The United States has launched the first ever Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus along with sustainable fashion industry leaders and stakeholders to curb fast fashion pollution through climate-smart policies that exhort repair, reduce, rewear, and recycle of textiles.
- Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, ranking member of the House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee, alongside Reps Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, announced the Caucus which has as its member brands like Patagonia and ThredUp, the Garment Worker Center, Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, fashion designer and slow fashion influencer Kelly Dempsey, and some others.
THE CONTEXT: The rise of so-called “fast fashion” has become an urgent environmental problem. Today, nearly two-thirds of all the fibres we wear and use are made from fossil fuel products. The fashion industry is now responsible for more carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined.
- Fast fashion relies on cheap manufacturing, frequent consumption, and short-lived garment use. This constant cycle of production and disposal is taking a huge toll on our environment. Over the last two decades, in line with the ascension of fast fashion, the rate of textile waste has increased tremendously. In 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency estimated 17 million tonnes of textiles were generated in the US.
- Textile waste is now one of the fastest growing waste streams in the US, but only 15% of clothing is recycled or reused, with the rest either incinerated or sent to landfills for disposal.
- In addition, over the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of fibre and textile jobs that once sustained communities across America have shifted overseas, harming American farmers and communities in the process.
The Slow Fashion Caucus’ principles to support a circular economy for textiles:
- Incentivise apparel industry to promote reuse, repair, and recycling of textiles. While the apparel industry is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, they also have the power to be part of the solution, and some are starting to take action. Public policy, such as incentives for secondhand purchases or participation in rental models, can make it easier for companies and consumers to do the right thing for the environment.
- Develop “circular economy” policies to drive the apparel industry to reduce natural resource consumption. A circular economy prevents products such as textiles from becoming waste and keeps materials in circulation by designing products that can be reused, repaired, and recycled.
- Promote textile reuse and recycling infrastructure. Existing systems and infrastructure for the collection, reuse, and recycling of used textiles are not well established and do not support consistent, convenient, or widespread collection of the quantity and quality of textiles needed to retain value and support economical reuse and recycling.
- Build public awareness of fast fashion’s environmental impact Additional education is needed on the negative impacts of fast fashion and opportunities to support a circular economy for textiles.
- Bring textile production back to the USA As global trends have impacted the economics of producing textiles and apparel outside the US, and as consumer demand for more sustainably produced products has risen, there is a need to bring more textile and apparel production stages back to the US.
- Support the use of more sustainable fibres Reducing the use of virgin materials and using more plant and animal-based fibres, such as cotton, flax, hemp, wool, and alpaca, may decrease environmental impacts.
- Expand initiatives across federal agencies to encourage textile sustainability President Biden is building a whole-of-government approach to reach the goal of reducing US greenhouse gas emission by 50–52 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Existing government efforts can be further leveraged to curb fast fashion and promote sustainability.
Founding members and endorsing organisations: Representatives Chellie Pingree, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii).
- American Sheep Industry Association
- Pennsylvania Fibershed
- Apparel Impact
- Remake
- American Circular Textiles
- Fibershed
- Climate Reality Project
- Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders
- Industrial Commons
- Goodwill of Northern New England
- Patagonia
- thredUp
- Garment Worker Center
- Helpsy
- Kelly Dempsey
- Accelerating Circularity
- Custom Collaborative
- The RealReal
- L.L. Bean
- Fibers Fund
WHAT THEY SAID:
For too long, the so-called ‘fast fashion’ industry has been given free range to pollute our planet, exploit workers, and shortchange consumers. In fact, textile waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the United States and is responsible for more carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. The launch of our Slow Fashion Caucus marks a new era in the fight against climate change and sends a clear message that Congress will not stand by as the harmful fast fashion industry flies under the radar to destroy our planet.
— Chellie Pingree
Founder and Chair / Ranking Member, House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee
Slow Fashion Caucus / US Congress
Consumers demand — and companies should deliver — products that are more durable, multifunctional and, crucially, socially and environmentally responsible. Government has a role, too. We need a national revolution around quality, backed by policies and legislation that prioritize the most sustainable raw materials and best manufacturing practices. That’s why my colleagues and I are excited about the launch of this caucus and its goals to strengthen public awareness and encourage textile sustainability.
— Rebecca Goodstein
Senior Retail Environmental Activism Manager
Patagonia
There is a dire need for public policy to help us accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future, just like it has for energy and vehicles. The launch of the Slow Fashion Caucus gives us a powerful new platform to forge ahead. We look forward to working with like-minded organizations and policymakers to advance the fashion policy agenda, change incentive structures to benefit our shared planet and resources, and ultimately create a more sustainable fashion future for generations to come.
— Alon Rotem
Chief Legal Officer
ThredUp
The slow fashion movement must include the needs of sustainable, ethical brands and American garment workers, of which there are 100,000 today. It’s due time for US policy that invests in workers, responsible business, and combats fast fashion. Fast fashion relies on cheap manufacturing to produce trendy, inexpensive, short lived garments that end up in landfills. Cheap manufacturing, more often than not, goes hand in hand with labor rights violations and wage theft. We look forward to engaging with the Slow Fashion Caucus on pivotal initiatives involving ethical labor, domestic manufacturing, sustainability, and environmental responsibility.
— Daisy Gonzalez
Campaigns Director
Garment Worker Center
