Episode 196: All About The Fashion Act, with Maxine Bédat

Welcome to Clotheshorse, the podcast that wants to know if any of you had balloons delivered by a clown on your birthday when you were a kid?

I’m your host, Amanda, and this is episode 196.  My guest this week is Maxine Bedat, the author of Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment and the founder/director of sustainable fashion think tank New Standard Institute. In 2021, she led the introduction of the  New York Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act..aka the Fashion Act!  

Today we are going to talk about all things Fashion Act:

• The actual policy within this groundbreaking piece of legislation
• The global impact the Fashion Act would have if passed
• How and why the fashion industry is currently unregulated (Spoiler: the Fashion Act would change that).
• How you (yes, YOU) can get involved

And so much more!

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the power of hope. And how when we don’t have it, we aren’t happy or motivated or really active participants in this world.

Last fall, when I was asked to be an ambassador for the Fashion Act, I felt so honored and excited.  Like here was something that could make a difference in fashion’s current negative impact on the world (including all of us).  After all, as I always say, only two things will change the way this industry functions: fear of losing money/actually losing money and…THE LAW.  And here it was, the opportunity to make the law part happen and be an active participant in it.  Everything was kind of in a holding pattern until this year’s legislative session began, so I kinda filed my work on behalf of the Fashion Act away as “something to do next year.”  And then carried on with life.

And I have to say, by the end of the year, I was feeling exhausted.  Frustrated. Ready to quit.

Not because these issues didn’t matter to me any more.  Not because I really wanted to give up.

It was just like life was wearing me down. 

I had shingles. 

I was sick of dealing with the same bullshit excuses for why we shouldn’t care about the impact of fast fashion that I have been dealing with for years.  And with everything else happening in the world, I couldn’t help but feel like what I was doing was pointless.

We were getting ready to move across the country and it was a lot to worry about.

The whole thing happened with Remake, which was deeply traumatic and really left me feeling sick at the end of it all.

I realized that I was running out of hope. 

That’s a terrible place to be.  And honestly, I know I’m not the only one feeling that way, because I see this sense of hopelessness and doom all over social media.  

It’s funny to hear myself speak about the importance of hope because in the early 00s, hipster era in which I came of age, this kind of talk would have gotten me laughed out of the room! There was no place for hope in an era of irony and I don’t know, stigmatized earnestness?!

But I can’t help but look back and see how hungry we were for hope by the 2010s, and companies knew that.  So hope turned into a marketing message, with #girlboss and Toms giving away shoes and a zillion different pieces of merch created with the whole “a portion of the proceeds benefits this charity” attached.  We wanted hope.  Retailers tried to sell it to us…and I think it worked for a while.  I think social media companies tried to sell us hope, too, by connecting us via the magic of the internet…while that connection still feels real and powerful to me, ultimately those companies made a fortune by selling both access to us to all of the big retailers and brands, but by also selling our data to them.

In today’s conversation, Maxine is going to bring up the idea of neoliberalism, the belief that economic growth and business are the keys to a better future.  That if we just let them, businesses will solve the problems.  You see this played out in the privatization of things like prisons, schools, healthcare…the expectation being that allowing companies to take the reins of these large systems will make them more efficient and effective. And well, I think we have all come to realize that just isn’t the case.  But I do think in the 2010s, we had somehow privatized the idea of hope.  I think these companies saw how Barack Obama had brought the idea of hope to the mainstream, out of hipster hiding, and people loved (and voted for) that hope.  These brands saw that the recession and the resulting social and economic repercussions (like the gig economy, permanent freelancing, stagnant wages and rising housing costs) were breaking people. Hope was something they could be sold, in the form of apps and fundraiser tees and so much more. 

Real hope has been in short supply. But I have seen and experienced incredibly moving moments of it over the past few years.  The first women’s march.  The way all of us were so excited to get out and vote in 2020. The feeling of watching the inauguration in 2021.  

I have felt hopeful on a personal level. That hopeful feeling of taking a big leap into something new. When we moved to Texas.  When we then–two years later–moved back to Pennsylvania.  

But still, hope was feeling out of reach for me at the end of last year.  But this year, getting to work on the Fashion Act, going to the lobbying day in February, working on a lot of other cool projects, meeting new people, getting amped up to spend more time with all of you this year…this has given me the hope that I need. I feel excited to do this work.  I feel excited to wake up every day. I feel like real change is not only possible, but going to happen. And I think that hope can be contagious.  So one of my goals right now is to, I don’t know, infect all of you with that hope so you can spread to those around you.  Because hope is motivation.  Hope is energy.  Hope is letting yourself believe that dreams can come true.  Or if not dreams, at least things we all really want to happen to make this world better.  Let’s let ourselves hope together.  

Okay, let’s jump into my conversation with Maxine, because we have a LOT to discuss.

Still experiencing technical difficulties with the transcription service provider.  You can find this episode with subtitles on YouTube or with transcription on Apple podcasts and Spotify.

Thanks to Maxine for spending time with us all.  I hope you are feeling as excited and hopeful about the Fashion Act as I am. I will be sharing all of the links in the show notes that you will need to get involved.

And I also want to remind you of the lobbying day on May 7, in Albany, NY..  I would love to put together a central/eastern PA crew of people to go up for the lobbying day with me, so if  you are interested, send me an email. Let’s see what we can figure out!

But wait…there are more community-related announcements/reminders to share with you all:

#1. Just a reminder that Episode 200 of Clotheshorse will be a live-streaming extravaganza, happening on Thursday, April 18th on YouTube! We will be filming and recording it live at The Candy Factory in Lancaster. 

This episode will be part AMA, part retrospective.  And that’s where you come in!

Because this episode will also include video, we want to see videos from all of you: sharing your favorite Clotheshorse episode, what you’ve learned along the way, or any other thoughts you have about slow fashion and why it matters to you!  You can also just ask me a question.   If video is not your thing, you can send a recorded audio message instead.  And if you really hate the sound of your voice, you can send me an email instead. This is going to me a multimedia extravaganza! 

Any videos or audio messages must be submitted by April 1, because Dustin and I need time to edit and mix in preparation for the live episode. So don’t snooze! Get those submissions in soon! You can send your video or audio message to me via email, [email protected]. Do not submit via DM.

Feel overwhelmed by submitting a whole video or recording? Submit a question using the link in the show notes (and my IG bio)  that I will answer during the episode! 

#2: The next Clotheshorse hang out/webinar will be happening on Thursday, 3/28. The topic will be “how to talk to others about slow fashion.”  As with last month’s webinar, participation is free, but of course, if you have a good time and learn something new, I encourage you to support my work by buying me a ko-fi!.  You can find the link to register in the show notes. Just like the last time, there are only 100 spots available, so don’t procrastinate.   There will not be a webinar in April because there is just too much going on that month! In addition to the live episode, I am going to Tempe, Arizona at the end of the month to speak at Behind the Seams, a part of Eco Fashion Week!

#3: We have settled on some dates for the Clotheshorse Jamboree here in Lancaster, PA this summer. August 16-18! We are still in the very early stages of planning this, so stay tuned for more updates.

Okay, that’s a lot of updates and announcements! But I’m just so excited to get to spend time with our community in new and more personal ways this year.  Because as Maxine said, there is something so powerful about being part of a community, working towards something that matters to us all.  The impact it has on our mental health cannot be underestimated. Community creates hope.  It also spreads hope. And hope is what we need to make things happen. So let’s stay hopeful, together, this year!