Pingree and other lawmakers call attention to environmental impact of fast fashion

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, wearing a secondhand pastel green sweater and floral scarf, stood outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday to introduce the Slow Fashion Caucus, a congressional effort to draw attention to how mass-produced clothing contributes to climate change.

“People often don’t understand the role that fashion plays in our climate crisis today. We’ve developed this double-edged habit in our country: following every fashion trend and buying cheap, low-quality clothing,” the Maine Democrat said in a speech flanked by other members of Congress and supporters. And those habits have become another factor in our climate crisis. In fact, the fashion industry is responsible for more carbon emissions than all international flights and shipping combined.

Slow fashion is a term that refers to the adoption of locally made clothing, made from sustainable fibers and that lasts longer. It is a response to fast fashion, which describes the production of clothing designed only to last as long as a given trend will.

Pingree, D-1st District, said she hopes Congress will prioritize policies that would make clothing production and consumption more sustainable, such as investing in U.S. textile manufacturing jobs and holding companies accountable for the environmental impact of their products after they are sold.

We also need to support textile reuse and recycling infrastructure to better collect and manage discarded textiles, she said. This could include policies currently being adopted in European countries, such as extended producer responsibility, to ensure that brands are responsible for the entire life cycle of their product.

In an interview with the Press Herald after his Thursday speech, Pingree said Congress could limit sales of unsustainable clothing by passing the Import Security and Fairness Act (H.R. 4148), which would close a trade loophole (called de minimus fault). ) which allows foreign companies to ship products under $800 to the United States without customs duties.

Not too long ago, someone passed a law in Congress that said if you ship directly to a consumer and the price is less than $800, you have no trade restrictions, you pay no customs duty, she said. And now there are these Chinese companies, one is called Shein, one is called Temu, and probably others, who are now shipping a huge amount of clothing to our country. It is not done with the same work standards as us, nor the same environmental standards. These are largely fabrics made from fossil fuels, so they are not suitable for reuse.

Pingree said Maine is uniquely positioned to embrace slow fashion.

Maine is one of those states where I think we set a good example because we're very frugal, she said. We like to buy our clothes and reuse them. We like sturdy clothes that will last us a long time.

In Portland, clothing store Toad&Co. has tried to encourage slow fashion by producing clothing made from at least 80 percent sustainable fibers and repairing and reselling old clothing, according to operations manager Sam Cuccaro.

Well, Toad&Co. buys back customers' clothes if they meet the condition criteria, Cuccaro said Thursday. People all over the country can send in their Toad&Co., we inspect it, they get a credit to spend in the form of a gift card, and then resell their Toad&Co. stuff, in stores and online.

Cuccaro emphasized that it is above all the production of sustainable clothing that allows Toad&Co. to recycle its products.

We wouldn't have a resale program if we didn't have very high quality clothing, she said. So the way we keep these things circulating is to start with really good fiber. We've been using organic cotton since 1996, before it was cool or really available. And over the last decade, hemp has really improved as a fiber for clothing.

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Washington Democrat, also spoke at the caucus kickoff about how consumers also have a responsibility to buy less clothing and extend the life of the clothing they own Already.

Ignore trends; buy your own stuff, follow your own sense of style, Perez said. Learn how to dye, alter and care for your clothes. Go to garage sales and organize them yourself. Learn to see and respect quality craftsmanship and, if you can, buy American.

Cuccaro said Toad&Co. doesn't follow trends because the company's clothing takes a long time to get to market after it's designed, just as it takes a long time to produce.

Our designers would tell you that they can’t keep up with trends because we work so slowly in our factories, she said. It’s a very slow process because it’s made with good fibers and proper production, and it takes a long time to do it that way. So we can’t really be reactive and say, “Oh, this is the current trend.” By the time we rush to do it, the trend could be over.

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