Despite its huge environmental and social impact, there remains a distinct lack of laws and regulations in the fashion industry. We take a look at why we need governments to step up and take action.
The sustainable fashion movement is growing. An increasing number of consumers are concerned about fashion industry problems and the social and environmental impact of the products they buy.
Companies are responding to this by increasing their range of eco-friendly clothing and working to ensure that ethical manufacturing practices are in place across their supply chains.
Ethical brands can use sustainability certifications such as GOTS certified cotton and Fairtrade to qualify their sustainable commitments.
But is this reliance on consumer pressure and voluntary measures taken by brands enough? Or do we need tougher new laws and regulations in place to hold the fashion and apparel industry accountable?
We take a look at why government regulations on the clothing industry have an important role to play. And we’ll explore some of the new legislation being proposed to move the entire industry into a sustainable future.
What Are the Problems in the Fashion Industry?
Although the sustainable fashion movement is gaining traction, the environmental and social impact of fast fashion remains a huge issue.
The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10 % of worldwide carbon emissions. That’s more than the combined total from international flights and shipping.
It’s the second-largest consumer of the world’s water supply and is responsible for vast amounts of microfibre pollution in our oceans.
It’s also estimated that in the UK alone,140 million pounds worth of clothing is sent to landfill each year.
And the problems aren’t confined to fashion’s disastrous environmental footprint. Workers around the globe continue to suffer from unlivable wages, child labour, modern slavery and unsafe working conditions.
For more information on the effect fast fashion has on people and the planet, have a read of our article Why Is Sustainable and Ethical Fashion Important and our articles on the clothing waste crisis and microplastics.
What fashion industry regulations are there?
Are there laws on how fashion companies operate? Despite the grim statistics, the international clothing sector remains largely unregulated with regard to environmental and social justice issues.
Thankfully, there are signs this is changing as environmental organisations and consumers demand that fashion, especially fast fashion, be held accountable.
Generation Z is a powerful young consumer group that makes up 32% of the world population. Combined with millennials they have been calling for greater transparency, environmental responsibility and social accountability from brands and governments. For more about this future generation see Does Gen Z care about sustainability?
Enough is enough, we need tougher laws and regulations in the fashion industry to ensure a sustainable future.
Why Should Governments Act?
The Urgency Of Climate Change

In 2015, as part of the historic Paris Climate Agreement, almost all of the world’s countries pledged to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century.
However, in the latest report published by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), scientists warn that we are in danger of breaching the 1.5 degree limit as soon as the 2030s. The report calls upon governments and businesses to take more stringent action as a matter of urgency.
Considering its seismic climate footprint, the environmental standards of the fashion industry must be looked at.
What Happened At COP26, cop27 and COP28?
Wind power for Bangladesh
At COP28, H&M and Bestseller along with the Global Fashion Agenda announced plans to develop an offshore wind project for Bangladesh, its first ever. The aim is to increase renewable energy availability in a critical manufacturing country for the fashion industry.
Fashion Industry Target Consultation
With the aim of creating a net positive fashion industry, Global Fashion Agenda and UN Environment Programme launched the Fashion Industry Target Consultation at COP27.
This was a consultation with players across all levels of the fashion value chain (including brands, manufacturers, NGOs and other fashion organisations) held from November 2022 to February 2023. Its aim was to identify and merge existing targets and highlight areas where new targets are required to meet this goal.
This was a consultation with players across all levels of the fashion value chain (including brands, manufacturers, NGOs and other fashion organisations) held from November 2022 to February 2023. Its aim was to identify and merge existing targets and highlight areas where new targets are required to meet this goal.
Targets were in line with the five principles of the Fashion CEO Agenda:
- Respectful and secure work environments
- Better wage systems
- Resource stewardship
- Smart material choices
- Circular systems
The findings informed the GFA monitor which is a guide for fashion companies on how to reach a net positive fashion industry according to the five sustainability priorities. It was released at the beginning of COP28.
Canopy Commitment: Next generation solutions
At COP27, nonprofit Canopy which campaigns for the protection of the world’s forests and species achieved the signatures of 33 brands to use “next generation solutions” instead of wood pulp for clothing and packaging.
Brands including H&M, Kering, Inditex and Stella McCartney agreed to use lower carbon materials such as agricultural residue and textile waste. Together they signed a commitment to buy 550,000 tonnes of these alternative fibres.
This was particularly important to COP as scientists have warned that at least 50% of the world’s forests must be restored or conserved by 2030 to be in with a chance of hitting the 1.5°C temperature rise target.
However, while some brands are making good progress when it comes to increasing environmental sustainability, for others it is still a troublesome topic. A Quartz report from 2022 stated that H&M had grossly misrepresented information regarding product sustainability. In these instances, products were found to be far more environmentally harmful than the brand had claimed them to be.
But finally, at COP28, the commitment to “halt and reverse deforestation by 2030” was written into the final deal.
Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action
An update to the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action was announced at the COP26.
Launched in 2018, and convened by the UN, the charter brings together policymakers, brands and suppliers and provides a framework for dialogue and engagement on climate action.
The renewed commitments formed a decarbonization plan aligned with the Paris Agreement ambitions to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees.
The charter also includes a commitment to try and achieve net zero emissions over the next twenty-seven years.
It currently has around 130 signatories including brands such as H&M, Primark, Levi’s, Gap and Adidas. Signatories commit to implementing the principles of the charter and to working collaboratively with their peers and relevant stakeholders to further the climate action agenda in fashion. There are also 43 supporting organisations such as Global Fashion Agenda (GFA).
Progress
In February of 2023, the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Change event took place in Germany.
At this event the progress of the industry in creating a lighter sustainable impact was assessed. It was recognised that progress had been made in some areas, particularly in areas of reporting and industry collaboration, but it wasn’t all good news.
Overall, it was stated that positive change wasn’t happening quickly enough or on a wide enough scale to be making a significant impact.
It became clear at the meeting that the climate change agenda needed to be expanded and accelerated.
However, it is encouraging to see wider and more open advocacy for the issues of climate change.
The Use of Sustainable Materials
There was also a request at COP26 for government-backed incentives to use sustainable materials, submitted by global non-profit Textile Exchange.
These “environmentally preferred materials” are defined by the Textile Exchange as those from certified, verified sources that can be traced from raw material to finished product.
The request is based on the idea that we need both laws to prevent damaging behaviour by the fashion industry, and incentives for using sustainable materials, in order to help alleviate the financial burden of sourcing more responsibly. The call was supported by 50 of the world’s largest fashion and textile companies.
Voluntary measures, are voluntary

Protecting Workers – The Bangladesh Accord
The fashion industry remains largely unregulated with respect to the monitoring of working conditions in supply chains.
There are voluntary initiatives such as the Bangladesh Accord, created in 2013 after the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza, a garment factory building in Bangladesh, that killed 1,132 people.
The original accord established an independent, legally enforceable pact between brands and trade unions in Bangladesh to work toward a safe and healthy garment and textile industry.
The Bangladesh Accord was renewed and renamed the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry in September 2021. The renewed accord continues to safeguard garment workers in Bangladesh, but it will also be expanded to other countries.
In December 2022 the steering committee agreed to start a new program in Pakistan, and they are investigating the feasibility of new programs in India, Morocco and Sri Lanka.
All garment and textile companies are being encouraged to sign the agreement, especially by organisations such as Remake, but there is no legal requirement to do so. As of 5 February 2024, 153 brands had signed the International Accord, 103 had signed the Pakistan Accord and 129 the Bangladesh programme. Notable exceptions include Ikea JD Sports. Gap was a late signer after much pressure from the likes of ReMake.
Voluntary initiatives like the Bangladesh Accord, whilst a step in the right direction, on their own aren’t enough. Child labour, modern slavery and unsafe working environments persist in countries around the globe.
It’s clear that governments, as well as businesses, must take responsibility for ensuring that these practices end. Tougher laws and regulations in the fashion industry are desperately needed.
To learn more about where our clothes are actually made see Where do clothing brands manufacture?
Why Voluntary Measures and Relying on Consumers Isn’t Enough
Given the urgency of climate change and the continued violation of workers’ rights, it’s clear that voluntary measures simply aren’t enough. Government solutions to fast fashion are needed.
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) 2019 report “Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability” was extremely clear in stating that a ‘voluntary approach has failed.’ (More on this report below).
It’s also not enough to rely on consumer pressure to shift the industry into a more sustainable future. The fast fashion model is deeply grained and consumption of clothing has increased by 400% in the last two decades.
Consumers are encouraged to endlessly buy more clothes as brands tempt them with ultra-cheap garments and “must have” new season items. At the same time clothing is being discarded at a shocking pace.
Reversing this trend needs more than goodwill. Consumers and brands can only do so much to impact such a vast, global industry. What we really need is governments around the world to step up and put in place fashion regulations, much like they regulate oil or agriculture.

A Way Forwards? The Fixing Fashion Report 2019
In 2018 the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) in the UK conducted a comprehensive and ground-breaking inquiry into the sustainability of the fashion industry.
The report Fixing Fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability was published in February 2019. It made 18 recommendations to the UK government. These included:
Modern Slavery and Child Labour
- The government should make a list of all retailers who are required to release a modern slavery statement publicly available. This should be backed up by a penalty for businesses that fail to report and comply with the Modern Slavery Act.
- The government should extend the Modern Slavery Act so that large companies are required to do due diligence checks across their supply chains to guarantee that their materials and goods are produced without the use of forced or child labour.
Raw Materials
- The government should collaborate with businesses to ensure that raw material in clothes is traced back to source in order to combat social and environmental abuses in supply chains.
Microfibre Pollution
- The government should have fashion laws to encourage fashion companies, water companies, and washing machine manufacturers to work together in order to address microfibre pollution.
- New targets including minimising microplastic shedding should be included in the post 2020 Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP).
Sustainable Design
- The government should reform taxation to reward fashion firms that create items with minimal environmental impact while penalising those who don’t.
- Government and industry should speed up research into the relative environmental performance of various materials, particularly in terms of reducing microfibre pollution.
Tax On Plastics
- To encourage the market for recycled fibres, the government should look into whether the plastic packaging tax, was to take effect in 2022, could be applied to textile items that contain less than 50% recycled PET.
Dealing With Waste
- As France has now done, the government should prohibit incinerating or landfilling unsold stock that can be reused or recycled.
- The government must put an end to the disposable fashion era. It should compel fashion retailers to accept responsibility for the waste they generate and reward businesses who take steps to reduce waste.
- The government should take Sweden’s lead and lower the VAT on repair services.
Education
- Clothing design, creation, mending, and repair lessons should be taught in Key Stage 2 and 3 in schools.
The report also pointed out that a charge of one penny per garment on producers could raise £35 million to invest in better clothing collection and sorting in the UK.
Unfortunately, the government rejected all of the key recommendations for fashion legislation. It pointed instead to voluntary measures such as the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP).
As a result of the report, follow up consultations were undertaken in November 2020 with 50 organisations including fashion brands, university professors and sustainable fashion organisations. With the five year anniversary coming up, The Environmental Audit Committee is currently revisiting its report to monitor progress but no further publications have yet been made.

Current Laws and Regulations in the Fashion Industry
As depressing as the UK government’s rejection of the EAC recommendations is, there are other initiatives taking place to get the fashion industry into shape. Let’s have a look at some of the major reforms and legislation currently in place or being proposed, in countries around the globe:
1. The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, New York
The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, if passed, would require all fashion companies in New York with more than $100 million in revenue, to map at least half of their supply chains.
They would also have to disclose environmental and social impacts in public reports. Fines would be imposed if this were not done giving financial incentives to adopting more ethical and sustainable practices.
This Act is of particular significance because it is legally binding. Where many agreements are voluntary with brands choosing to become a part of them, this Act would be mandatory and legally enforceable.
It’s great news for the future of sustainable fashion, especially as most major fashion brands operate in New York. The law is essentially an accounting mechanism, designed to force companies to get a handle on their supply chains.
A group of 20 human rights and labour organisations including Fashion Revolution, Remake and Human Rights Watch are arguing for the bill to go even further. They want to see amendments that will tighten disclosure rules, require greater action and establish liability for human rights and environmental abuses on the part of brands and retailers.
As of February 2024, this Act is pending in the New York State Senate Consumer Protection Committee.
It’s these types of laws and regulations in the fashion industry that will really start to hold manufacturers and brands responsible for their actions.
2. The Garment Worker Protection Act, California
In terms of fashion sustainability laws, The Garment Worker Protection Act was signed into law in September 2021. It had support from fashion brands like Reformation, Saitex, Eileen Fisher, and Mara Hoffman, among others.
Also known as Senate Bill 62, the Garment Worker Protection Act is a Californian anti-wage theft and brand accountability bill. It makes the state the first in the country to require hourly wages for garment workers.
It also prohibits piece rate work, a pervasive system in which workers are paid per garment (often resulting in less than $3 per hour).
3. The Fabric Act
Following on from the Garment Worker Protection Act, The FABRIC (Fashioning Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change) Act was put to the senate in May 2022.
While it is still to be passed, if and when it can be enforced, The FABRIC Act is designed to protect the rights and safety of garment workers. Centred in the United States, the Act would protect the rights of close to an estimated 100,000 workers in the US garment sector.
The FABRIC Act is built on the foundations of enforcing minimum wage standards and holding fashion brands accountable for labour rights and workplace violations.
This is alongside plans outlined in the Act to increase transparency in the industry. Incentivising brands to manufacture locally (“reshoring”) with a 30% tax credit, rather than outsourcing to foreign countries is also a key pillar outlined in the Act.
Show your support on social media with hastag #passFABRICact
4. UK Green Claims Code
An international analysis of websites by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published in January 2021 found that 40% of green claims made online could be misleading.
Part of the issues surrounding misleading claims is that unethical brands hide behind vague terminology. This includes industry buzz words such as ‘green’ or ‘eco’ that echo a sustainable mindset without actually backing it up with concrete policies.
To address this, they developed the Green Claims Code which is the closest the UK has to fast fashion legislation. Its goal is to assist businesses in understanding and complying with existing consumer protection law when it comes to making environmental claims.
It’s great news for conscious consumers in the UK and will help combat greenwashing by requiring firms to back up any claims that a product is “sustainable.”
As a result of the Code, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched investigations into the green claims of fashion brands Boohoo, ASOS and George in July 2022. It asserts that many of their claims are false or misleading. It is considering launching investigations into other brands.
To avoid falling astray of the Green Code, there is a checklist of regulations that brands can follow when making statements.
- The full lifecycle of a product must be considered when a claim is made.
- Claims must be accurate, clear, truthful and avoid ambiguous statements
- Important and relevant information must not be hidden or omitted when claims are being made
- If comparisons are made, they must be fair and meaningful
- Claims made should be substantiated and backed up by evidence
The code also provides tips for shoppers. See our article for more on how to avoid greenwashing.
Carbon offsetting restrictions regarding green claims
In addition to the Green Claims Code, in February 2023, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority cracked down on the use of carbon offsetting for claims about being carbon neutral.
So, if companies want to say that they or their products are “carbon neutral”, “net zero” or “nature positive”, they actually need to do something about it in their own supply chain – like using renewable energy, eco-friendly and circular materials, sustainable transport etc.
This is rather than investing in tree planting or other initiatives thousands of miles away while continuing to pollute the planet, and misguiding consumers that they are reducing their emissions.

5. EU Sustainable Corporate Governance Initiative
The goal of this initiative is to improve the EU regulatory framework on company law and corporate governance.
As part of this, brands operating in the European Union will be expected to report on long-term outcomes that include the environment, human rights, and social impact along their supply chains, rather than just reporting on short-term financial outcomes.
Importantly, the new model also includes liability for non-compliance.
6. “Carbon Label” Law, France
The French Parliament passed a climate bill in 2021 that requires mandatory “carbon labelling” on goods and services, including clothing and textiles. This went live on 1 January 2023 and applies to any brands, importers or producers with a turnover of over €50m that sell over 25,000 units in France.
As well as no unsubstantiated green claims and concrete information such as percentage of recycled content, full transparency of the supply chain is expected. Every step of production from raw material to finished product should be accounted for including country.
The information needs to be available to the consumer at the point of purchase digitally, either in a label format or on the brand’s website. In two years the requirements will reduce to a turnover of €25m and sales of 10,000 units.
There is some debate as to whether brands are ready for these strict requirements. But it’s great news for conscious consumers as we’ll be able to more easily see the impact of our purchases.
The French government also passed an “anti-waste” law in 2020, which prohibits the destruction of excess inventory and samples, among other things.
7. “Green Button” Label Law, Germany
The “Green Button” is a government-run certification label for sustainable textiles. It demands that mandatory standards are met to protect people and the environment.
A total of 46 stringent social and environmental criteria must be met, covering a wide spectrum from wastewater to forced labour.
The entire company is audited and the Green Button is only awarded if both the product and the company comply with all requirements.
Green Button 2.0 has now been rolled out which tightens its requirements further. These include extending due diligence to the entire supply chain and extending product requirements down to the raw material. At a corporate level, companies will be encouraged to push for a living wage.
8. Australia’s Modern Slavery Law
The Commonwealth Modern Slavery Act 2018 came into effect on 1 January 2019. The Act established a national Modern Slavery Reporting Requirement that applies to large businesses and other entities with a yearly consolidated turnover of at least AUD $100 million.
Businesses are required to publish an annual Modern Slavery Statement, reporting on all potential modern slavery risks and practices in their operations and supply chains. The Australian Government publishes these statements through an online central register.

9. proposed eu legislation
Extensive legislation was proposed in March 2022 by the EU including:
- An EU wide Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme which will force fashion brands to pay a “waste fee” based on how circular their items are.
- The banning of unsold items being destroyed and a limit on textile waste sent overseas. For more on the textile waste crisis, see our article Stats on a crisis: UK clothing waste facts and 7 ways to reduce it.
- A crackdown on greenwashing.
- A focus on fibre to fibre recycling rather than the recycling of plastic bottles into clothes which comes with its own problems.
10. The European Green Deal – EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
Passed just this year (2023), the CSRD requires major fashion corporations, as well as corporations across other industries, to report on ESG metrics built around externally audited standards.
Much like the Green Claims Code, the new EU Directive is largely aimed at tackling greenwashing in the industries. This is alongside forcing brands to commit to acting in a way that promotes an increased emphasis on corporate social responsibility.
Overall, the CSRD is helping to demistify the way brands talk to consumers about sustainability. It is working to create a more standardised system regarding the language brands can use to describe their products and operations.
The Future Of Fashion
Pressing environmental issues dictate that urgent measures need to be taken to start curtailing the fashion industry’s destructive path.
Laws and regulations in the fashion industry are vital for creating change because they place a level of responsibility on governments and businesses, instead of relying on purely voluntary measures and on how consumers spend their money.
The EAC report to the UK government made a crucial point that ‘the fashion industry has marked its own homework for too long’.
Governments need to strengthen regulation and “fast fashion laws” and incentivise and encourage more responsible practices from brands.
The new reforms and regulations being proposed such as The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act in New York mean that the fashion industry may finally face accountability.
As ethical consumers, we have an important role to play:
- We can take individual action in our own lives through curbing our consumption levels and supporting ethical brands that have been voluntarily leading the way.
- And we can help by calling on governments to commit to introducing tougher laws and regulations.
Both are necessary if we want sustainable fashion to become the future.
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