California has approved a bill to help address the dark side effects of the externally glitzy fast-fashion sector, putting the onus on manufacturers to implement repair and recycling programs.
According to CalMatters' Digital Democracy project, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 on Sept. 28, more than a year after the bill began making its way through the state legislature.
The act seeks to address the growing problem of waste from the fashion industry. CalMatters notes in its analysis that the Golden State tossed more than 1.3 million tons of textiles in 2018.
As it stands, the state ships 45% of the items that are donated overseas, which contributes to environmental pollution, and once there, much of it still ends up in landfills, where it produces potent heat-trapping gases such as methane.
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In Ghana, for example, which has seen its beaches polluted by fast-fashion waste, 40% of the 15 million garments received each week are discarded. All in all, despite the fact that 95% of California's materials are recyclable, only 15% of clothing and textiles are reused.
Democratic state senator Josh Newman, the bill's sponsor, told the Guardian that these concerning figures inspired him to take action.
"We worked really hard to consult with and eventually to align all of the stakeholders in the life cycle of textiles so that at the end there was no opposition," he explained. "That's an immensely hard thing to do when you consider the magnitude of the problem and all of the very different interests."
According to the Guardian, the program is expected to go into effect in 2028, with its numerous backers anticipating it could create as many as 1,000 jobs in the Golden State.
Details are still being hammered out. However, garment manufacturers who aren't already participating in eco-friendly programs will have incentives to adopt greener practices, with recycling collection sites and mail-back programs among the possibilities.
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And while some have worried that small businesses and mid-sized brands could be disproportionately impacted by the legislation and end up passing on the prices to consumers, Newman estimates that the cost should be less than 10 cents per garment or textile.
"I think [California's new law] is something that should have been done a long time ago," sustainable fashion designer Yotam Solomon, creator of indie fashion brand Virtue, told the Guardian. "It's unfortunately this industry that allowed this to happen."
California Product Stewardship Council director of advocacy and outreach Dr. Joanne Brasch, the legislation's co-sponsor, also highlighted that a 10-cent rise would be nothing compared to the taxes that would likely ensue if things continued on the same trajectory. According to CalRecycle, Californians pay more than $70 million for textile waste disposal annually.
"Our garbage bills will go up if the cities have to figure it out; our taxes are going to go up if we have to remediate environmental damage," Dr. Brasch told the Guardian.
Jessica Toth, executive director at the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation — which teaches people skills like sewing to keep items out of landfills — told Spectrum News 1 before the Textile Recovery Act's approval that the bill was an important step forward.
"The idea is that producers will take responsibility. So it will set up drop-off places where material can actually be recycled," Toth said. "Legislation causes change. It brings attention to the issue, it brings investment to the issue."
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