BILL NUMBER: S4746B Revised 6/4/2024
SPONSOR: HOYLMAN-SIGAL
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to requiring fash-
ion sellers to be accountable to environmental standards and establish-
ing the interstate fashion environment accountability act; and to amend
the state finance law, in relation to establishing a fashion remediation
fund
 
PURPOSE OF BILL:
To establish a legal framework incentivizing businesses which sell
apparel, footwear, or fashion bags (fashion sellers) in New York State
(NYS), and exceeds one $100 million in gross receipts, to adopt and
comply with internationally and scientifically verified standards of
environmental responsibility, sustainability, and greenhouse gas (GHG)
reduction. This legislation seeks to incentivize the reduction and miti-
gation of negative environmental impacts of the global fashion industry.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Sec. 1- establishes the title of this act. "Fashion environmental
accountability act"
Sec. 2 - amends the general business law by adding a new section 399-mm
to establish the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act.
This section defines terms, establishes due diligence requirements and
noncompliance, details reporting, provides regulatory authority, a proc-
ess of verification, and enforcement.
This section sets forth requirements for fashion sellers with $100
million in annual gross receipts that do business in the New York State
to map their supply chains and perform sufficient due diligence. This
includes identifying, preventing, mitigating, accounting for, and taking
remedial action to address actual and potential adverse impacts to the
environment. Covered fashion sellers must set science -based targets to
reduce their GHG emissions and work with suppliers to improve chemical
management. Provides these requirements will be enforced by the Attorney
General and violators may be fined up to 2% of annual revenues.
Sec. 3 - amends the state finance law by adding a new section 97-ccc to
establish the Fashion Remediation Fund which will distribute any funds
raised by penalties to environmental or labor remediation projects in
impacted communities.
Sec. 4 - requires the Attorney General to certify that their agency is
prepared to execute their duties under § 399-mm of the general business
law.
Sec. 5 - provides for severability.
Sec. 6 - provides a timeline for promulgating rules and regulations.
Sec. 7- sets the effective date.
*Changes in c-print:
-removes interstate compact
-makes other technical changes clarifying the timeline and authority to
promulgate rules and regs.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The international fashion industry largely operates in a regulatory
vacuum. Currently there are no legally binding environmental standards
placed on the apparel and footwear industries. As a result, "fast fash-
ion" retailers and manufacturers may ramp up production and operations
without taking environmental responsibility or sustainability into
account. Apparel and footwear are responsible for a massive part of the
climate crisis causing GHG emissions, between 4-8.6% of the world's
global GHG footprint. This share of GHG emissions is growing as the
fashion industry pivots further into fast fashion and "single-wear"
styles.
This legislation will shift the industry away from a race to the bottom
by requiring active due diligence and planning to mitigate risk. Under
the bill, apparel and footwear retailers with global revenue of at least
$100 million would be required to map their supply chains and suffi-
ciently engage in ongoing due diligence efforts to draw down their nega-
tive impacts.
Covered brands (fashion sellers) will be required to map and disclose
their supply chains from production to raw materials. Fashion sellers
often do not know where their production is taking place, which makes it
impossible for them to begin to take responsibility or improve the envi-
ronmental impacts where their products are made.
Once apparel companies know and disclose their supply chains, they are
then required by the bill to address their negative impacts. This is
achieved through the legally binding mandatory due diligence framework,
which requires companies to sufficiently identify, prevent, mitigate,
account for, and remediate actual and potential adverse impacts to the
environment in their own operations and in their supply chain. Within
the mandatory due diligence framework, the Fashion Act will require
companies to set and achieve climate reductions in line with the Paris
Agreement and work with their suppliers to effectively manage their
chemical use.
The Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act will be the
global leader in reducing the carbon footprint of the fashion industry
by requiring companies wishing to sell to the New York market to set and
achieve science based targets. Science-based targets require that the
pace of reductions progress at the pace required to keep global warming
below 1.5C from re-industrial levels, as set out in the Paris Agreement.
The Fashion Act will also fill in a massive regulatory gap by requiring
brands to work with their textile suppliers to effectively manage their
chemical use. No more dead rivers in the name of our clothes.
Garment workers face the brunt of the industry's race to the bottom. By
requiring companies to perform mandatory due diligence, we can be confi-
dent that the people and communities affected by the emissions and chem-
ical use of the fashion industry will measurably and meaningfully
improve.
The Act will be enforced by the NYS Department of State, Attorney Gener-
al, or a designated administrator. Companies found to be out of compli-
ance and which do not remedy within three months of notice of non
compliance may be fined up to 2% of annual revenues. These funds will be
used for the benefit of workers and communities directly injured and
environmental benefit projects. This will make New York the leader in
corporate accountability and demonstrate a path forward for industry to
thrive within the bounds of the planet.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A8352 referred to consumer affairs and protection
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that sections
one through three of this act shall take effect one year after they
shall have become a law; provided further, however, that subdivision 6
of section 399-mm of the general business law as added by section two of
this act shall take effect one year after the attorney general certifies
that the office of the attorney general is prepared to execute the
duties assigned in such subdivision. The attorney general shall notify
the legislative bill drafting commission upon the occurrence of such
certification in order that the commission may maintain an accurate and
timely effective data base of the official text of the laws of the state
of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of section 44
of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public officers law.