Casten, Salazar Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Bolster Sustainable Apparel Industry
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressman Sean Casten (D-IL-06) and Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar (R-FL-27) introduced the bipartisan Voluntary Sustainable Apparel Labeling Act, legislation to revolutionize the way consumers learn about the environmental impact of the clothes they purchase.
Under the legislation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will work with apparel manufacturers to develop a voluntary apparel sustainability label to place on products that will contain EPA-verified information relating to the carbon footprint of that product.
“Consumers are increasingly interested in understanding the climate impacts of their purchasing decisions,” remarked Rep. Sean Casten. "The bipartisan Voluntary Sustainable Apparel Labeling Act empowers individuals to make environmentally-conscious decisions with their hard-earned dollars, fostering a more sustainable future for all."
“Fashion is not just an important part of Miami’s identity in the world as a global hub, but also contributes millions of dollars to our local economy every year,” said Rep. Salazar. “The Voluntary Sustainable Apparel Labeling Act builds an information bridge between consumer and producer, encouraging more sustainable clothes shopping to help protect our planet.”
The label will include information on the greenhouse gas emissions released during the production, manufacturing, distribution, consumer use, end-of-life reuse, and recycling of an item of apparel. This will help apparel producers showcase the work they’ve done to reduce their carbon footprint while empowering consumers with more information to shop more sustainably.
Text of the legislation can be found here.
Summary of the Bill:
How It Works
- The legislation will establish a Voluntary Sustainable Apparel Labeling Program at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EPA will consult with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Agriculture in implementing the program.
- Entities that sell apparel (“participants”) will be allowed, but not mandated, to place an apparel sustainability label on their apparel products, as specified under the program.
- EPA will specify the information to be included on the label and the method by which the information is verified.
- Participants will choose whether to attach the label to the product itself or to its packaging.
What’s On The Label
- The label will:
- provide a numerical summary of the best available information regarding the greenhouse gas emissions released by the growing of fibers and other agricultural inputs, manufacture of non-agricultural input materials (including synthetic fibers and dyes), manufacture of the article of apparel, packaging, transportation of the inputs and the article, storage, presentation in the retail establishment, consumer use (including the energy use of laundering), and end-of-life reuse, recycling, treatment and disposal of the apparel and its packaging.
- convey the information in a manner determined to be most useful to the consumer at the point of sale;
- not convey that any given item of apparel is acceptable or unacceptable – that kind of decision being left to the consumer, as informed by the factual information conveyed through the label;
- convey that the information has been verified by EPA;
- include a logo to help the consumer identify the label;
- include a QR code to provide the consumer access to the above-described in-depth information.
- In specifying the visual form, the information to be included, and the method for verification, EPA shall consult with apparel industry experts, and may do so through the establishment of a federal advisory committee or a negotiated rulemaking.
- If requested by a participant, the information provided on the label will be divided into:
- information pertaining to all stages of production and transportation up to delivery of the article of apparel to the retail store, for which the participant will be responsible; and
- information pertaining to the rest of the lifecycle of the article of apparel, for which EPA will provide an estimate based on typical use of the article, as informed in consultation with the participant.
Carbon Footprint Verification
- In developing the method of validation, EPA shall:
- consider the established international accounting standards for carbon accounting for product life cycle assessment, including:
- the relevant ISO standards (i.e., those published by the International Organization for Standardization); and
- the Greenhouse Gas Protocol established by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and World Resources Institute (WRI), including:
- the Greenhouse Gas Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard; and
- Publicly Available Specification 2050 (PAS 2050); and
- be informed by and generally align with the current best practices for validating such information in the apparel industry.
- EPA shall establish a program by which third-party entities shall be certified to measure, monitor, verify and report the information made available through this program.
- EPA shall provide technical assistance, including through consultants, in participating in the program and reducing GHG emissions.
Other Aspects Of The Bill
- The EPA will establish a public database to provide access to information pertaining to the program, including:
- explanations of the program’s objectives and methodologies;
- the greenhouse gas footprint information described above; and
- the voluntary commitments and sustainability information mentioned below.
- EPA shall establish a voluntary program under which a participant may:
- report a voluntary commitment to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its apparel product; and
- report additional sustainability information pertaining to the apparel.
- Any entity that uses the label fraudulently will be liable for civil penalties.
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