Today, U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), alongside Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), unveiled findings from the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) first-ever federal report on textile waste in the United States. The report examines the growing environmental impacts of textile waste, including its links to fast fashion, and outlines steps the federal government can take to reduce waste and promote recycling.
Key findings from the GAO highlight the surge in textile waste over recent decades, fueled by fast fashion’s rapid production cycles and disposable culture. Nearly 17 million tons of textile waste were generated in 2018 alone, with only 15% recycled or reused. The remaining textiles are incinerated or sent to landfills, exacerbating greenhouse gas emissions, microplastic pollution, and contamination from chemicals like PFAS.
The report recommends Congress designate a federal entity to coordinate efforts to reduce textile waste and advance recycling. Additionally, the GAO proposed seven actionable steps for six federal agencies, emphasizing interagency collaboration to tackle this growing crisis.
“Textile waste—driven by fast fashion—is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the United States,” said Rep. Pingree, Founder and Chair of the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus. “The GAO report confirms the environmental toll of fast fashion and underscores the urgent need for bold congressional action to transition from a throwaway economy to a circular one. I am committed to introducing legislation to build on these recommendations.”
Rep. DeLauro called the report “a wake-up call” for federal leadership. “Fast fashion’s unsustainable cycle of overproduction and waste is hurting our environment and communities,” she said.
Sen. Carper echoed their sentiments, emphasizing the need for immediate action. “Every second, a dump truck of textiles ends up in a landfill,” he said. “The fashion industry produces nearly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions—more than aviation and maritime shipping combined. This report provides a roadmap for addressing these challenges.”
Fibershed enthusiastically applauds Congress and the GAO for bringing much-needed attention to the environmental and economic impacts of fast fashion. Rebecca Burgess adds, “What’s great about the GOA report is the shared analysis we now have – we agree on the issues of pollution, and its fantastic that this is on the radar of the feds. As advocates for regional fiber systems, we strongly support federal actions that advance biocircularity, including efforts to promote repair and the revitalization of domestic textile industries.”
Over the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of fiber and textile jobs that once sustained communities across America have shifted overseas, harming American farmers and communities in the process. Pingree founded the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus to create champion policies that reduce resource consumption and promote reusing, repairing, and recycling textiles.
The Slow Fashion Caucus’ principles to support a circular economy for textiles:
- Incentivize the apparel industry to promote reuse, repair, and recycling of textiles. While the apparel industry is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, they also have the power to be part of the solution, and some are starting to take action. Public policy, such as incentives for secondhand purchases or participation in rental models, can make it easier for companies and consumers to do the right thing for the environment.
- Develop “circular economy” policies to drive the apparel industry to reduce natural resource consumption. A circular economy prevents products such as textiles from becoming waste and keeps materials in circulation by designing products that can be reused, repaired, and recycled.
- Promote textile reuse and recycling infrastructure. Existing systems and infrastructure for the collection, reuse, and recycling of used textiles are not well established and do not support consistent, convenient, or widespread collection of the quantity and quality of textiles needed to retain value and support economical reuse and recycling.
- Build public awareness of fast fashion’s environmental impact. Additional education is needed on the negative impacts of fast fashion and opportunities to support a circular economy for textiles.
- Bring textile production back to the USA. As global trends have impacted the economics of producing textiles and apparel outside the US, and as consumer demand for more sustainably produced products has risen, there is a need to bring more textile and apparel production stages back to the US.
- Support the use of more sustainable fibers. Reducing the use of virgin materials and using more plant and animal-based fibers, such as cotton, flax, hemp, wool, and alpaca, may decrease environmental impacts.
- Expand initiatives across federal agencies to encourage textile sustainability. President Biden is building a whole-of-government approach to reach the goal of reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 50–52 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Existing government efforts can be further leveraged to curb fast fashion and promote sustainability.
READ MORE:
- Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report: “Textile Waste: Federal Entities Should Collaborate on Reduction and Recycling Efforts”
- Slow Fashion Caucus website