I 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Voluntary Sustainable 

5 Apparel Labeling Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. VOLUNTARY SUSTAINABLE APPAREL LABELING 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of 

2 the Environmental Protection Agency (in this sec3 tion referred to as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall carry 

4 out a voluntary sustainable apparel labeling program 

5 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘labeling pro6 gram’’). 

7 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator shall 

8 establish and operate the labeling program in con9 sultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the 

10 Federal Trade Commission. 

11 (3) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years 

12 after the date of enactment of this section, the Ad13 ministrator shall finalize regulations to carry out the 

14 labeling program. 

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Under the labeling program— 

16 (1) any person that sells an article of apparel 

17 may submit an application to the Administrator to 

18 enter the article of apparel into the labeling pro19 gram; 

20 (2) the Administrator shall specify the informa21 tion to be included in an application under para22 graph (1); 

23 (3) the Administrator shall review any applica24 tion submitted under paragraph (1) and make a deVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978

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1 termination regarding whether to include the article 

2 of apparel in the labeling program— 

3 (A) on the basis of whether the Adminis4 trator believes the person submitting the appli5 cation will adhere to the requirements of the la6 beling program; and 

7 (B) not on the basis of an assessment of 

8 the benefits to the environment associated with 

9 the article of apparel; 

10 (4) a person (referred to in this section as a 

11 ‘‘participant’’) that sells an article of apparel that 

12 the Administrator has determined to include in the 

13 labeling program (referred to in this section as the 

14 ‘‘participating article of apparel’’) may attach a label 

15 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘apparel sustain16 ability label’’) to— 

17 (A) the participating article of apparel; or 

18 (B) packaging used for the sole purpose of 

19 containing the participating article of apparel; 

20 (5) the Administrator shall establish require21 ments for the visual form of the apparel sustain22 ability label that shall— 

23 (A) convey the information described in 

24 paragraph (6) to the consumer in a manner 

25 that is determined by the Administrator to be 


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1 most useful to the consumer at the point of sale 

2 in making apparel purchasing decisions; 

3 (B) not convey that any given article of ap4 parel is acceptable or unacceptable, but instead 

5 provide the consumer a numerical quantifica6 tion of the information described in paragraph 

7 (6); 

8 (C) employ words, numbers, and imagery, 

9 as specified by the Administrator; 

10 (D) convey the fact that the information 

11 on the apparel sustainability label has been 

12 verified under requirements established by the 

13 Environmental Protection Agency; and 

14 (E) include a logo to help the consumer 

15 identify the label as being associated with the 

16 labeling program; 

17 (6) the information included on the apparel sus18 tainability label shall— 

19 (A) convey a numerical summary of the 

20 best available information regarding the total 

21 greenhouse gas emissions released throughout 

22 the full life cycle of the participating article of 

23 apparel and its input materials, including in as24 sociation with— 


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1 (i) growing of plant fibers and other 

2 agricultural inputs; 

3 (ii) manufacture of the non4 agricultural input materials; 

5 (iii) manufacture of the participating 

6 article of apparel; 

7 (iv) packaging; 

8 (v) transportation of the input mate9 rials and the participating article of ap10 parel; 

11 (vi) storage; 

12 (vii) presentation in a retail apparel 

13 establishment; 

14 (viii) consumer use, including the en15 ergy used to— 

16 (I) wash the participating article 

17 of apparel; and 

18 (II) prepare the participating ar19 ticle of apparel for use, including by 

20 ironing or pressing; 

21 (ix) end-of-life reuse, recycling, treat22 ment, and disposal of the participating ar23 ticle of apparel and its packaging; and 


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1 (x) any other aspect of the full life 

2 cycle of the participating article of apparel 

3 associated with greenhouse gas emissions; 

4 (B) convey a summary of the voluntary 

5 commitment made regarding the participating 

6 article of apparel, as reported under subsection 

7 (c)(1); and 

8 (C) provide electronic access immediately 

9 available to the consumer at the point of sale 

10 through a quick response (QR) code or similar 

11 mechanism to additional information relevant to 

12 the consumer, which shall include— 

13 (i) the complete information described 

14 in subparagraph (A) regarding the partici15 pating article of apparel; 

16 (ii) the complete information provided 

17 under subsection (c)(1) regarding the par18 ticipating article of apparel; 

19 (iii) the database established under 

20 subsection (d); and 

21 (iv) such other information as the Ad22 ministrator determines to be relevant to 

23 the consumer; 

24 (7) if the participant is the manufacturer of the 

25 participating article of apparel, and not the retail esVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978

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1 tablishment selling the participating article of ap2 parel to the end consumer, this fact shall be made 

3 clear on the apparel sustainability label; 

4 (8) if requested by a participant, the informa5 tion pertaining to the participating article of apparel 

6 that is conveyed under paragraph (6)(A) shall be di7 vided into— 

8 (A) information identified under clauses (i) 

9 through (v) of paragraph (6)(A), for which the 

10 participant shall be responsible for reporting; 

11 and 

12 (B) information identified under clauses 

13 (vi) through (ix) of paragraph (6)(A), for which 

14 the Administrator shall be responsible for esti15 mating on the basis of the typical use of the 

16 participating article of apparel; 

17 (9) the distinction between the sources of infor18 mation referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

19 paragraph (8) shall be made clear on the apparel 

20 sustainability label; 

21 (10) no information or imagery shall be in22 cluded on the apparel sustainability label that has 

23 not been specified by the Administrator pursuant to 

24 paragraphs (5) and (6); 


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1 (11) the Administrator shall establish the meth2 od by which the information included on the apparel 

3 sustainability label shall be verified, which 

4 verification shall— 

5 (A) be conducted in accordance with uni6 form standards for the collection and analysis 

7 of the information for all participating articles 

8 of apparel; 

9 (B) require the use of the best available 

10 scientific information; 

11 (C) specify the requirements for entities to 

12 be authorized to measure, monitor, verify, and 

13 report the information; 

14 (D) be informed by the established inter15 national standards for carbon accounting for 

16 product life cycle assessment, including— 

17 (i) the ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 

18 standards of the International Organiza19 tion for Standardization; and 

20 (ii) protocols established under the 

21 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol program 

22 of the World Business Council for Sustain23 able Development and the World Resources 

24 Institute, including— 


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1 (I) the GHG Protocol for Prod2 uct Accounting and Reporting; and 

3 (II) Publicly Available Specifica4 tion 2050; and 

5 (E) be informed by and generally align 

6 with the current best practices for validating 

7 such information in the apparel industry; 

8 (12) in establishing the requirements described 

9 in paragraphs (5), (6), and (10), the Adminis10 trator— 

11 (A) shall consult with an expert advisory 

12 panel composed of apparel industry stake13 holders; and 

14 (B) may consult with such panel either— 

15 (i) by establishing a Federal advisory 

16 committee under chapter 10 of part I of 

17 title 5, United States Code (commonly re18 ferred to as the ‘‘Federal Advisory Com19 mittee Act’’); or 

20 (ii) through a negotiated rulemaking 

21 under subchapter III of part I of title 5, 

22 United States Code (commonly referred to 

23 as the ‘‘Negotiated Rulemaking Act’’); 


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1 (13) the Administrator shall establish a pro2 gram by which entities shall be certified to perform 

3 the activities under paragraph (11)(C); 

4 (14) beginning 7 years after the date of enact5 ment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the 

6 Administrator shall— 

7 (A) publish a report on the effectiveness, 

8 as determined by the Administrator, of the la9 beling program in achieving objectives, includ10 ing such effectiveness in— 

11 (i) providing consumers information 

12 that consumers find useful; and 

13 (ii) reducing the greenhouse gas emis14 sions associated with apparel throughout 

15 the full life cycle as described in paragraph 

16 (6)(A); 

17 (B) review and revise the regulations under 

18 this section to increase such effectiveness, as 

19 determined by the Administrator, of the label20 ing program with respect to the two objectives 

21 listed in clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph 

22 (A); and 

23 (C) report to the Congress any rec24 ommendations for amendments to this section 


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1 that, in the determination of the Administrator, 

2 would improve such effectiveness; and 

3 (15) the Administrator shall provide technical 

4 assistance, including through consultants, in report5 ing information as required in accordance with the 

6 labeling program, otherwise participating in the la7 beling program, and reducing greenhouse gas emis8 sions, to— 

9 (A) participants; 

10 (B) entities seeking to become partici11 pants; and 

12 (C) entities seeking to become certified 

13 under paragraph (13). 

14 (c) VOLUNTARY COMMITMENTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 

16 carry out a program under which a participant may 

17 agree to— 

18 (A) a voluntary commitment to reduce the 

19 total greenhouse gas emissions released 

20 throughout the full life cycle of participating ar21 ticles of apparel and their input materials, as 

22 described in subsection (b)(6)(A); and 

23 (B) make publicly available, including on 

24 the participant’s website, sustainability infor25 mation pertaining to the participant or the parVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Aug 13, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8978.IH H8978

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1 ticipating article of apparel that is determined 

2 by the Administrator to be based on the best 

3 available scientific information. 

4 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 2 years 

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Adminis6 trator shall establish the program required by para7 graph (1). 

8 (3) ENCOURAGEMENT; TECHNICAL ASSIST9 ANCE.—The Administrator shall encourage partici10 pants, and provide technical assistance to partici11 pants, to agree to voluntary commitments under this 

12 subsection. 

13 (4) NO MANDATE.— This subsection does not 

14 authorize the Administrator to impose any mandate. 

15 (d) DATABASE.—Not later than 2 years after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall es17 tablish a database to provide easy access to consumers and 

18 apparel industry stakeholders to information pertaining to 

19 the labeling program, including— 

20 (1) explanations of the objectives and the meth21 odologies of the Administrator in establishing the re22 quirements described in subsection (b); 

23 (2) the information described in subsection 

24 (b)(6) with respect to each participating article of 

25 apparel; 


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1 (3) the voluntary commitments of each partici2 pant as reported under subsection (c); and 

3 (4) any additional available information on the 

4 sustainability of apparel that the Administrator de5 termines to be— 

6 (A) useful to the consumer and apparel in7 dustry stakeholders; and 

8 (B) based on the best scientifically avail9 able information. 

10 (e) CONSUMER OUTREACH.— 

11 (1) PROGRAM.—Not later than 3 years after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 

13 shall establish a program to inform consumers about 

14 the labeling program. 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The consumer outreach 

16 program established under paragraph (1) shall— 

17 (A) provide retail apparel establishments 

18 educational materials and other information to 

19 be conveyed to consumers regarding the label20 ing program; 

21 (B) provide technical assistance to retail 

22 apparel establishments regarding the labeling 

23 program and the materials and information de24 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 


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1 (C) reach the public through a wide range 

2 of means, including public service announce3 ments and advertising. 

4 (f) PENALTIES FOR FRAUDULENT USE OF LABEL.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person that violates a 

6 requirement of this section shall forfeit and pay to 

7 the United States a civil penalty of not more than 

8 $10,000 for each such violation. 

9 (2) SEPARATE VIOLATIONS.—Each separate 

10 violation of a requirement of this section shall be a 

11 separate offense, except that in a case of a violation 

12 through continuing failure to obey or neglect to obey 

13 an order by the Administrator under this section, 

14 each day of continuance of such failure or neglect 

15 shall be deemed a separate offense. 

16 (3) EQUITABLE RELIEF.—In a civil action 

17 brought under this section, the United States dis18 trict courts are empowered to grant mandatory in19 junctions and such other equitable relief as such 

20 courts deem appropriate. 

21 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) APPAREL INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS.—The 

23 term ‘‘apparel industry stakeholders’’ means— 

24 (A) suppliers and vendors of apparel man25 ufacturers; 


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1 (B) apparel manufacturers; 

2 (C) retail apparel establishments; 

3 (D) entities that measure, monitor, verify, 

4 and report information described under sub5 section (b)(6); 

6 (E) institutions of higher education; 

7 (F) consumer organizations; and 

8 (G) other experts, as determined by the 

9 Administrator. 

10 (2) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘‘greenhouse 

11 gas’’ includes each of the following: 

12 (A) Carbon dioxide. 

13 (B) Methane. 

14 (C) Nitrous oxide. 

15 (D) Sulfur hexafluoride. 

16 (E) Any hydrofluorocarbon. 

17 (F) Any perfluorocarbon. 

18 (G) Nitrogen trifluoride. 

19 (H) Any fully fluorinated linear, branched, 

20 or cyclic— 

21 (i) alkane; 

22 (ii) ether; 

23 (iii) tertiary amine; or 

24 (iv) aminoether. 

25 (I) Any perfluoropolyether. 


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1 (J) Any hydrofluoropolyether. 

2 (K) Any other fluorocarbon, except for a 

3 fluorocarbon with a vapor pressure of less than 

4 1 mm of Hg absolute at 25 degrees Celsius. 

5 (3) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION.—The term 

6 ‘‘greenhouse gas emission’’ means the release of a 

7 greenhouse gas into the ambient air. 

8 (4) RETAIL APPAREL ESTABLISHMENT.—The 

9 term ‘‘retail apparel establishment’’ means a person 

10 that sells an article of apparel to a consumer. 

Æ 


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