Finally, Fashion Regulations are Coming: France takes the lead
It’s been a long time coming. In the last 10 years, consumers around the world picked up momentum on sustainability in fashion. Not long into the movement, we realised that large part of the onus lies on government and corporations, rather than consumers to make needle-moving changes. Consumers can demand sustainability and fair wages, but it is on governments and fashion brands to implement them and deliver systemic changes.
France takes the lead: The French Decree
Et viola! France has done it. And it has done so ahead of the EU laws.
As per 'The French Decree', a new legal strategy, France has enforced transparency about the environmental effects of all clothing sold within the country.
Under the law:
All brands must commit to digital solutions for labelling that will ensure supply chain visibility by 2023.
It should ensure that all brands provide consumers with the following information that point of sale and after sales: information on reparability, recyclability, sustainability, re-use possibilities, recycled material content, use of renewable resources, traceability and the presence of plastic microfibres. This would mean that a dedicated web page per product must be built to inform consumers about the specifications and environmental characteristics of the product.
This is also applicable to all foreign brands selling their products in the French market. The decree states that these brands will have to translate all the product information they collate and make available to shoppers into French. In other words, every product you’re selling will need a digital product page for the French market.
The French Decree 2022-748 will eventually apply to all fashion brands that sell garments, footwear, and home textiles in the French market. It will be implemented for companies with a turnover above €50m in January 2023, and phased in for smaller companies during 2024 and 2025.
The French Agency for Ecological Transition (Ademe) is currently testing 11 proposals for how to collect and compare data—and what the resulting label might look like to consumers—using 500 real-life items of clothing.
The EU Green Deal
The EU is implementing a similar law against greenwashing to be implemented in 2026. Traceability is a requirement for EU to identify risks in terms of green claims or forced labour and will help prove compliance with relevant environmental or employment laws, in due time. Traceability is also the first step towards transparency.
The EU-wide framework of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) effectively holds charging fashion brands and manufacturers responsible for the waste they generate.
The EU is introducing the DPP of the Digital Product Passport
The DPP is a tool to create transparency and unlock circularity proposed by the European Commission (EC) that will share product information across the entire value chain, including data on raw material extraction, production, recycling, etc.
Within a DPP, a consumer can learn about the authenticity and provenance of the textiles and dyes, or perhaps see a carbon calculation and water use rating of the item they want to buy. DPPs will give customers, retailers and recyclers all the information they need to facilitate circular models of return-to-store, resale and recycling. Certainly, sorters and recyclers cannot process garments without a wealth of product information at their disposal.
DPPs bring a host of other benefits to apparel companies too – from tighter supply chain management, to brand authentication and story-telling.
Across the Atlantic
New York is the the first state in the US to hold fashion brands accountable for their environmental and social impacts through a bill called the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, or Fashion Act. The bill would affect fashion companies with operations in the state generating more than $100 million in annual revenue. That would include brands from Shein and Mango to LVMH.
The bill would force brands to disclose various information on their supply chains, from the carbon emissions produced to labor standards. They’ll be required to reduce their impact and amend poor practices, according to legislator standards.
Stakeholders included brands like Reformation and Mara Hoffman, as well as union organizers, which worked to optimize the bill for workers.
In California, the Garment Worker Protection Act was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2022.
Further Reading:
https://www.thefashionact.org/backgrounder
https://apparelinsider.com/france-moves-first-on-eco-label-regulations/
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/new-york-exposing-fashion-industry-what-it-climate-nightmare
https://www.glossy.co/fashion/how-new-legislation-will-affect-fashion-brands-in-2023/
https://www.euromonitor.com/article/changing-environmental-regulation-and-crackdown-on-greenwashing-in-the-fashion-industry