[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8978 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8978
To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
establish a voluntary sustainable apparel labeling program, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 10, 2024
Mr. Casten (for himself and Ms. Salazar) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to
establish a voluntary sustainable apparel labeling program, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Voluntary Sustainable Apparel
Labeling Act''.
SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY SUSTAINABLE APPAREL LABELING PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--
(1) Establishment.--The Administrator of the Environmental
Protection Agency (in this section referred to as the
``Administrator'') shall carry out a voluntary sustainable
apparel labeling program (in this section referred to as the
``labeling program'').
(2) Consultation.--The Administrator shall establish and
operate the labeling program in consultation with the Secretary
of Agriculture and the Federal Trade Commission.
(3) Regulations.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this section, the Administrator shall finalize
regulations to carry out the labeling program.
(b) Requirements.--Under the labeling program--
(1) any person that sells an article of apparel may submit
an application to the Administrator to enter the article of
apparel into the labeling program;
(2) the Administrator shall specify the information to be
included in an application under paragraph (1);
(3) the Administrator shall review any application
submitted under paragraph (1) and make a determination
regarding whether to include the article of apparel in the
labeling program--
(A) on the basis of whether the Administrator
believes the person submitting the application will
adhere to the requirements of the labeling program; and
(B) not on the basis of an assessment of the
benefits to the environment associated with the article
of apparel;
(4) a person (referred to in this section as a
``participant'') that sells an article of apparel that the
Administrator has determined to include in the labeling program
(referred to in this section as the ``participating article of
apparel'') may attach a label (referred to in this section as
the ``apparel sustainability label'') to--
(A) the participating article of apparel; or
(B) packaging used for the sole purpose of
containing the participating article of apparel;
(5) the Administrator shall establish requirements for the
visual form of the apparel sustainability label that shall--
(A) convey the information described in paragraph
(6) to the consumer in a manner that is determined by
the Administrator to be most useful to the consumer at
the point of sale in making apparel purchasing
decisions;
(B) not convey that any given article of apparel is
acceptable or unacceptable, but instead provide the
consumer a numerical quantification of the information
described in paragraph (6);
(C) employ words, numbers, and imagery, as
specified by the Administrator;
(D) convey the fact that the information on the
apparel sustainability label has been verified under
requirements established by the Environmental
Protection Agency; and
(E) include a logo to help the consumer identify
the label as being associated with the labeling
program;
(6) the information included on the apparel sustainability
label shall--
(A) convey a numerical summary of the best
available information regarding the total greenhouse
gas emissions released throughout the full life cycle
of the participating article of apparel and its input
materials, including in association with--
(i) growing of plant fibers and other
agricultural inputs;
(ii) manufacture of the nonagricultural
input materials;
(iii) manufacture of the participating
article of apparel;
(iv) packaging;
(v) transportation of the input materials
and the participating article of apparel;
(vi) storage;
(vii) presentation in a retail apparel
establishment;
(viii) consumer use, including the energy
used to--
(I) wash the participating article
of apparel; and
(II) prepare the participating
article of apparel for use, including
by ironing or pressing;
(ix) end-of-life reuse, recycling,
treatment, and disposal of the participating
article of apparel and its packaging; and
(x) any other aspect of the full life cycle
of the participating article of apparel
associated with greenhouse gas emissions;
(B) convey a summary of the voluntary commitment
made regarding the participating article of apparel, as
reported under subsection (c)(1); and
(C) provide electronic access immediately available
to the consumer at the point of sale through a quick
response (QR) code or similar mechanism to additional
information relevant to the consumer, which shall
include--
(i) the complete information described in
subparagraph (A) regarding the participating
article of apparel;
(ii) the complete information provided
under subsection (c)(1) regarding the
participating article of apparel;
(iii) the database established under
subsection (d); and
(iv) such other information as the
Administrator determines to be relevant to the
consumer;
(7) if the participant is the manufacturer of the
participating article of apparel, and not the retail
establishment selling the participating article of apparel to
the end consumer, this fact shall be made clear on the apparel
sustainability label;
(8) if requested by a participant, the information
pertaining to the participating article of apparel that is
conveyed under paragraph (6)(A) shall be divided into--
(A) information identified under clauses (i)
through (v) of paragraph (6)(A), for which the
participant shall be responsible for reporting; and
(B) information identified under clauses (vi)
through (ix) of paragraph (6)(A), for which the
Administrator shall be responsible for estimating on
the basis of the typical use of the participating
article of apparel;
(9) the distinction between the sources of information
referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (8) shall
be made clear on the apparel sustainability label;
(10) no information or imagery shall be included on the
apparel sustainability label that has not been specified by the
Administrator pursuant to paragraphs (5) and (6);
(11) the Administrator shall establish the method by which
the information included on the apparel sustainability label
shall be verified, which verification shall--
(A) be conducted in accordance with uniform
standards for the collection and analysis of the
information for all participating articles of apparel;
(B) require the use of the best available
scientific information;
(C) specify the requirements for entities to be
authorized to measure, monitor, verify, and report the
information;
(D) be informed by the established international
standards for carbon accounting for product life cycle
assessment, including--
(i) the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards
of the International Organization for
Standardization; and
(ii) protocols established under the
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol program of the
World Business Council for Sustainable
Development and the World Resources Institute,
including--
(I) the GHG Protocol for Product
Accounting and Reporting; and
(II) Publicly Available
Specification 2050; and
(E) be informed by and generally align with the
current best practices for validating such information
in the apparel industry;
(12) in establishing the requirements described in
paragraphs (5), (6), and (10), the Administrator--
(A) shall consult with an expert advisory panel
composed of apparel industry stakeholders; and
(B) may consult with such panel either--
(i) by establishing a Federal advisory
committee under chapter 10 of part I of title
5, United States Code (commonly referred to as
the ``Federal Advisory Committee Act''); or
(ii) through a negotiated rulemaking under
subchapter III of part I of title 5, United
States Code (commonly referred to as the
``Negotiated Rulemaking Act'');
(13) the Administrator shall establish a program by which
entities shall be certified to perform the activities under
paragraph (11)(C);
(14) beginning 7 years after the date of enactment of this
Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Administrator shall--
(A) publish a report on the effectiveness, as
determined by the Administrator, of the labeling
program in achieving objectives, including such
effectiveness in--
(i) providing consumers information that
consumers find useful; and
(ii) reducing the greenhouse gas emissions
associated with apparel throughout the full
life cycle as described in paragraph (6)(A);
(B) review and revise the regulations under this
section to increase such effectiveness, as determined
by the Administrator, of the labeling program with
respect to the two objectives listed in clauses (i) and
(ii) of subparagraph (A); and
(C) report to the Congress any recommendations for
amendments to this section that, in the determination
of the Administrator, would improve such effectiveness;
and
(15) the Administrator shall provide technical assistance,
including through consultants, in reporting information as
required in accordance with the labeling program, otherwise
participating in the labeling program, and reducing greenhouse
gas emissions, to--
(A) participants;
(B) entities seeking to become participants; and
(C) entities seeking to become certified under
paragraph (13).
(c) Voluntary Commitments.--
(1) In general.--The Administrator shall carry out a
program under which a participant may agree to--
(A) a voluntary commitment to reduce the total
greenhouse gas emissions released throughout the full
life cycle of participating articles of apparel and
their input materials, as described in subsection
(b)(6)(A); and
(B) make publicly available, including on the
participant's website, sustainability information
pertaining to the participant or the participating
article of apparel that is determined by the
Administrator to be based on the best available
scientific information.
(2) Establishment.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish the
program required by paragraph (1).
(3) Encouragement; technical assistance.--The Administrator
shall encourage participants, and provide technical assistance
to participants, to agree to voluntary commitments under this
subsection.
(4) No mandate.-- This subsection does not authorize the
Administrator to impose any mandate.
(d) Database.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a database to provide
easy access to consumers and apparel industry stakeholders to
information pertaining to the labeling program, including--
(1) explanations of the objectives and the methodologies of
the Administrator in establishing the requirements described in
subsection (b);
(2) the information described in subsection (b)(6) with
respect to each participating article of apparel;
(3) the voluntary commitments of each participant as
reported under subsection (c); and
(4) any additional available information on the
sustainability of apparel that the Administrator determines to
be--
(A) useful to the consumer and apparel industry
stakeholders; and
(B) based on the best scientifically available
information.
(e) Consumer Outreach.--
(1) Program.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall establish a
program to inform consumers about the labeling program.
(2) Requirements.--The consumer outreach program
established under paragraph (1) shall--
(A) provide retail apparel establishments
educational materials and other information to be
conveyed to consumers regarding the labeling program;
(B) provide technical assistance to retail apparel
establishments regarding the labeling program and the
materials and information described in subparagraph
(A); and
(C) reach the public through a wide range of means,
including public service announcements and advertising.
(f) Penalties for Fraudulent Use of Label.--
(1) In general.--Any person that violates a requirement of
this section shall forfeit and pay to the United States a civil
penalty of not more than $10,000 for each such violation.
(2) Separate violations.--Each separate violation of a
requirement of this section shall be a separate offense, except
that in a case of a violation through continuing failure to
obey or neglect to obey an order by the Administrator under
this section, each day of continuance of such failure or
neglect shall be deemed a separate offense.
(3) Equitable relief.--In a civil action brought under this
section, the United States district courts are empowered to
grant mandatory injunctions and such other equitable relief as
such courts deem appropriate.
(g) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Apparel industry stakeholders.--The term ``apparel
industry stakeholders'' means--
(A) suppliers and vendors of apparel manufacturers;
(B) apparel manufacturers;
(C) retail apparel establishments;
(D) entities that measure, monitor, verify, and
report information described under subsection (b)(6);
(E) institutions of higher education;
(F) consumer organizations; and
(G) other experts, as determined by the
Administrator.
(2) Greenhouse gas.--The term ``greenhouse gas'' includes
each of the following:
(A) Carbon dioxide.
(B) Methane.
(C) Nitrous oxide.
(D) Sulfur hexafluoride.
(E) Any hydrofluorocarbon.
(F) Any perfluorocarbon.
(G) Nitrogen trifluoride.
(H) Any fully fluorinated linear, branched, or
cyclic--
(i) alkane;
(ii) ether;
(iii) tertiary amine; or
(iv) aminoether.
(I) Any perfluoropolyether.
(J) Any hydrofluoropolyether.
(K) Any other fluorocarbon, except for a
fluorocarbon with a vapor pressure of less than 1 mm of
Hg absolute at 25 degrees Celsius.
(3) Greenhouse gas emission.--The term ``greenhouse gas
emission'' means the release of a greenhouse gas into the
ambient air.
(4) Retail apparel establishment.--The term ``retail
apparel establishment'' means a person that sells an article of
apparel to