Fashion environmental impact

AN ACT Relating to environmental impacts of fashion; amending RCW 1
70A.430.060; reenacting and amending RCW 43.21B.110 and 43.21B.300; 2
adding a new chapter to Title 70A RCW; and prescribing penalties.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that the fashion 5
industry has many negative environmental impacts, including high 6
levels of water use, runoff pollution from the use of agrochemicals 7
and dyes, carbon emissions, industry waste, and hazardous work 8
environments.9
(2) The United Nations estimates that a single pair of jeans 10
requires a kilogram of cotton, and because cotton tends to be grown 11
in dry environments, producing this kilogram requires about 7,500 to 12
10,000 liters of water, which is approximately 10 years' worth of 13
drinking water for one person. The industry accounts for nearly 20 14
percent of global wastewater, with fabric dyes polluting water bodies 15
and impacting aquatic life and drinking water. Cotton production also 16
uses a high amount of fertilizers and pesticides, discharging toxic 17
substances to waterways. In terms of greenhouse gases, the fashion 18
industry accounts for about eight to 10 percent of global carbon 19
emissions, more than both aviation and shipping combined.20
H-0297.1
HOUSE BILL 1107
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Mena, Ramel, Berry, Reed, Macri, Doglio,
Gregerson, Simmons, Peterson, Goodman, Pollet, Kloba, Duerr, Berg,
Ormsby, Scott, Reeves, Bernbaum, and Hill
Prefiled 12/20/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Environment & Energy.
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(3) The synthetic polymer polyester is the most common fabric 1
used in clothing and, globally, 65 percent of the clothing that we 2
wear is polymer-based. Around 70,000,000 barrels of oil a year are 3
used to make polyester fibers in our clothes, from waterproof jackets 4
to scarves. Polyester takes hundreds of years to decompose and can 5
lead to microfibers escaping into the environment. The United States 6
environmental protection agency estimates that in 2018, 11,300,000 7
tons of textiles ended up in landfills, while another 3,200,000 tons 8
were incinerated. According to the Ellen MacArthur foundation, the 9
average number of times a piece of clothing is worn decreased by 36 10
percent between 2000 and 2015, and according to the world bank, 40 11
percent of clothing purchased in some countries is never used.12
(4) The legislature intends for Washington to serve as a leader 13
in mitigating the environmental impact of the fashion industry by 14
requiring disclosure of certain environmental impacts by fashion 15
producers and sellers and by studying and planning for additional 16
measures to reduce fashion's impacts. 17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 18
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 19
otherwise.20
(1) "Article of wearing apparel" means any costume or article of 21
clothing worn or intended to be worn by individuals.22
(2) "Covered product" means an article of wearing apparel or 23
footwear. 24
(3) "Department" means the department of ecology.25
(4) "Due diligence" means the process companies carry out to 26
identify, prevent, mitigate, and account for how they address actual 27
and potential adverse impacts in their own operations, their supply 28
chain, and other business relationships, in the manner recommended in 29
the organization for economic cooperation and development guidelines 30
for multinational enterprises, the organization for economic 31
cooperation and development due diligence guidance for responsible 32
business conduct, and United Nations guiding principles of business 33
and human rights, as those guidelines and guidance existed as of 34
January 1, 2024. 35
(5) "Fashion producer" means the following person responsible for 36
compliance with the requirements of this chapter for a covered 37
product sold, offered for sale, or distributed for sale into the 38
state: 39
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(a) If the covered product is sold under the brand of the covered 1
product manufacturer, the producer is the person that manufactures 2
the covered product; 3
(b) If the covered product is sold under a retail brand or under 4
a brand owned by a person other than the manufacturer, the producer 5
is the brand owner; 6
(c) If there is no person to which (a) or (b) of this subsection 7
applies, the producer is the person that is the licensee of a brand 8
or trademark under which the covered product is sold, offered for 9
sale, or distributed in or into this state; 10
(d) If there is no person described in (a) through (c) of this 11
subsection within the United States, the producer is the person who 12
is the importer of record for the covered product into the United 13
States that sells, offers for sale, or distributes the covered 14
product in this state; 15
(e) If there is no person described in (a) through (d) of this 16
subsection with a commercial presence within the state, the producer 17
is the person who first sells, offers for sale, or distributes the 18
covered product in or into this state. 19
(6) "Footwear" means any covering worn or intended to be worn on 20
the foot. 21
(7) "Gross income of the business" means the value proceeding or 22
accruing by reason of the transaction of the business engaged in and 23
includes gross proceeds of sales, compensation for the rendition of 24
services, gains realized from trading in stocks, bonds, or other 25
evidences of indebtedness, interest, discount, rents, royalties, 26
fees, commissions, dividends, and other emoluments however 27
designated, all without any deduction on account of the cost of 28
tangible property sold, the cost of materials used, labor costs, 29
interest, discount, delivery costs, taxes, or any other expense 30
whatsoever paid or accrued and without any deduction on account of 31
losses. 32
(8)(a) "Working conditions" means the: 33
(i) Average number of employees by employment type: Full-time, 34
part-time, and temporary; 35
(ii) Average hourly wage, including all nondiscretionary wages 36
and bonuses, by hourly wage bands: $15 or below, $15.01-$20, $20.01-37
$25, $25.01-$30, $30.01-$50, and $50.01 or greater;38
(iii) Average total number of employees enrolled in medical plans 39
provided by the employer; 40
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(iv) Average total number of employees enrolled in dental plans 1
provided by the employer; 2
(v) Average total number of employees enrolled in retirement 3
plans provided by the employer; and 4
(vi) Total case incident rate for the prior calendar year.5
(b) For the purpose of this subsection, "average" means the mean 6
value: 7
(i) For the two previous years; or 8
(ii) If the business has been operational for less than two 9
years, since the business has been operational. 10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Beginning January 1, 2027, each 11
fashion producer must annually disclose the following to the 12
department:13
(a) A notice consistent with RCW 70A.430.060 identifying each 14
covered product that contains a high priority chemical identified 15
under RCW 70A.430.040 or a priority chemical identified in RCW 16
70A.350.010 or that is the subject of a rule adopted under chapter 17
70A.350; 18
(b) A description of any terms used in marketing, labels, or 19
public-facing communications by the producer to describe elements of 20
the environmental impact or sustainability of the producer's covered 21
products including, but not limited to, terms such as "sustainable," 22
"green," "low impact," or "environmentally friendly," and how the 23
producer defines or measures such terms; 24
(c) A description of how each producer sells, gifts, or otherwise 25
disposes of unwanted excess covered products that are not sold to 26
consumers through retail sales, and the volume of such unwanted 27
excess covered products disposed of during the most recent calendar 28
year; and 29
(d) A description of the producer's current activities, 30
initiatives, or targets related to reducing the fashion producer's 31
environmental impacts. 32
(2) In addition to the requirements of subsection (1) of this 33
section, beginning January 1, 2027, each fashion producer that has an 34
annual worldwide gross income of the business that exceeds 35
$100,000,000 must disclose the following to the department:36
(a) The environmental due diligence policies, processes, and 37
outcomes of the fashion producer, including: 38
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(i) Significant real or potential adverse environmental impacts 1
associated with the fashion producer; 2
(ii) The contents of any environmental sustainability reports 3
related to the fashion producer's operations; 4
(iii) Measurements of the amount and type of recycled content in 5
each covered product produced by the manufacturer; and6
(iv) Measurements of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with 7
the fashion producer's covered products, including the methodology 8
associated with such measurements; and 9
(b) The working conditions of the fashion producer and direct 10
suppliers of products for or inputs to the fashion producer.11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) By October 15, 2026, the department 12
must complete an assessment of policy options for fashion producers 13
to reduce environmental impacts associated with covered products. The 14
assessment must address policy design considerations and best 15
practices for extended producer responsibility requirements 16
applicable to fashion products and for the development of a public-17
facing platform and other education and outreach strategies to 18
facilitate consumer consideration of the environmental attributes and 19
impacts of covered products, including the information reported under 20
section 3 of this act.21
(2) By October 15, 2028, the department must update the 22
assessment in subsection (1) of this section to additionally include 23
an assessment of the best practices for the labeling of environmental 24
attributes associated with covered products. The department must 25
consider the information submitted under section 3 of this act in the 26
identification of best practices for labeling environmental 27
attributes associated with covered products. 28
(3) No later than 45 days after completion, the assessments 29
required in this section must be submitted, with recommendations, to 30
the appropriate committees of the legislature. The department must 31
solicit input from potentially impacted stakeholders, including 32
fashion producers and overburdened communities and vulnerable 33
populations identified consistent with chapter 70A.02 RCW, prior to 34
the finalization of recommendations to the legislature under this 35
subsection. 36
(4) In its assessments and recommendations under this section, 37
the department must consider any anticipated public health benefits 38
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and economic impacts to vulnerable populations, as defined in RCW 1
70A.02.010. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1)(a) The department may adopt rules as 3
necessary for the purpose of implementing, administering, and 4
enforcing this chapter.5
(b) By rule, the department may adopt a de minimis size of 6
fashion producer that is not required to report the information 7
required in section 3(1) of this act. 8
(2) A fashion producer that violates a disclosure requirement 9
established in section 3 of this act is subject to a civil penalty 10
not to exceed $5,000 for each violation in the case of a first 11
offense. Repeat violators are subject to a civil penalty not to 12
exceed $10,000 for each repeat offense. 13
(3) Any penalty provided for in this section, and any order 14
issued by the department under this chapter, may be appealed to the 15
pollution control hearings board. 16
(4) All penalties collected under this chapter must be deposited 17
in the community environmental and public health improvement account 18
created in section 6 of this act. 19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) The community environmental and public 20
health improvement account is created in the custody of the state 21
treasurer. All receipts from penalties imposed under section 5 of 22
this act must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the 23
account may be used only for the purpose of implementing one or more 24
environmental benefit projects that directly and verifiably benefit 25
overburdened communities and vulnerable populations identified by the 26
department in a manner consistent with chapter 70A.02 RCW. Only the 27
director of the department or the director's designee may authorize 28
expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment 29
procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not 30
required for expenditures.31
(2) The department must consult with the environmental justice 32
council established in RCW 70A.02.110 in making expenditures under 33
this section. 34
(3) For the purposes of this section, "environmental benefit" has 35
the same meaning as "environmental benefits" defined in RCW 36
70A.02.010. 37
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Sec. 7. RCW 43.21B.110 and 2024 c 347 s 5, 2024 c 340 s 4, and 1
2024 c 339 s 16 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:2
(1) The hearings board shall only have jurisdiction to hear and 3
decide appeals from the following decisions of the department, the 4
director, local conservation districts, the air pollution control 5
boards or authorities as established pursuant to chapter 70A.15 RCW, 6
local health departments, the department of natural resources, the 7
department of fish and wildlife, the parks and recreation commission, 8
and authorized public entities described in chapter 79.100 RCW:9
(a) Civil penalties imposed pursuant to chapter 70A.230 RCW and 10
RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.230.020, 11
70A.205.280, 70A.355.070, 70A.430.070, 70A.500.260, 70A.505.100, 12
70A.505.110, 70A.530.040, 70A.350.070, 70A.515.060, 70A.245.040, 13
70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 70A.245.140, 14
70A.65.200, 70A.455.090, 70A.550.030, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 15
70A.565.030, section 5 of this act, 76.09.170, 77.55.440, 78.44.250, 16
88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 90.56.330, and 17
90.64.102. 18
(b) Orders issued pursuant to RCW 18.104.043, 18.104.060, 19
18.104.130, 43.27A.190, 70A.15.2520, 70A.15.3010, 70A.15.4530, 20
70A.15.6010, 70A.205.280, 70A.214.140, 70A.300.120, 70A.350.070, 21
70A.245.020, 70A.65.200, 70A.505.100, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 22
70A.565.030, section 5 of this act, 86.16.020, 88.46.070, 90.03.665, 23
90.14.130, 90.46.250, 90.48.120, 90.48.240, 90.56.330, and 90.64.040.24
(c) Except as provided in RCW 90.03.210(2), the issuance, 25
modification, or termination of any permit, certificate, or license 26
by the department or any air authority in the exercise of its 27
jurisdiction, including the issuance or termination of a waste 28
disposal permit, the denial of an application for a waste disposal 29
permit, the modification of the conditions or the terms of a waste 30
disposal permit, a decision to approve or deny a solid waste 31
management plan under RCW 70A.205.055, approval or denial of an 32
application for a beneficial use determination under RCW 70A.205.260, 33
an application for a change under RCW 90.03.383, or a permit to 34
distribute reclaimed water under RCW 90.46.220. 35
(d) Decisions of local health departments regarding the granting 36
or denial of solid waste permits pursuant to chapter 70A.205 RCW, 37
including appeals by the department as provided in RCW 70A.205.130.38
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(e) Decisions of local health departments regarding the issuance 1
and enforcement of permits to use or dispose of biosolids under RCW 2
70A.226.090. 3
(f) Decisions of the department regarding waste-derived 4
fertilizer or micronutrient fertilizer under RCW 15.54.820.5
(g) Decisions of local conservation districts related to the 6
denial of approval or denial of certification of a dairy nutrient 7
management plan; conditions contained in a plan; application of any 8
dairy nutrient management practices, standards, methods, and 9
technologies to a particular dairy farm; and failure to adhere to the 10
plan review and approval timelines in RCW 90.64.026 as provided in 11
RCW 90.64.028. 12
(h) Any other decision by the department or an air authority 13
which pursuant to law must be decided as an adjudicative proceeding 14
under chapter 34.05 RCW. 15
(i) Decisions of the department of natural resources, the 16
department of fish and wildlife, and the department that are 17
reviewable under chapter 76.09 RCW, and the department of natural 18
resources' appeals of county, city, or town objections under RCW 19
76.09.050(7). 20
(j) Forest health hazard orders issued by the commissioner of 21
public lands under RCW 76.06.180. 22
(k) Decisions of the department of fish and wildlife to issue, 23
deny, condition, or modify a hydraulic project approval permit under 24
chapter 77.55 RCW, to issue a stop work order, to issue a notice to 25
comply, to issue a civil penalty, or to issue a notice of intent to 26
disapprove applications. 27
(l) Decisions of the department of natural resources that are 28
reviewable under RCW 78.44.270. 29
(m) Decisions of an authorized public entity under RCW 79.100.010 30
to take temporary possession or custody of a vessel or to contest the 31
amount of reimbursement owed that are reviewable by the hearings 32
board under RCW 79.100.120. 33
(n) Decisions of the department of ecology that are appealable 34
under RCW 70A.245.020 to set recycled minimum postconsumer content 35
for covered products or to temporarily exclude types of covered 36
products in plastic containers from minimum postconsumer recycled 37
content requirements. 38
(o) Orders by the department of ecology under RCW 70A.455.080.39
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(2) The following hearings shall not be conducted by the hearings 1
board: 2
(a) Hearings required by law to be conducted by the shorelines 3
hearings board pursuant to chapter 90.58 RCW, except where appeals to 4
the pollution control hearings board and appeals to the shorelines 5
hearings board have been consolidated pursuant to RCW 43.21B.340.6
(b) Hearings conducted by the department pursuant to RCW 7
70A.15.3010, 70A.15.3070, 70A.15.3080, 70A.15.3090, 70A.15.3100, 8
70A.15.3110, and 90.44.180. 9
(c) Appeals of decisions by the department under RCW 90.03.110 10
and 90.44.220. 11
(d) Hearings conducted by the department to adopt, modify, or 12
repeal rules. 13
(3) Review of rules and regulations adopted by the hearings board 14
shall be subject to review in accordance with the provisions of the 15
administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. 16
Sec. 8. RCW 43.21B.300 and 2024 c 347 s 6 and 2024 c 340 s 5 are 17
each reenacted and amended to read as follows: 18
(1) Any civil penalty provided in RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 19
70A.205.280, 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.245.040, 20
70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 70A.245.140, 21
70A.65.200, 70A.430.070, 70A.455.090, 70A.500.260, 70A.505.110, 22
70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 70A.565.030, 86.16.081, 88.46.090, 23
90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 90.56.330, and 90.64.102 24
and chapter 70A.355 RCW shall be imposed by a notice in writing, 25
either by certified mail with return receipt requested or by personal 26
service, to the person incurring the penalty from the department or 27
the local air authority, describing the violation with reasonable 28
particularity. For penalties issued by local air authorities, within 29
30 days after the notice is received, the person incurring the 30
penalty may apply in writing to the authority for the remission or 31
mitigation of the penalty. Upon receipt of the application, the 32
authority may remit or mitigate the penalty upon whatever terms the 33
authority in its discretion deems proper. The authority may ascertain 34
the facts regarding all such applications in such reasonable manner 35
and under such rules as it may deem proper and shall remit or 36
mitigate the penalty only upon a demonstration of extraordinary 37
circumstances such as the presence of information or factors not 38
considered in setting the original penalty. 39
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(2) Any penalty imposed under this section may be appealed to the 1
pollution control hearings board in accordance with this chapter if 2
the appeal is filed with the hearings board and served on the 3
department or authority 30 days after the date of receipt by the 4
person penalized of the notice imposing the penalty or 30 days after 5
the date of receipt of the notice of disposition by a local air 6
authority of the application for relief from penalty.7
(3) A penalty shall become due and payable on the later of:8
(a) 30 days after receipt of the notice imposing the penalty;9
(b) 30 days after receipt of the notice of disposition by a local 10
air authority on application for relief from penalty, if such an 11
application is made; or 12
(c) 30 days after receipt of the notice of decision of the 13
hearings board if the penalty is appealed. 14
(4) If the amount of any penalty is not paid to the department 15
within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the attorney 16
general, upon request of the department, shall bring an action in the 17
name of the state of Washington in the superior court of Thurston 18
county, or of any county in which the violator does business, to 19
recover the penalty. If the amount of the penalty is not paid to the 20
authority within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the 21
authority may bring an action to recover the penalty in the superior 22
court of the county of the authority's main office or of any county 23
in which the violator does business. In these actions, the procedures 24
and rules of evidence shall be the same as in an ordinary civil 25
action. 26
(5) All penalties recovered shall be paid into the state treasury 27
and credited to the general fund except the following:28
(a) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 18.104.155 must be credited 29
to the reclamation account as provided in RCW 18.104.155(7);30
(b) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160 must be 31
disposed of pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160; 32
(c) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 33
70A.430.070, 70A.555.110, ((and)) 70A.560.020, and 70A.565.030 must 34
be credited to the model toxics control operating account created in 35
RCW 70A.305.180; 36
(d) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.245.040 and 70A.245.050 37
must be credited to the recycling enhancement account created in RCW 38
70A.245.100; 39
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(e) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.500.260 must be 1
deposited into the electronic products recycling account created in 2
RCW 70A.500.130; 3
(f) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.65.200 must be credited 4
to the climate investment account created in RCW 70A.65.250;5
(g) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 90.56.330 must be credited 6
to the coastal protection fund established in RCW 90.48.390; ((and))7
(h) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.355.070 must be 8
credited to the underground storage tank account created in RCW 9
70A.355.090; and10
(i) Penalties imposed pursuant to section 5 of this act must be 11
credited to the community environmental and public health improvement 12
account created in section 6 of this act. 13
Sec. 9. RCW 70A.430.060 and 2020 c 20 s 1408 are each amended to 14
read as follows: 15
A manufacturer of a children's product , footwear, article of 16
wearing apparel, or a consumer product containing a priority chemical 17
subject to a rule adopted to implement a determination made 18
consistent with RCW 70A.350.040(1)(b), or a trade organization on 19
behalf of its member manufacturers, shall provide notice to the 20
department that the manufacturer's product contains a high priority 21
chemical or a priority chemical identified under chapter 70A.350 RCW. 22
The notice must be filed annually with the department and must 23
include the following information: 24
(1) The name of the chemical used or produced and its chemical 25
abstracts service registry number; 26
(2) A brief description of the product or product component 27
containing the substance; 28
(3) A description of the function of the chemical in the product;29
(4) The amount of the chemical used in each unit of the product 30
or product component. The amount may be reported in ranges, rather 31
than the exact amount; 32
(5) The name and address of the manufacturer and the name, 33
address, and phone number of a contact person for the manufacturer; 34
and 35
(6) Any other information the manufacturer deems relevant to the 36
appropriate use of the product. 37
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. This chapter may be known and cited as 1
the Washington fashion sustainability accountability act.2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 1 through 6 and 10 of this act 3
constitute a new chapter in Title 70A RCW.4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. If any provision of this act or its 5
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 6
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 7
persons or circumstances is not affected.8
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