The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), the International Apparel Federation (IAF), and 128 other globally located organisations have made a united appeal, submitting a letter to global, national, and local authorities. The collective group is advocating for the modernisation of domestic textile, garment, footwear, and related accessories labelling requirements, promoting more sustainable and economically viable digital labels for necessary labelling information.

This plea represents a union of fashion and sportswear industry giants, together with stakeholders and innovators in the sector. The signatories include representatives from diverse materials like leather, wool, and textiles and those championing sustainability, circularity, and authenticity in the fashion industry, AAFA said in a press release.

Industry estimates reveal that these regulations lead to the production of approximately 5.7 million miles, or about 9.2 million kilometres, of label tape each year. This is enough to cover the distance from Earth to the moon and back twelve times annually.

"Consumers today want more information with less waste. The opportunities are endless if digital opportunities are unlocked. Purchasers will gain access to more detailed and accurate information about the textiles, garments, footwear, and related accessories they are considering buying, such as more in-depth materials and origin information. It also unlocks more information throughout the garment’s lifecycle, including details about resale, repair, rental, upcycling, or recycling. This is one tool for a more responsible and agile global industry," said AAFA president and CEO Steve Lamar. “We need the Federal Trade Commission, and sister agencies around the globe, to update their rules to give companies the option to meet labelling standards using digital means."

"Shifting to the use of digital labels would significantly reduce labelling waste and significantly aid in decarbonisation efforts, resulting in the elimination of at least 343,000 MT of CO2e from industry supply chains. 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the industry’s global value chain, the time for supranational, national, and local authorities to act and update these outdated, inflexible, and complex labelling requirements and empower their consumers with more accessible information through greener e-labelling is now," as per the letter.

"It is crystal clear we need to progress to digital labelling for apparel and footwear. The global environment needs it, the industry wants it, and consumers are expecting it. A patchwork of often very old-fashioned legislation across the world is blocking the logical path to modern garment and footwear labelling. There is no alternative to full global industry collaboration and coordination to remove these roadblocks to achieve digital labelling faster," said IAF secretary general Matthijs Crietee.