Fashion for the Earth
Rewriting the Rules of Fashion
March 3, 2025
The fashion industry threatens the environment with pollution, waste, and resource depletion. New laws push for transparency and sustainability in the sector.
The fashion industry is one of the largest industries in the world, and it has somehow managed to remain almost entirely unregulated. Every year, the fashion industry generates 92 million tons of landfill waste, adding pollutants to the environment and using up vast amounts of resources in the process. Over the past 15 years, textile production has doubled. Without authoritative intervention, the industry will continue to expand with disregard for the environmental cost.
A disturbing majority of companies operate with little to no legal oversight, free to make their own decisions when it comes to sustainability and transparency. Governments across the globe are slowly adopting and implementing new legislation in hopes of minimizing the fashion industry’s environmental and social impacts.
EARTHDAY.ORG’s new report, Broken Threads & Twisted Yarns: Legislating the Reform of Fashion, covered the fashion industry’s environmental impacts and recent legislative efforts to make the industry more sustainable. Here are three laws featured in the report specifically focused on waste that exemplify ways governments can regulate a largely unchecked industry in order to benefit our planet.
1. European Union: Ban On Destruction Of Unsold Textiles
As part of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, the E.U. introduced a groundbreaking ban on the destruction of unsold clothing and footwear, a significant step toward having a sustainable fashion industry. This law, which will take effect in July of 2026 for the largest enterprises and from July 2030 for medium-sized enterprises, aims to combat the environmental impact of fashion by prohibiting the disposal of unsold clothing items through incineration or landfilling.
The legislation is part of the E.U.’s broader strategy to promote a circular economy, where products and materials are reused, repaired, and recycled. Under the new rule, fashion companies are required to find alternative solutions for their unsold stock, such as donating to charities recycling or repurposing the materials for new products. This shift is expected to reduce the volume of textile waste significantly and hopefully encourages more sustainable practices in the industry.
2. California, USA: Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024
The Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 is a trailblazing piece of legislation. It is the first program in the U.S. that holds fashion companies accountable for the recycling, reuse, and collection of their products. The bill was approved by California Governor Gavin Newsom in September of 2024 after passing in the state senate with an 80% majority vote.
The bill requires apparel manufacturers in the state to create and join a producer responsibility organization (PRO). Each PRO must develop a plan that oversees the lifecycle of their company’s textile products, including collection, transportation, repair, sorting, recycling, and safe management. By July 1, 2026, all producers must be a part of a PRO approved by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. By July 1, 2028 the Department must adopt regulations to implement the stewardship program, to create and implement a plan for textile waste management and set requirements for its execution. Thereafter the PRO has one year to create a program to collect, repair, and recycle apparel and textiles. Once that is approved, the PRO has one year to implement it. By July 1, 2030 producer obligations take effect and must be in compliance to avoid civil penalties.
To ensure transparency and accountability in the fashion industry, the PROs are required to report their activities and progress every year. Additionally, the department plans to maintain a public list of all compliant producers in California, allowing consumers to make more informed purchasing choices. If a company violates their program’s requirements, they can be fined up to $10,000 per day or $50,000 per day for an intentional violation.
In 2023, New York State introduced the New York Proposal for Textile EPR essentially following the same structure as the California EPR bill.
3. Chile: The Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Textiles
The Chilean Ministry of Environment proposed the Draft Circular Economy Strategy for Textiles in August, 2024. This strategy, which is part of a bigger effort to shift away from linear economies in Chile, follows the vision of the Roadmap for a Circular Chile by 2040. The strategy is aimed at transforming Chile’s textile industry toward sustainability. It focuses on reducing the environmental impact of textile industries by promoting circular practices such as recycling, reuse, and extending the lifespan of garments. The strategy envisions a reduction in textile waste, enhanced resource efficiency, and a shift from a linear “take-make-dispose” model to a circular economy where textiles are used, reused, and ultimately recycled into new products.
Two major issues for Chile’s textile sector are that Chile imports many thousands of tons of used textiles each year, 70% of which end up in landfills and illegal dumps, and Chile’s own high consumption rate of new clothing. This proposed regulation addresses both. The strategy outlines several key actions, including designing products for durability and recyclability, improving waste management systems (including an Extended Producer Responsibility requirement), and establishing a national recycling infrastructure. It also promotes consumer awareness and business involvement in sustainable practices. This policy sets a clear framework for textile producers, retailers, and consumers to minimize waste and environmental harm. The Chilean strategy could serve as a model for other nations seeking to align the fashion industry with principles of circularity and sustainability.
Don’t Be Fashionably Late! Act Now.
While these pieces of legislation highlight ways that governments have regulated the fashion industry to benefit the planet, there is still much progress to be made. As consumers, everyone has power and a voice when it comes to changing the wasteful ways of fashion. The first step to enacting change is to educate yourself and in turn help teach others. To learn more about the environmental footprint of the fashion industry and other recent laws pushing for change globally, read and share EARTHDAY.ORG’s report.
The fashion industry is still in dire need of reform. EARTHDAY.ORG’s petition for change is calling on the U.S. Administration to instruct the EPA, Federal Trade Commission, and U.S. Department of Labor to create regulations to protect the environment and people’s health. Sign now to join the movement against fast fashion and help advocate for transparency as well as sustainability in fashion industries.
People living in the U.S. can also send an email to local lawmakers. As the U.S. falls behind other countries in progressive fashion legislation, you can urge your legislators to stand against fast fashion and end the greedy consumption of the earth’s finite resources and the exploitation of its workers.
