Why legislation to regulate sustainability in fashion is so necessary

The Garment Worker Protection Act passed in California last October set a precedent for more liability for brands in its supply chain. supplies, and the proposed EU due diligence legislation is expected to do the same. “The big question is, how strict will it be?” asks Elizabeth Cline, policy director at advocacy group Remake. 8 March 2022 | Vogue _

Industry Focus: Sustainability—What is the biggest accomplishment in fashion sustainability that has been achieved over the last five years and what are the next steps to expand upon it?

“The biggest accomplishment to creating a more just and accountable fashion system was the passage of California’s Senate Bill 62, the Garment Worker Protection Act. This bill addresses the root causes of wage theft, which is so endemic in the fashion system, by eliminating the piece-rate system of pay and holding brands jointly liable for the wages stolen from garment workers.” 3 March 2022 | California Apparel News _

Intersectional environmentalism – what does it mean for the denim industry?

“It really comes down to two things—climate justice and gender justice,” Remake founder and CEO Ayesha Barenblat. “Without human rights and without gender justice, there really cannot be a sustainability movement. These two issues go hand in hand.” 18 February 2022 | Sourcing Journal _

Trailblazing fashion social entrepreneurs see their names in lights during New York Fashion Week

A billboard campaign during New York Fashion Week celebrates ten women social entrepreneurs who aim to transform the fashion industry to become more equitable, inclusive and regenerative. 17 February 2022 | Pioneers Post_

Remaking fashion a force for good

As we walk into the third year of a global pandemic, we have seen the stark inequalities at the heart of fashion come more sharply into focus. Moreover, our understanding of sustainability, planetary limits and intersectional approaches to social change has expanded. For these reasons and more, we raised the bar on fashion with the second annual Fashion Accountability report. 15 February 2022 | Musings _

Fashion advocates believe ‘Fashion Act’ lacks key elements

Environmental organizations penned a letter to legislators with revisions for the “Fashion Act”. The letter advocates that the bill be amended with provisions to limit and treat textile waste, a serious environmental harm produced by the fashion industry. 28 January 2022 | WWD _

Op-Ed | New York’s Fashion Act? More like fashion won’t act.

Remake and 20 other fashion policy organisations, including Fashion Revolution and Human Rights Watch, agree that mandating reporting is unlikely to change consumer buying habits and therefore make real impact, and have pushed to toughen the Fashion Act, extending its reach beyond disclosure. 21 January 2022 | The Business of Fashion _

FAQ: Everything you need to know about New York State’s Fashion Act

The Fashion Act, as written, is what’s known as a disclosure or transparency bill. Its primary aim is to increase transparency in the fashion industry by requiring large companies to disclose on an annual basis a number of environmental and social impacts. While the bill was initially described as a human rights due diligence bill, as written it does not require companies to perform due diligence on their supply chains. It only requires them to report on due diligence measures. 21 January 2022 | Remake _

Small brands are setting goalposts for sustainable fashion

The nonprofit Remake revamped the assessment criteria for its most recent fashion accountability report to track brands’ tangible progress towards “intersectional social, environmental, economic and political issues” in the supply chain. The report found smaller brands achieved significantly higher scores and provided the authors with “a glimpse into a reimagined fashion future”. 20 January 2022 | Vogue Business _

Critics say New York’s Fashion Act ‘falls short.’ Here’s what they want fixed.

A group of 20 human-rights, labor and fashion sustainability organizations is urging New York lawmakers to strengthen a measure that could make the Empire State the country’s first to hold fashion’s biggest names legally liable for their social and environmental impacts. 19 January 2022 | Sourcing Journal_

Advocacy groups push to toughen New York Fashion Act

“We are concerned that this bill falls short of what is needed to protect people and the environment from the multiple harms caused by the sector,” the coalition of human rights and labour organisations including Fashion Revolution, Remake and Human Rights Watch said in an open letter sent on Friday to the bill’s sponsors, Senator Alessandra Biaggi and Assemblywoman Anna Kelles. 19 January 2022 | The Business of Fashion_

Coalition calls for changes to New York Fashion Act

NGOs – including Human Rights Watch, Fashion Revolution and Remake – have however taken issue with the act’s framework which at present would rely on companies accurately reporting that they’re complying, rather than demonstrating it. 19 January 2022 | EcoTextile News_

Labor and sustainability orgs propose to strengthen New York’s Fashion Act

The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act (the Fashion Act) aims to hold major brands and retailers that operate in New York State accountable for their environmental and social impacts. However, the first draft of the bill lacks the language necessary to truly hold brands accountable for their behavior. 19 January 2022 | Remake_

Remake sees need for transparency in US fashion commercial practices

Remake sees an urgent need for transparency in commercial practices as they are the root cause of many of fashion’s impacts. According to its 2021 Remake Fashion Accountability Report, 36 US companies—60 per cent of those surveyed—publish a tier 1 supplier list. A fifth invested in the communities where they operate, taking race, class and gender into consideration.  17 January 2022 | Fibre2Fashion.com _

For activists, the Garment Worker Protection Act is just the beginning

The Garment Worker Protection Act — signed into law last September by California Governor Gavin Newsom — is an anti-wage theft and brand accountability bill that makes the state the first in the country to require hourly wages for garment workers. It also bans piecework, a practice that allowed manufacturers to pay workers per garment, resulting in a salary of less than $6 per hour, according to Marissa Nuncio, director of the Garment Workers Center (GWC).  17 January 2022 | Refinery29 _

Will 2022 be the year the fashion industry finally faces green legislation?

“The big question is: how rigorous is it going to be?” asks Elizabeth Cline, the policy director at advocacy group Remake. “Is it going to include that liability on brands? Are there actually incentives built in for companies to not only report on human rights, but to change their business behaviour to support human rights?” 11 January 2022 | Vogue _

Can California’s new garment worker law rein in abuses?

First-in-the-nation legislation takes aim at egregious violations in the fashion industry. 10 January 2022 | Capital & Main _

Garment workers organize to end wage theft

A historic victory over the fashion industry in California is creating ripples for global change. 28 December 2021 | YES! Magazine _

Sustainability: Where fashion is heading in 2022

This year, a lot of planning was done around fashion sustainability — but less action. The biggest theme as we head into 2022 is the interconnection between carbon emissions, equity and supply chain. 23 December 2021 | Vogue Business _

Will Shein’s $10 million CSR fund ‘backfire’?

”Neither a $10 million CSR fund nor the hiring of an ESG chief who incidentally has a long history of working for companies that are not serious about ethics or sustainability will make Shein a ‘sustainable’ company,” Barenblat told Sourcing Journal. “If Shein is serious about a remake, they must address their score in our 2021 accountability report and revamp their business model to pay living wages and produce less and better. Everything else is simply greenwashing.” 22 December 2021 | Sourcing Journal _

Fashion’s $40 billion cancellation spree leaves suppliers footing the bill

Barenblat said she believes the report is “additive” to the discourse, however, because it takes an intersectional approach to human rights, environmental justice and commercial practices that few before it have addressed. It is also time to stop rewarding transparency “for transparency’s sake” and focus on action, rather than intent. “If a brand has set a living wage or climate goal but not demonstrated any progress towards that goal, they got no points,” she said. “And we really think that it makes sense for us to be looking at the industry and scoring them on what is and where they’re making a difference, rather than what they say or aspire to do.” 14 December 2021 | Sourcing Journal _

Remake’s new Accountability Report 2021 rates 60 fashion companies

Non-profit organisation Remake has updated its approach to holding the industry accountable. The new brand assessment criteria, put together in its just published “Remake 2021 Fashion Accountability Report” enables companies to score up to 150 points and moves beyond celebrating ambitious but hollow goals and targets. It focuses on six key criteria: environmental justice, governance, traceability, commercial practices, raw materials and wages and wellbeing. 10 December 2021 | Fashion United _

Data on how fashion is made remains hidden

The second annual report published by the NGO organisation, which aims to turn fashion into a force for good, found that brands are consistently lacking. 8 December 2021 | JustStyle _

Remake ranks brands on supply chain actions

Workers’ rights NGO Remake has released its 2021 Fashion Accountability Report in which it ranks leading fashion companies on their actions towards sustainability in their global supply chains. The group’s second annual industry report measures 60 brands and retailers on their “concrete action” and progress towards tackling social, environmental, economic and political issues. 8 December 2021 | EcoTextile News _

Forever 21, Ross, Walmart among brands with negative scores in Remake’s Accountability Report

The results are in on this year’s fashion accountability offenders — at least according to nonprofit Remake’s second annual accountability report. 7 December 2021 | Yahoo _

How to end fast fashion factories and improve the lives of garment workers

Fast fashion brands lead us to believe it’s as easy as buy, buy, buy. There’s no time to wonder about the humans behind T-shirt production because we’ve found a good deal. 16 November 2021 | Grow Ensemble  _

Changing fashion’s buying practices: What’s to come for brands

Buying contracts have left suppliers and manufacturers with little power and incentive to be more sustainable. Pressure to change is growing. 4 November 2021 | Vogue Business _

California becomes first state to ban piece rate pay for garment workers

On September 27, 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law the Garment Worker Protection Act, which makes California the first state to ban piece rate pay for garment workers, requiring instead that they be paid the minimum hourly wage. 4 October 2021 | National Law Review _

What does the landmark Garment Worker Protection Act mean for the fashion industry?

Fashion brands will now be responsible for wage theft violations at Californian factories. 1 October 2021 | Glossy _

California just passed a landmark bill to protect garment workers—Here’s what it means for the entire fashion industry

For brands, the bill introduces a kind of accountability never seen before in the industry. 29 September 2021 | Vogue _

California’s garment labour law: The global implications

Senate Bill 62 has passed in California, guaranteeing a minimum wage for garment workers and holding brands accountable, even for violations with third-party partners. 29 September 2021 | Vogue Business _

Protection for long-exploited California garment workers finally signed into law

“With one law, we dispelled the biggest lie in fashion, which is that brands aren’t responsible to garment makers. SB62 is a shift in thinking and a shift in power as much as it is a change in law,” said Elizabeth L. Cline, Remake‘s director of policy and advocacy and the PayUp Fashion coalition coordinator. 28 September 2021 | Fashionista

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Garment worker protection act signed into California law

“Today we won justice for garment workers,” said Senator María Elena Durazo, who authored the bill. “For too long, bad-actor manufacturers have exploited garment workers toiling in unsanitary conditions for as little as $5 an hour.” 28 September 2021 | Business of Fashion

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California to require garment industry to pay hourly wages to workers

“California is holding corporations accountable and recognizing the dignity and humanity of our workers, who have helped build the fifth-largest economy in the world,” said California Governor Gavin Newsom of the passage of SB62. 28 September 2021 | Reuters

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Gov. Newsom signs bill expanding protections for garment

SB62 aims to overhaul a pay model for garment workers that has led to subminimum wages in the industry. The law will expand liability for fashion brands that have largely been able to avoid responsibility for rampant wage theft by their suppliers. 27 September 2021 | Los Angeles Times _

All the brands that support California’s Garment Worker Protection Act

Behold, the 140-plus companies and organizations that support increased accountability on brands for their garment workers. 20 July 2021 | Remake _

Why the fashion industry can’t allow this life-saving legislation to expire

The Bangladesh Accord was established to protect workers in the wake of 2013’s Rana Plaza factory collapse – but a number of brands are dragging their feet on renewing its vital regulations. 20 July 14 2021 | Dazed _

Op-Ed: Hanging By A Thread

The pandemic was a trigger for worsening conditions in an already troubled Industry. 20 June 2021 | TorontoStar

Risk of forced labour in clothing industry rises due to pandemic and industry response 

21 June 2021 | The University of Sheffield _

Remake: New-look Victoria’s Secret must support workers

22 June 2021 | Ecotextile _

Trash the Runway? The Ultra-Fast Fashion Industry Can Be an Environmental Mess. 

22 June 2021 | Washington Monthly