The CFDA has joined The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), the International Apparel Federation (IAF), and 128 additional organizations from all corners of the globe, to deliver a letter to supranational, national, and local authorities around the world to modernize domestic textile, garment, footwear, and related accessories labeling requirements and legally allow more sustainable and economic, digital labels for required labeling information.

The movement is in response to a confusing array of labeling requirements – relating to care instructions/symbols, fiber content, importer requirements, and origin of textiles, garments, footwear, and related accessories – that have proliferated around the world. Created with the best of intentions to enable consumers to make informed buying decisions, these requirements are now hindering the industry’s efforts to be more sustainable and support the circular economy, including the enhancement of traceability. Industry estimates show that, collectively, these requirements now result in the annual production of approximately 5.7 million miles (about 9.2m km) of label tape – enough to stretch from the earth to the moon, and back, twelve times each year.

Fortunately, digital technology solutions – such as QR code labels – are now available to cut the considerable amount of material that these regulations require our industry to produce. Shifting to the use of digital labels would significantly reduce labeling waste and significantly aid in decarbonization efforts, resulting in the elimination of at least 343,000 MT of CO2e from industry supply chains.

Governments around the world are starting to embrace digital approaches – such as the proposed EU digital product passport and replacement of traditional labelling requirements with the option to use electronic labeling for consumer electronics products.

With greater demand for more traceability, transparency, and accountability from all stakeholders in the industry’s global value chain, the time for supranational, national and local authorities to act and update these outdated, inflexible, and complex labeling requirements and empower their consumers with more accessible information through greener e-labeling is now.

Learn more about the letter here.