U.S. Congresswoman from Maine Chellie Pingree, founder and chair of the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus, has introduced the Textile Waste Reduction Act (TWRA), aimed at tackling the waste problem driven by fast fashion. Building on recommendations from the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) first report on fast fashion pollution, the bill seeks to establish a coordinated federal framework to reduce textile waste, improve data collection, and develop a national strategy to advance textile circularity.

Key Points

  • The bill requires the EPA Administrator to take coordinated federal action to advance textile circularity and to develop a national textile circularity strategy.
  • The bill would establish an interagency working group on textile circularity and create an advisory committee to advise that working group.
  • The bill requires the EPA to publish annually updated data on textile waste generation and management, and to map federal funding opportunities available to states, tribal governments, local governments, and non-governmental organizations.

Pingree said the GAO report confirmed what has been known for years: textile waste is one of the fastest-growing waste categories in the United States, driven largely by fast fashion, and federal action is needed to address this crisis. She believes the bill will lay the foundation by establishing a coordinated federal strategy, reducing textile waste, and building a more circular textile economy, and that the United States has the resources and capacity to lead this work globally.

In terms of specific provisions, the TWRA directs the EPA Administrator to take coordinated federal action to advance textile circularity; requires the EPA to develop a comprehensive national textile circularity strategy and conduct a needs assessment identifying the actions, investments, and policy priorities needed to implement it; and establishes an interagency working group on textile circularity to coordinate federal activities, along with an advisory committee to advise the interagency working group. The bill also requires the EPA to identify and publish federal funding opportunities that support textile circularity for states, tribal governments, local governments, and non-governmental organizations, and to publish annually updated data on textile waste generation and management.

Pingree founded and launched the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus in June 2024, with the goal of developing climate-friendly policies to promote textile reduction, repair, rewear, and recycling. The caucus has received support from American Circular Textiles, the Garment Worker Center, the Climate Reality Project founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Patagonia, and ThredUp.

The full text of the bill has been published through relevant channels. If passed, it would mean that for the first time at the U.S. federal level, textile waste governance, data collection, and circular industry support would be systematically integrated into a unified framework, and companies involved in used clothing recycling, regenerated fibers, and secondhand resale could face clearer policy signals and federal funding channels in the future.

Source: Textile Waste Reduction Act introduced · Originally published 2026-10-01