ensure an EPR (extended producer responsibility) program, once passed.
#2 The ban on ‘forever chemicals’ in textiles, 2022 | California
In September 2022, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills that aimed to phase out PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) from textiles and cosmetics by 2025. AB 1817 prohibits the manufacture, distribution and sale of any new textile articles containing regulated PFAS in California, beginning January 1, 2025. It also requires annual reports by certain manufacturers and stakeholders.
PFAS are colloquially referred to as forever chemicals – around 9000 of them are in existence and each poses health hazards to human life including causing cancer, hormone disruption, thyroid, vaccine interference etc. Since PFAS were key to creating stain and water-resistant textiles, they have until recently enjoyed unregulated existence in our daily lives. However, many brands have already committed to banning PFAS or fully phased them out in their production, such as Puma, Levi Strauss and Patagonia among others.
Meanwhile, the law allows leniency for brands that manufacture outdoor apparel catering to severe wet conditions – through an extension of three years to comply with the law. The brands must produce exclusive labels stating the presence of PFAS until then.
#3 The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act – 2022 | New York
On January 7th 2022 the buzziest bill in fashion was proposed in New York. Dubbed The Fashion Act, it targets large companies and brands with annual revenues of more than $100 million – requiring them to set science-based sustainability targets across their supply chains.
The Act enforces brands to map at least fifty per cent of the lifecycle of their products – from raw material sourcing and chemical management in textiles to carbon emissions and fair wages. Under its provisions, a two per cent fine is levied from the annual revenue for the failure of compliance.
Being the first of its kind, it was riddled with loopholes that were caught by the non-profit Remake and Fashion Revolution USA, in association with nineteen other organizations. This coalition argued against the linguistic clarity of this bill – with a focus on accountability limited to disclosure rather than action.
#4 No more single-use plastic packaging – but what about waste management?
Plastic pollution is a worldwide issue, but it’s obvious that fashion has a big plastic problem too. From packaging across the supply chain to usage of low-cost synthetic materials like nylon and polyester that shed microplastics into our water bodies and atmosphere.
In 2022, the EU Commission proposed new rules to reduce packaging waste across industries by increasing recycled content and finding innovative reuse methods. This includes targets of 65% recycled packaging by 2025 and 70% by 2030. Further, the directive states that all packaging designs must be recyclable at scale by 2035. Similarly, California also proposed a ban on single-use plastic packaging last year. The implications follow for e-commerce packaging, plastic bags used for transport from supplier to distributor, garment tags, stays, hangers, labels etc.
However, the equation between fashion and recycled plastic packaging is more complex and multi-dimensional. According to Tex Fash, 99% of recycled polyester used in clothing comes from downcycling PET bottles. Meaning that fashion brands ultimately rely on the waste of another sector instead of dealing with and repurposing self-generated waste. Moreover, clothes made from PET bottles cannot be recycled back into new clothes. They are destined for landfill, rendering the recycling process linear and simple prolonging the time to carbon emissions.
#5 Green Claims Code, 2021 | UK
Voluntary certifications and eco-friendly labels have been the primary means for fashion brands to share their sustainability commitments, in the absence of laws. But as the number of these voluntary initiatives rose, their legitimacy was under scrutiny.
Copenhagen-based Ganni committed to an absolute 50% carbon reduction target by 2027. Burberry became the first luxury fashion brand and one of the first companies globally to receive approval from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) for its net-zero emissions target of 2040. US-based Reformation is committed to phasing out virgin synthetics by 2030 and reducing all synthetics (virgin and recycled) to less than 1% of total sourcing by 2025.
While some brands such as those mentioned above consciously set targets in adherence with climate change policies set across the globe, others settled for greenwashing. In this regard, laws pertaining to greenwashing came into being. In 2021, the Competition and Markets Authority introduced a Green Claims Code in the UK. Created to ensure that businesses comply with their environmental claims, the Code also offers consumers protection from misleading sustainability marketing.
In a similar vein, the E.U Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles proposed a set of rules this March to combat the greenwashing issue. In addition, a Digital Product Passport will be mandated, where information on the circularity and environmental impact of each product will be recorded. According to the Commission, this is a notable issue – as 53% of green claims on products or services are ‘vague, misleading or unfounded information.’
#6 Garment Worker Protection Act, 2021 | California
Signed into law in September 2021 by California Governor Gavin Newsom, this law makes waves by mandating hourly wages and prohibiting piecework pay. The Act is a revamped renewal of Assembly Bill 633 from 1999. Incidentally, it was also an anti-wage theft law for garment workers in the fashion industry. However, AB 633 was riddled, meaning retailers and manufacturers discovered means to circumvent liabilities through sub-contractors. While this law is solely for the protection of workers in California, Fashion Revolution’s #WhoMadeMyClothes movement of 2013 is still in place.
Long story short, fashion has a long way to go in safeguarding its workers, carrying out course correction to achieve a net zero trajectory, and eliminating the concept of waste. The legal crackdown which began at the turn of the decade gives hope.
FEATURED IMAGE: via Hollywood Reporter | IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Reese Witherspoon in a courtroom – scene from the movie Legally Blonde