Every second, the equivalent of one garbage truck of clothing is dumped in a landfill or burned. Globally, the fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of greenhouse gas emissions and 20 percent of industrial wastewater pollution. The industry is built on the backs of exploited textile workers, including children, who are underpaid and overworked: Less than two percent of textile workers are paid a living wage and many work up to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. The egregious environmental and labor practices in the fashion industry continue around the world because of a lack of government regulation.
Many people have called for the public to boycott fast fashion companies to pressure them to change their practices through market forces, but this has not been enough to transform the industry. People simply buy and throw out too many clothes. The shortening of clothing trend cycles and increasing prevalence of online shopping have led to an explosion in clothing sales. The culture of fast fashion has also created pressure to avoid repeating outfits by overhauling closets each time trends change.
Without transparency and disclosure from fashion companies, consumers are unable to even begin shifting their behavior to make informed decisions about where to spend their money. The problem is compounded by “greenwashing,” where companies try to appear more environmentally sustainable than they are. A 2021 report by the Changing Markets Foundation found that 58 percent of environmental claims made by fashion companies in Europe and the UK were misleading. For example, many companies tout changes in their stores or central office that do not extend to their production process. Others set climate targets that either are far too minimal or impressive but untrackable.
Several pieces of federal legislation have been proposed in the United States to combat these problems in the industry, but they often fail to address key aspects of the issue, and no effective laws have been passed. For example, the Fashioning Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change Act, or FABRIC Act, was introduced in the US Senate in 2022. The bill would create new protections for garment workers, including a garment worker registry, and would replace piece rate pay for garment workers with a standard hourly wage. Currently, many brands outsource their production to foreign factories that exploit workers. Even when they use domestic factories, American companies often pay their workers according to how many pieces of clothing they have produced to avoid paying a minimum wage. The FABRIC Act would also create a Domestic Garment Manufacturing Support Program, which would provide grants to manufacturers to help implement these changes.
The FABRIC Act, however, does not address environmental sustainability. In comparison, the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, or Fashion Act, which was introduced in the New York State Legislature in 2022 and reintroduced in 2023, is much more expansive, covering both labor and environmental policies. The Fashion Act would require qualifying companies to publicly map their global supply chain, set and meet science-based greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, work with suppliers to manage chemical use, and measurably improve garment workers’ lives.
Most importantly, the Fashion Act contains an enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with these requirements. New York’s attorney general would be tasked with enforcing the act, and companies who do not rectify noncompliance within three months of being notified could be fined up to 2 percent of their annual revenues. This enforcement mechanism is what makes the Fashion Act unprecedented and the most effective piece of legislation currently being considered. Past bills and laws, including the Garment Worker Protection Act in California, lacked a similar enforcement measure.
Unlike most policy issues, state legislation can address the problems with the fashion industry just as effectively as national legislation because a law passed in one state can dramatically impact the global industry. The Fashion Act would apply to any apparel or footwear company that makes at least 100 million dollars yearly in worldwide gross revenue and does business in the state of New York. This threshold would cover essentially all large multinational fashion brands, including LVMH, Gucci, H&M, Zara, Puma, and Nike. With the stature of New York City in the fashion world, these policies would apply to essentially the same companies as a federal regulation. The law also can affect a global industry at multiple steps in the production process.
The bill has support from brands such as Patagonia and Reformation, as well as from celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jane Fonda, and Zooey Deschanel. Still, these endorsements have not been enough to carry the Fashion Act over the finish line. The bill was referred to the New York Committee on Consumer Protection both times it was introduced but saw no further progress in the legislative process.
Although the Fashion Act is impressively comprehensive, it does not cover everything. A letter from a coalition of labor and sustainability organizations to State Senator Alessandra Biaggi and Assemblywoman Anna R. Kelles highlighted the bill’s shortcomings. These organizations suggest improvements to make the bill more effective, including expanding labor data disclosure, requiring more active due diligence, reforming liability practices, and providing more direct support for garment workers.
The Fashion Act has also faced criticism from other actors due to fear of it negatively impacting businesses. The Business Council of New York State’s Vice President of Government Affairs, Ken Pokalsky, stated, “You can have ambitious goals, but it has to be done in a workable way. And you have to be giving a New York state business something they can actually have a practical way to achieve without imposing significant penalties on them. That’s our real concern.”
Even if the Fashion Act was amended to include these suggestions, it would not fully solve overconsumption. This mindset cannot be directly solved by new regulations, but the Fashion Act would allow those interested in shopping more sustainably to make more informed decisions. Its regulations could also slow down the production of new clothes, which could in turn slow down trend cycles and decrease pressure to constantly buy new clothes. New York should seize this exciting opportunity to reform some of the fashion industry’s most harmful practices by passing the Fashion Act.