The first-ever Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus was established by a group of Democrat politicians to combat the ever-increasing fast fashion illness. Last month, the caucus ‘ founding members and other rulers, employees, and influencers gathered on Capitol Hill to make the big news.
Surrounded by adherents holding signs that read,” Reduce, Repair, Rewear, Recycle”, conference leader Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat from Maine, addressed how fast fashion has aggravated economic issues.
” Last month, I became conscious of a pile of discarded clothes in the Chilean desert that was so large that it can be seen from room,” Pingree said. ” And the truth is that we are really concerned about the weather crisis.”
Pingree works for the Environmental Protection Agency because she is a performance member of the House Appropriations Interior and Environment Subcommittee. She hopes that the conference ‘ strong advocacy for the EPA will result in successful policy.
” Often, people do n’t understand the role that fashion is playing today in our climate crisis”, Pingree said.
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Large retail businesses such as Patagonia were also in attendance at the press event, alongside ThreadUP, the largest online thrift shop, and representatives from the Garment Worker Center, a worker’s rights firm, to handle their concerns about mass-produced clothes.
Chief legal officer of ThreadUp, Alan Rotem, said the launch of the Slow Fashion Caucus is a good starting point to establish” climate-smart” policies in the fashion sector.
The Slow Fashion Caucus ‘ launch gives us a strong platform to forge ahead, Rotem said. We can advance the fashion policy agenda and alter the incentives that benefit our shared planet and resources.
When they took their turn at the podium, speakers shared how their outfits were both environmentally conscious, whether that meant thrifting their dresses or using sustainable materials for their purses.
” I’m an LA girl and so I love looking stylish, but mostly when it is sustainable”, said caucus member Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif.” In fact, my whole outfit today is sustainable”.
” I also like to thrift. This is a secondhand sweater and it looks great, right everybody”? Pingree said. ” In fact, my bag is made of recycled leather”.
Members of Congress demonstrated that it is possible to still be” trendy” without contributing to the climate crisis as an incentive to shop for quality rather than cheaply by giving a sustainable twist to their interpretation of the outfit of the day.
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” When I have to replace my work boots every year instead of the five years that used to work”, caucus member Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., said. ” America trades, people lose”.
Fast fashion, in contrast to well-made clothing and garment worker wages, is a trend that, behind the glamor of the fashion industry, affords the convenience of quickly made and affordable clothing. Fast-fashion companies offer minimum wages and harsh work conditions, according to a member leader at the Garment Worker Center, in order to meet quick turnaround times at extremely low piece-rates.
The garment worker said,” What slow fashion would mean to me is a production model that allows me and my fellow workers to be treated with respect at work.” Where the production process values my labor and skill.
The new caucus echoes messages from The FABRIC Act, which favors domestic clothing production, improvements to the working conditions in the fashion industry, and changes to the piece-rate pay scale. However, the proposal of the FABRIC Act has n’t moved past committee since introduced in 2022.
Kamlager-Dove was a co-sponsor of the bill, and believes the new-birthed caucus is a more centralized outlet focusing on issues within the fashion industry, with better chances to gain federal-level attention.
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” The push for sustainable fashion has yet to gain federal momentum”, Kamlager-Dove said. Which is why we’re launching the Slow Fashion Caucus is so exciting?
Collectively, the new caucus aims to execute environmental and fair labor practices to develop policies, especially before leaving irreversible damage.
” Reshoring textile production and processing is a win-win and win for our economy, our workers and the environment”, Pingree said.
Public policy is the best way to address issues facing the apparel industry, it believes as the new caucus continues to raise public awareness.