The New York Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act

The New York Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act is unprecedented. It’s the first Act of its kind to hold major brands accountable for their environmental and social impacts. 

Voluntary corporate action is no longer enough to address the deeply ingrained issues the fashion industry faces. The law is finally being used as a vehicle to drive change forward, and hopefully other countries can follow New York with this historic piece of legislation. 

The Act requires all fashion companies in New York who generate more than $100 million (that’s Luis Vitton right the way down to Shein) to map at least 50% of their supply chains and make this information publicly available online. They will also have to share details of their impacts on green-house-gas emissions, water drainage, chemical usage and total volumes of materials they use. They will need to publish the median wages for all of their workers and put measures in place for responsible business conduct into their company policies and management systems. 

What makes this so much different, is that its legally enforceable. It’s the law. If brands don’t comply, they will be subject to a fine of 2% of their annual revenue which will go into a pot used for environmental justice projects in New York. 

It ties together so many non-mandatory regulatory systems. There are many independent committees and organisations working tirelessly to implement similar systems, but without the backing and enforcement of the law they can become meaningless. Some companies even use these voluntary codes of conduct as a means to greenwash and show that they are being responsible on paper but not in practise. This new act is a game changer in the industry and will mean that the reality will match the rhetoric with tougher measures in place. 

That being said, the act is heavily focussed on disclosure and less so on direct harm caused or contributed to by the company. Fashion Revolution USA have called for tougher measures from the bill, although they full agree that it is time to take strong action, they don’t feel that the Act quite cuts it. They have written an open letter calling for tougher penalties for harm caused, rather than simply disclosing, as well as ensuring that any fines collected for failure to comply goes to victims in the supply chain instead of environmental justice projects solely based in New York.

Legislation is the only way we will see brands change their attitude quickly, and this act makes meeting these standards a minimum requirement for doing business. Brands are about to really buckle up, and we should start to see some demonstratable progress in the next year. Brands in New York will have 12 months to map out and identify their problems, and then a further 6 to produce a science-driven action plan to implement changes. Some have already got some solid foundational principles to work on, but many brands have a lot of work to get done in the next 12 months. 

It truly is ground-breaking, let’s call on other governments to follow suit!