How bad (or good) is the state of regulations for the Fashion industry? and why you and everyone needs to know about it!
New fast fashion rules by France, EU quashing the anti-greenwashing legislation, and state of regulations in the fashion industry - an opinion piece
The moment I start to write about the impact of the fashion industry on our everyday lives, I am reminded of the cerulean sweater monologue by the famous Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. “...that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs, and it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry….”
Anne Hathaway in the cerulean sweater in question. © Devil Wear Prada and 20th Century Studios
No matter where you live in the world, what you wear affects millions of jobs, their structure, the systems, and an entire industry’s way of expression. All through the wielding power of something as simple as clothing.
As a textile scientist (yes we exist), I have seen the depths of every possible process that goes into making your clothes. So this is my tl;dr version of the current state of affairs – the fashion industry is extremely polluting, heavy on bad practices, and needs a serious overhaul of regulations. I am sure none of that is surprising to you, but I want to get into why action is needed today.
Because the synthetic dyes and chemicals used in fashion interact with your body everyday. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. Some fabric or the other is constantly interacting with you.
But that’s just the direct contact. Dyeing and finishing of every fabric in the world happens through water based solutions, most of which is released in rivers and oceans after effluent treatment. Sounds good as long as the waste water is treated.
Image credits: Tom from Pixabay
Here’s the catch though. Except for visible colours and primary chemicals listed decades ago, effluent plants can’t detect salts, forever chemicals, and much more. And I can say this with utmost authority because in one of my previous employment, I have worked with ETPs to bring light on this until resigning from the job because nobody took me seriously!
Finally, there’s the impact on society at large. Every person you know, knows someone who works in the textile or fashion industry. 10-12% of the global workforce works in the fashion industry! I am sure you know someone who is either more seriously affected than you through poor wages or unsafe working conditions.
So even though it might not look personal, the fashion industry, and the regulations governing it, definitely is personal.
Image credits: Pixabay
Microplastics from your clothes are drowning this planet, and floating in your brain and blood. Every single synthetic clothing releases microplastics, which are 5 times smaller than a single strand of human hair, while being washed, dried and even brushed! Early research shows them being linked to multiple serious health risks, and it’s causing quite some concern amongst people.
And while these are all serious problems, there is another problem that sounds trifle, but really isn’t. There was a time where there used to be two seasons of fashion –- Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer. Ultra-fast fashion and fast fashion brands have made 52 micro seasons now – 1 every week! They throw away all the unsold trends while making people think they need a new style every week. Sad. Where have the signature styles gone?
Image credits: Andreas Lischka from Pixabay
I am tired of seeing every other person in the same trend for a week and throwing it away after watching a TikTok influencer. I really want to see classics and a sense of style that are characteristic to the person. I want to see a sense of individual expression. Because in a world trying to make everything automatic, there’s some power in choosing to express your individuality through your clothes and style.
Clearly the impact of fashion is massive – from your very skin to the economic wellbeing of society, to the health of the water we drink and land where our food grows. Talk about one industry affecting so much!
Clearly, this much power needs responsibility. That can be brought about by one serious intervention – regulations!
In most parts of the world, accountability on fashion is very lax. Even the small label in your clothes on the left bottom corner doesn’t ‘need’ to tell you the ingredients.
Reminds me of a not-so-funny story. While my co-founder and I were traveling across India to look for artisan partners, we happened upon a manufacturer of bleached handkerchiefs. He asked me, “Are you looking for any chemical processing that is not allowed as per environmental rules? I can get it done, the regulators never visit our premises.”
Their waste water treatment plant was directly connected to the river in the town, like in every city in the world. Needless to say I never met the person again.
The terrifying part is that I’m quite sure he is not the anomaly here.
So the recent fast fashion bill passed by the French Senate actually took me by happy surprise. Proposed by Anne-Cecile Violland and supported by Estelle Youssouffa (yay! women and I am not surprised there), the bill is dubbed as a “fast fashion bill” because it aims to reduce the environmental impact of clothing by putting the accountability on the fashion creators. Much needed!
The bill proposes banning ads from brands that are bad for the environment – read ultra fast fashion brands churning out cheap quality collections every week – and fining them upon breaking this rule. Think about it, is a $5 t-shirt really possible to make using good materials? Forget materials, sometimes your coffee costs more than this.
Ultra fast fashion isn’t just bad materials but unethical labour, raised on unpaid work of thousands in the Global South.
So according to me, this is a welcome step, albeit just the beginning. Even the influencer hauls will have to put a warning under the bill, that the product they are promoting is an environmental polluter.
The key though, is the parameters under which they label a brand as an “environmental polluter”. So I am waiting for a larger scope where we can openly call out which brands are polluters as per the French. The EU is closely looking at the bill to be made into a larger law. I am cheering for this move, and I hope for the intention to translate to impact soon enough.
Image credits: Ralph from Pixabay
In other news though, the EU sent mixed signals by quashing the anti-greenwashing bill! What now? Thanks to the major governments of the world reducing work to save the planet we all call home, even the EU followed suit. The Green Deal has been paused as of last month. Amongst other things, it proposed calling out corporations that fake environmental efforts for sale – a.k.a greenwashing. I am sincerely hoping the French bill doesn’t follow a similar fate, and rather it becomes another route to call out greenwashing, at least in fashion.
What the fashion industry and consumers need is regulations and their implementation. However, I wonder sometimes if stricter rules for businesses themselves can solve this issue at the source? Why are brands allowed to pay horrible wages to their workers? Are the labour laws weak and unimplemented? This one rule can curb ultra fast fashion before any new regulation can come in. A bottom up cleanse. Maybe, such an environmental rule implementation across countries could have made the handkerchief manufacturer I met work on better practices.
I will caveat this by saying that there’s a key part that I am not discussing yet – the paperwork. Red-tape and systemic corruption, especially in the Global South where most manufacturing happens, is quite a problem. But we will cross that bridge when we get there.
It does give me some hope that many brands are stepping up and doing the right thing – not necessarily the giants, but definitely many smaller ones. I hope they pass through the French rules to get the much deserved recognition for their work.
I am looking forward to influencers and ads promoting better brands. I am looking forward to brands with huge money, at the very least, start being ethical. Something as basic as paying a living wage and not using toxic materials.
Consumers are looking for safer products, as they should, and the lack of regulations make them look for transparency through the makers themselves. I sincerely believe that the businesses that will win in the long run are the ones that work for the people and the planet.
This is the whole idea with which we built Jiwya. How can we be radically honest – in our making, our materials, our practices, and our people? Our result is out there, for people to buy. While it did require tremendous hard work going against the tide, it didn’t feel unnatural as a business model.
Makes me wonder about the mindset of unethical businesses!
So if any conscious brands are reading this – I see you, I understand your efforts, I feel your struggles and yet I stand with you, because very few have the courage to stand on the right side of history and it takes guts to do that. We all need each other and many more conscious brands taking up the right work and keep doing it. The state will notice, and in a decade we will see regulations for a better fashion industry.
Meanwhile, if you don’t want to wait for the regulations to roll around, and want to be a conscious consumer, these two blogs written by me can be of help. They are what I follow for myself, as a consumer and as a textile scientist.
Expressing your way of dressing, your personality and flamboyance of the fabric shouldn’t come at the cost of your health or the planet. Thankfully there are smaller, transparent brands leading the way until regulations catch up, if at all.
