WASHINGTON DC- A new attempt is being made to introduce US legislation that would forbid the payment of garment workers on a piece-rate basis and encourage the nation’s fashion industry to restore its supply chain.
The Fashioning Accountability and Building Real Institutional Change (FABRIC) Act, which was first presented last year but did not pass into law, was reintroduced by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Jerrold Nadler.
The FABRIC Act would be the first federal legislation to deal with the requirements of American garment workers. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and California’s current SB62 garment worker protection bill would both expand workers’ rights to include:
- Obligations to collectively hold manufacturers and fashion corporations accountable for workplace wage infractions
- Before the minimum wage is reached by an hourly rate, the clothing industry should stop using piece rates.
- The creation of a federal garment industry registry to increase accountability and transparency
A 30% tax credit and a $50 million annual “Domestic Garment Manufacturing Support Program” would also be established by the act to assist clothing manufacturers with the costs associated with shifting their operations to the US.
“The fast fashion business model has been popularized, promoting profits over people, overconsumption, and rampant wage theft, perpetuating abuse of an already underpaid and overworked workforce,” stated Gillibrand.
“Given the sharp decline in domestic fashion manufacturing, the FABRIC Act is crucial to bringing these jobs back from abroad while holding manufacturers accountable for labor violations that are all too frequent in the sector,” Nadler continued.
The Remake project and other fashion companies, including Mara Hoffman, Nisolo, Christy Dawn, Hope for Flowers, Mate the Label, and Known Supply, are supporting the proposed legislation.
“It is unconscionable in 2023 that the makers of our clothes do not make enough to feed their families,” said Ayesha Barenblat, CEO of Remake.
