By Jerri-Lynn Scofield, a former securities attorney and derivatives trader.She is currently writing a book about textile artisans.

New York could become the first place in the world to impose regulations on fashion companies, forcing them to tackle the climate impact of their supply chains.

On Friday, State Senator Alexandra Biaghi and Congresswoman Anna R. Kellers introduced Fashion Sustainability and Social Responsibility Act (aka The Fashion Act) for apparel and footwear companies with operations in New York that exceed $100 million in annual revenue. These include high-end companies such as LVMH, Prada, Armani, and fast-fashion giants Shein and Boohoo. New York Times

Both the state Senate and state legislature will consider the legislation in the coming months and could pass it by the end of the current legislative session in June. The Gray Lady reports that the bill has the backing of several nonprofits, including the New Standards Institute, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Justice League of New York City, as well as designer Stella McCartney, a fashion industry sustainability standout advocate.

dirty fashion

Fashion is a notoriously dirty business, as I Waste Watch: Fashion stumbles upon sustainability. Some believe that the industry itself can successfully solve environmental problems, while others believe that stricter government regulation is needed.

Fashion:

What does it take for fashion to truly become sustainable? We’ve been talking about it for years, but the hard truth is that little has changed.Although we are excited regenerated fiber, regenerative agriculture, Upcycling, resale, and new business model, the industry’s emissions are still rising – fashion contributes 4% to 8.6% of global greenhouse gases – garment workers are still being exploited and fast fashion giants are still expanding. Much of this comes down to the fact that fashion itself is very unregulated: choosing better materials, auditing its supply chain and reducing waste is entirely up to brands. What if not? Little, if any, impact. Gen Z is demand accountability, but nothing can really hold brands accountable.

It is estimated that fashion and related industries could account for 25% of the global carbon budget by 2050. Many in the industry admit that cutting those numbers will require tighter government regulation.

New York Initiative

New York’s proposed Fashion Act would require fashion retailers and manufacturers to disclose their environmental and social due diligence policies. The legislation also creates a community benefit fund for the purpose of implementing one or more environmental benefit programs that directly and verifiably benefit environmental justice communities.

According to the New York Times:

Specifically, it would require these companies to map at least 50 percent of their supply chain, starting with the farm where raw materials are generated through factories and transportation.They will then be required to disclose where in the chain they have the greatest social and environmental impact in terms of fair wages, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, water and chemical management, and develop specific plans to reduce these numbers (when Involves carbon emissions, especially according to nationally set targets Paris climate agreement).

Finally, it will require companies to disclose their material production, for example, how much cotton, leather or polyester they sell. All this information must also be available online.

Companies will have 12 months to comply with the mapping directive (18 months for disclosure of their impact) and will be fined up to 2% of their annual revenue if they are found to be in breach of the law. The fines will go to a new community fund managed by the Department of Environmental Protection for environmental justice projects. The New York Attorney General will also publish an annual list of companies found to be noncompliant.

Vogue summarizes the likely impact of the legislation:

In short, the law says a brand cannot do business in New York unless it proves that it is working with the planet and people. It will also remove the confounding factor for consumers; those of us who want to shop responsibly often cannot discern which brands are taking meaningful action, which brands are exaggerating their efforts, and which brands are not doing anything at all. We’re told to “buy less, buy better,” but we don’t have the information we need to make informed decisions.

The problem with the current system: Companies that do the right thing—for example, try sustainable practices—are effectively penalized:

“Now, if companies do it right, they’re not competitive,” Maxine BedaThe founder of the New Standards Association, explained on a conference call earlier this week. “It’s not a framework for success. By making these regulations the foundation of doing business, every company has to comply, every company has to do the right thing. Of course, they can also go beyond that and demonstrate leadership in other ways as well. .”

Will executives and designers refuse these demands after decades of little government oversight? Several possibilities. But Bédat said the bill was inherently pro-business because it created a level playing field. Stella McCartney The first designer to support the bill, many of her peers have spoken of the need for better regulation and incentives. “We expect the industry to be involved because they have spoken about how much they care about sustainability,” Bédat said. “It’s really going to make it clear whether the industry is talking, or is it really ready to act.”

Because of New York City’s centrality to the global fashion scene, the impact of the New York Fashion Act will extend far beyond the state’s borders:

While the bill is being rolled out in New York State, the sheer size of the market in New York City will effectively require brands around the world to comply. Bédat compared the rollout to fuel-efficiency standards passed in California a few years ago, which sparked a ripple effect from global automakers and increased opportunities for electric-car companies such as Tesla. “It’s a very apt parallel because, like fashion, Tesla is sexy and futuristic,” Bédat added. “We need to make sure we’re making clothing for the future and future business models — not just Just talking about it.”

Likewise, last March, McCartney point out Britain’s 2030 ban on fossil fuel vehicles is believed to accelerate the country’s transition to electric vehicles and green energy. McCartney believes that the fashion industry will introduce tax incentives to encourage brands to use artificial leather; currently, these materials tend to have higher import taxes than animal leather. “Policy needs to change. It’s not just about the physical product, it’s about working hand in hand with the people who can protect it for the future,” she said.

Legislation could take years, but Beda hopes the bill will be passed by the end of the legislative session in June 2022. Start your campaign today. Over the next six months, we’ll be keeping a close eye on which brands and industry players are backing it. “We’ve been talking about innovation in fashion,” she said, “but this kind of regulatory innovation can drive the work that needs to be done and the collaboration that needs to happen.”

The New York Times retweeted that other countries are already regulating fashion based on sustainable development principles, but New York is the first jurisdiction to take concrete steps to address supply chain climate issues. According to the New York Times:

While similar legislation on due diligence is European Union, while at the same time Germany, France, UK and Australia There are laws requiring due diligence when it comes to human rights and slavery issues, but no country has general legislation to govern the fashion industry’s larger social and environmental action and enforce change.

In 2010, California passed Supply Chain Transparency Act, Tackling Modern Slavery, 2019 Ban on sale of new fur products, passed last year Garment Worker Protection Act, but the New York Act focuses on defining the broad manufacturing end of the business.

“Fashion is one of the least regulated industries,” said Maxine Bédat, founder of the New Standards Institute. That’s partly because its vast supply chain can include multiple countries and continents. As a result, sustainability efforts vary widely. Implementing government regulation would standardize reporting and “ensure that there is no competitive disadvantage to doing the right thing,” Ms Bédat said.

Stella McCartney isn’t the only company supporting sustainability, with companies such as Ralph Lauren, Kering, LVMH and Capri Holdings all pledging to implement Science-Based Targeting InitiativeAccording to the New York Times, this is aimed at reducing the company’s carbon emissions.

However, the same source reports that some companies oppose the idea of ??regulation itself:

“Businesses often react instinctively to the idea of ??regulation,” Ms Bédat said, noting that a number of stakeholders were consulted when the Fashion Act was drafted, including retail brands and manufacturers, such as the clothing-based Ferrara district and The bill has been approved. But, she continued, “even the auto industry, which was initially opposed to fuel efficiency standards, is now embracing them.”

According to the New York Times, the bill’s backers want:

Ms Bédat said the Fashion Act “is about catering to the industry they are in, acknowledging the goodwill efforts they are already making, and to come up with a common standard, but it will take some time to do it.”

…

While she said she did not expect “some of the companies affected by this legislation to initially support these new standards,” she added: “This diverse and active coalition gives me confidence that we can pass this legislation in both chambers later in this legislative session. legislation.”

I will closely monitor the progress of this measure in the New York Legislature. Maybe New York will succeed in leading a new fashion trend.