There Should Be a Coordinated Effort in Congress to Rein in the Fast Fashion Industry

As a Caucus, how do you plan to take the initiative forward? The principles of the SFC have been laid out. But how do these translate into legislative or legal action. 
Chellie Pingree: In Congress, there are the big, better-known caucuses like the Progressive Caucus and Democratic Women’s Caucus, but really there’s a caucus for just about anything. Ultimately, caucuses like my new Slow Fashion Caucus give Members of Congress an opportunity to come together to learn about and raise awareness on specific and otherwise overlooked issues. Now that we have officially launched our caucus, we plan to keep the momentum up by continuing to engage with not only our fellow Members of Congress but our constituents, industry leaders, civil society, farmers and ranchers, and the Biden-Harris administration. The more we learn about the impacts of our clothing on the climate, the better equipped we’ll be to enact solutions.

I plan to use the caucus as a way to work on legislation, to elevate legislation my colleagues have already put together–like the FABRIC Act and the Americas Act – and to hold more educational briefings with my other colleagues. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who is Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, and I are waiting on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that is currently in progress which will provide us with more current facts and figures, as well as potential solutions to some of the problems we’re facing.   That report is expected before the end of the year.

It's a given that self-regulation or even campaigns have not brought about much change, and many insist that the only way the fashion industry can clean itself up is through legal and legislative measures. Comments, please. 
Chellie Pingree: It’s true, unfortunately. The textile and fashion industries have essentially been given free range to exploit workers and pollute our planet. There are some companies, of course, that have taken it upon themselves to be environmentally conscious. The reality is, though, we cannot simply rely on big corporations to do what’s right.

Countries such as France and the European Union have also done a lot of work to reduce textile waste and improve textile circularity, which gives us an opportunity to learn from their efforts and develop best practices. US-based brands will likely need to adapt to these regulations, so it makes sense for us to start considering policy and incentives as well.

Historically, not just in the US, politicians have never taken much of an interest in the fashion industry. Why do you think this has been so? You yourself have been in politics for around 30 years. What does your own experience say?
Chellie Pingree: While I have been climate conscious since the 70s, working primarily to address the climate crisis through sustainable agriculture, it’s not lost on me that we are just beginning to grasp that there has been a huge piece of the puzzle missing. I, for one, would certainly not consider myself particularly fashionable. But I think we’re experiencing a unique moment in our society, driven largely by young people, who genuinely care about their environmental impact and want to make a difference. Just look on social media, where visible mending and thrifting are trendy and clothing rental companies are fun and popular. It truly feels like the tide is turning, and as a member of Congress, I am excited to help make slow fashion cool again.

Many States in the US have been working on fashion regulation. There is California's Responsible Textile Recovery Act and New York's Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act. Soon there would be more. Do you think there's a need for these to be in sync with each other? Should there be something at the Federal level too? 
Chellie Pingree: Absolutely. Oftentimes, states lead the way with legislation that eventually inspires federal policy.

In Maine, our state motto is “Dirigo”, which means “I Lead”. Maine has enacted country-leading legislation to legalise gay marriage, protect abortion rights, and even help farmers impacted by PFAS, so-called forever chemicals. We can learn so much from our state governments.

As you mentioned, California and New York have state-level bills in the works to combat fast fashion and part of the Slow Fashion Caucus’s mission will be working to incorporate ideas from those bills into future federal legislation.

Beyond the formal document, what steps are being taken on ground — at the industry level, and the consumer level?
Chellie Pingree: I’m excited to have support for the Slow Fashion Caucus from a variety of stakeholders and industries, and I look forward to continued collaboration with those and others in this space as this work proceeds.

Engagement with stakeholders about the challenges and opportunities related to developing more sustainable fashion contributed to the development of our principles document, which I see as a blueprint to develop policies, including legislation. I also see a path to advancing some of this work through the appropriations process, as well as engagement with the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to address the climate crisis.

On all levels – federal, industry, and consumer–awareness and education is key, and having a new platform in Congress can help with some of this.

The US will elect a new president soon. Will the Caucus remain immune to who comes or goes at the top office?
Chellie Pingree: This is a bipartisan issue that affects us all–everyone wears clothes after all. Just in this Congress we’ve seen the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party look into whether popular fast fashion platforms are engaging in forced labour as well as bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Salazar and Espaillat that would support domestic textile reuse and recycling, in addition to the efforts in other countries. We’re not going anywhere.