How fashion law drives global action

From California to Europe, the fashion industry is gearing up for a wave of legislative changes aimed at promoting sustainability and ethical responsibility.

Sourcing Journal’s Sustainability Report outlined some of the most important legislation, such as the Americas Act, a landmark piece of legislation that harnesses the economic potential of the Western Hemisphere.

Introduced in March by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Co.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the legislation aims to facilitate onshoring and reshoring, expand free trade agreements, and boost enforcement efforts against illegal goods made with forced labor made. For the fashion industry in particular, the Americas Act sets aside $14 billion in incentives to accelerate innovation in circular apparel, footwear, accessories and home textiles, including models that promote reuse, repair, rental and recycling.

In California, lawmakers are exploring passage of the California Responsible Textile Recovery Act (SB 707), which would require manufacturers of clothing and textile products to establish and fund an Extended Producer Responsibility program charged with recycling the discarded garments and substances of the state. The statewide platform would consist of Producer Responsibility Organizations (PROs), which manage the collection, sorting and recycling process.

Meanwhile, in Europe, one of the largest and most controversial pieces of legislation is what is colloquially known as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). This rule would require major companies to identify, mitigate, and remediate environmental and human rights violations in their supply chains.

However, the passage of CSDDD was particularly charged. Despite the European Council and the European Parliament reaching an interim agreement in December, last-minute maneuvers by Germany, France and Italy threatened to scrap the regulation altogether. The argument of the naysayers: the requirements would be too burdensome financially, administratively and legally for companies.

Regulation has had a major impact elsewhere in the supply chain. With the International Maritime Organization (IMO) setting an ambitious target to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, top executives at major ocean carriers are now feeling pressure to reach that same target. Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Maersk, Hapag-Lloyd, CMA CGM and car shipping company Wallenius Wilhelmsen have all set their own net-zero commitments either before or before the 2050 target. CEOs of each airline called on the agency to set stricter rules to accelerate the transition to green fuels.

Acting as one

While legislation is a step towards a more transparent and sustainable future, the entire fashion industry must join forces to bring about meaningful change. And brands like Everlane and Dedicated are helping to lead the charge, despite there generally being significantly less promotion and talk about sustainability initiatives on the brand side.

For example, in 2023, San Francisco-based Everlane shrank its carbon impact per product by 24 percent, resulting in a 38 percent reduction in absolute Scope 1-3 emissions compared to its 2019 baseline.

The consistently downward trajectory – apart from emissions from 2020, which were suppressed across the sector due to Covid-19 – was the result of a deliberate strategy to ‘achieve the biggest reductions in the fastest time’, especially with the Scope 3 emissions that amount to 99 percent. of Everlane’s total greenhouse gas footprint, said Katina Boutis, director of sustainability at Everlane. This meant making “intentional changes” to aspects of the supply chain that were under direct control, including tinkering with different materials, cutting transportation routes, bringing together raw materials and manufacturing operations, and championing design quality over product quantity.

Change is also happening more than 5,000 miles away in Sweden. What started in 2006 as Stockholm T-shirt Store has since grown into Dedicated: a Swedish brand committed to delivering ethical clothing that is still ‘fun and modern’.

“We want to show that you can make very creative garments that are still timeless and sustainable. Even if you only work with cotton, you can still make a really cool, trendy dress that is much more durable and has more details,” says Margaux Schleder, head of corporate social responsibility (CSR) at Dedicated, in the report. “The creativity (element) is something that we should emphasize more. I mean, we’re doing great work to communicate the work around sustainability. But of course we still sell clothes, right?”

Non-fashion companies are also taking their responsibility, such as Salesforce, which called for government action on several initiatives at the intersection of sustainability and the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

“Today, AI is more embedded in our daily lives and the way we work than ever before, and its impact will only increase from here. As we begin to understand the implications of this technology, we must ensure we get it right from the start,” said Megan Lorenzen, director of climate and energy at Salesforce, in the report. “Against the backdrop of an escalating climate crisis, we seek to enable a more sustainable and equitable future through the use of AI – both by minimizing environmental impact and driving climate innovation.”

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