US Representatives Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), alongside Reps. Chellie Pingree (Maine) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (California), inaugurated the first-ever Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus in Washington DC on 27 June.
This is the first ever US government caucus dedicated to fashion. The initiative aims to curb waste and pollution from the fast fashion industry.
Founding members include Reps. Grace Meng (NY-06), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), and others. The caucus has already garnered significant support. IWTO’s member in the US, American Wool Council, supports the caucus through Representative Chellie Pingree.
“Instead of putting our kids in pyjamas with chemical flame retardants, we should be looking to naturally resistant alternatives like wool.”
Speaking at the launch, Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez highlighted the problems with a market saturated with fast fashion. “These items can contain toxic chemicals and PFAS, and they’re predominantly made from synthetic fabrics that shed microplastics, unlike natural fibres,” Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez said.
The Fast Fashion Crisis
Fast fashion thrives on cheap manufacturing, rapid consumption, and the brief lifespan of garments. Over the past 20 years, textile waste has surged dramatically. A staggering 85% of clothing in the United States is either incinerated or relegated to landfills. Added to this are the microfibres shed from synthetic textiles. These synthetic microfibres contribute significantly to microplastic pollution.
Every laundry load releases these fibres into the environment, exacerbating the pollution problem.
Moreover, the shift of hundreds of thousands of fibre and textile jobs out of the US has devastated American farmers and rural communities. The Slow Fashion Caucus aims to reverse this trend by promoting sustainable practices and bringing textile production back.
Voices of Change
Rep. Pingree, Chair of the Slow Fashion Caucus, highlighted the environmental cost of fast fashion. “Textile waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the United States and is responsible for more carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. The launch of our Slow Fashion Caucus marks a new era in the fight against climate change.”
Rep. Kamlager-Dove emphasized the innovative spirit of California in setting sustainable fashion trends and expressed her excitement about bringing these efforts to Congress.
Rep. Gluesenkamp Perez’s remarks underscored the importance of valuing quality over convenience. She urges support for local craftsmanship and accountability from industry players:
“We need to start thinking about the life-cycle cost of wearing something – the cost to wear it.
When vegan leather and fabrics that shed microplastics are marketed as the earth-friendly choice – something to feel good about – local agriculture suffers, and we end up with microplastics in breast milk.
When regulators are sold on the necessity of flame retardants in children’s pyjamas instead of natural alternatives like wool – or the utility of stain-proofing workers’ uniforms, people are exposed to toxic chemicals that have lifetime impacts.
When we see youth cancer rates spike, we all have to ask, ‘Are the trade-offs of convenience really worth it?”
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