New York is often regarded as the fashion centre of the United States, and it may soon utilise its clout to tackle climate change.
A bill filed in both houses of the state legislature would mandate large apparel corporations to disclose and minimise their environmental footprints. The latest effort coincides with the ongoing unveiling of prominent designers’ latest looks at New York City Fashion Week, which concludes next Wednesday.
The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, abbreviated as the Fashion Act, would require clothing and apparel manufacturers with more than $100 million in annual sales to disclose on their websites the amount of energy, water, plastics, and other chemicals they use, as well as their greenhouse gas emissions levels that cause climate change.
It also includes rules for fair work practises. This regulation would apply throughout the whole supply chain, including the farms where raw materials like cotton are farmed and the shipping process.
Following the disclosure of this information, the corporations would be forced to begin lowering their environmental footprint.
For greenhouse gases, emission reduction targets will be set by independent energy auditors who will use the Science Based Targets Initiative’s recommendations to set a route to net-zero emissions by 2050.
“We’ve ran out of time,” Assembly Member Anna Kelles, who co-sponsored the bill with state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, told Yahoo News.
Clothing is not often thought to be a major contribution to climate change, especially when compared to industries such as energy, transportation, and agriculture. Cotton cultivation, on the other hand, requires a lot of energy and water. Then there’s the worldwide, wasteful process of delivering raw materials to energy-guzzling manufacturers and completed goods to markets. According to a 2018 study conducted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), fashion is responsible for 2 to 8% of global carbon emissions.
Post Your Comments