New York State, the fashion capital of the United States, aims to become the first state to enact major legislative changes that will propel the fashion industry toward a more sustainable and socially responsible future. On Friday, Senator Alessandra Biaggi and Assemblywoman Anna Keres, the primary sponsors, introduced the "Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act" to address the environmental and social shortcomings of the fashion industry. Accountability Act," S7428/A8352, was publicly introduced. According to Keres, the "common sense protections" included in the bill would require global fashion companies with $100 million or more in sales doing business in New York to ensure that they are meeting the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement by disclosing their supply chain, materials use, worker wages, and carbon footprint Failure to do so within 12 months will result in a fee to fund the New York State Environmental Justice Initiative.

This type of regulation is not only critical for a $2.5 trillion industry responsible for as much as 8.6% of global carbon emissions, it is necessary to pave the way for a better industrial future. But this type of legislation will not just happen in front of Senators. Maxine Beda, director of the New Standards Institute, whose experience raising awareness of the negative effects of fashion has led her to believe that the fashion industry cannot save itself and that citizens need to step up to the plate rather than wait for change to happen: "Wait. Wait, (citizens) have to do this." Her background in jurisprudence came in handy when she began drafting the bill nearly a year ago. The first step was to identify the industry's biggest problems and biggest impacts and determine what rules were needed to address them. Says Beda, "It's one thing to critique the industry and quite another to determine the rules for how the system should actually work."

Early support from Senator Biaggi and Congressman Keres was critical, as was the support of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), Environmental Advocates New York, New York Communities for Change, South Asian Fund for Education Scholarship and Training (SAFEST), Ferrara Manufacturing, EarthDay.org, Oceanic, Uprose, and the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance. Alliance, and others, helped to build a network of members who provided input on organizations that should be added to the Coalition. Coincidentally or not, many of the coalition's key members are women. Says Bedat. "Because we are not part of the established patriarchy, we have a clearer vision of what the future should look like."

The next step is to gain more industry support. Stella McCartney, a longtime advocate of sustainability, was an early supporter of the bill. The fashion industry has been an early supporter of environmental and social justice marketing. Says Bedat, "We're hoping that because the fashion industry has talked so much about this and professed that they care, that by setting these common rules, they will embrace them." In that spirit, she hopes the bill will serve as a blueprint for other industries to establish similar regulations. She says, "[Fashion] has the same problems as any other industry with a long supply chain.

A vote on the Fashion Act will probably come this spring. Says Bedat, "I hope this resonates with others." 'We all need to be on board to get legislation like this passed.'

Check out the bill's progress and get resources to participate at the New Standards Institute.