Why we support the Slow Fashion Caucus

The whole team at Garson & Shaw was delighted to see the launch of the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus in late June 2024 that Maine Representative Chellie Pingree (D-M.E.), with fellow members. Such political leadership is essential to advocate for sustainable practices and halt the detrimental effects of the fast-fashion industry on our planet and people.

At Garson & Shaw, we have long championed the reuse of textiles as part of a sustainable circular economy. Our latest report Promoting the Circular Textile Industry: A Call for Strategic Policy Action in the Americas, underscores, not just the significant environmental benefits, but also the economic benefits of the second-hand clothing sector in the US, which currently supports 342,000 jobs and generates $2.5 billion in annual tax revenues.

What is the Slow Fashion Caucus?

The Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus aims to create climate-smart policies to reduce, repair, rewear, and recycle textiles. They have bold ambitions to see the apparel industry, which is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, to become part of the solution. They want to develop circular economy policies, and to incentivize greater second-hand purchases and rental models. To promote textile reuse and recycling infrastructure while also building public awareness of fast fashion’s environmental impact. The Caucus also wants to support US manufacturing by increasing US textile production and this should be with the use of more sustainable fibers such as cotton, flax, hemp, wool, and alpaca.

We are supportive of the Slow Fashion Caucus’s principles, and call on our political leaders to support the reuse sector in the most impactful ways.

• States should set ambitious mandatory targets for textile collection and reuse by 2035 to significantly reduce textile waste. For reusable items to reach the retail market, an efficient system for processing, grading, and distribution is crucial, with skilled sorters identifying wearable items that may not be suited for domestic markets suitable for export.
• Public investment in infrastructure is necessary to handle more collected clothes, given the new mandatory disposal requirements in places like Massachusetts. Local governments should be encouraged to support collection infrastructure rather than remove or ban it.
• EPR subsidies should go to reuse businesses throughout the value chain, from collection to sorting to retail. Public authorities and policymakers must recognize that fiber-to-fiber recycling is only preferable when garments have reached the end of their life. It’s important that businesses collecting second-hand clothing are not classified as ‘producers’ under EPR regulations, as this would hurt the economic viability of the circular trade.
• Taxes on second-hand clothing and footwear should be eliminated or reduced. We support the proposal in the Americas Trade and Investment Act to grant circular textile businesses a 15% net income tax exclusion.
• Greater efforts should be made to promote transparency and educate consumers through public education programs and accurate labeling of new clothing products.
• Regulations should incentivize high-quality design and production to ensure more clothing is reusable. Governments should promote eco-design policies that ensure clothes last longer.
• The reuse sector must operate globally to be truly circular, with sorting and selling of used clothing promoted domestically and internationally. Export regulations should be clear and transparent. Surplus resources must be dealt with safely and sensitively to prevent mismanagement.

We at Garson & Shaw will be following closely the progress that the Caucus makes and will be doing all we can to support its work.