What You Need to Know About The Fashion Act (Endorsed by Sustainable Baddies Everywhere!)
Baddies, have you heard of the Fashion Act? Well, we’re about to put you on. The Fashion Act, also known as the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act would hold some of the biggest names in the fashion industry responsible for their impact on our planet. The Fashion Act is a response to the industry's global CO2 emissions (between 4-8.6%), as well as its exploitation of human (majority female) labor. The act will regulate the fashion industry’s supply chain and address its prevalent human rights and climate abuses. Basically, no more companies getting away with shady sh*t.
The act is sponsored by a member of the New York State Assembly, Anna Kelles, and New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi. The bill is also backed by supporters including sustainability organizations, climate action influencers like Sophia Li, and sustainable designers like Stella McCartney.
This sounds great, but let's dive into the details of the act. What will it do? And how can we get involved?
The Fashion Act asks for all clothing and footwear companies to comply with mandatory due diligence, and implement changes based on the results of the due diligence process. The Fashion Act demands that the government enforce compliance with these expectations and hold companies liable, as well as outlines clear guidelines for implementing changes to manufacturing, production, and distribution.
What is mandatory due diligence?
The Fashion Act website describes mandatory due diligence as:
…the process companies are required to perform to: embed responsible business conduct into policies and management systems, identify, cease, prevent, mitigate, account for, and remediate actual and potential adverse impacts to human rights and the environment in their operations and in their supply chains.
The Mandatory Due Diligence framework is a legal framework that requires companies to comply with sustainability benchmarks, which means companies can’t play dumb or look the other way when it comes to the negative impacts of their activities.
What happens after they perform due diligence?
Embedded in the bill is a requirement to ACT and improve. All affected businesses will be required to carry out due diligence. This means they can’t solely release the data; they must take steps to fix the negative environmental and humanitarian impact of their business practices.
How will these companies be held accountable?
The act requires sufficient enforcement and liability from the state. Essentially, this means that these companies cannot commit these injustices without oversight.
What if the businesses don’t know how to change?
First of all, they definitely know how to change. They just don’t care (yet!). Under this act, The New York Department of State, in collaboration with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Labor, will create
…rules and educational materials for companies to have the clearest ongoing understanding of how effective will be interpreted and provide guidance on time-sensitive issues, emerging issues, and high-risk country situations.
…meaning that there will be no more space for ignorance, excuses, or inaction.
The fashion act needs our help!
Although it has a huge backing of supporters, the act needs even more awareness to pass through the New York State government. If you live in New York, you can contact your reps and ask them to support the bill. If you’re outside of New York but still want to be involved, you can sign the petition, share the act on socials, and keep up to date with the progress of the bill.
Learn more about the action steps here.
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