This bill creates a new chapter in Title 70A RCW called the "Washington fashion sustainability accountability act" and establishes new reporting, assessment, and enforcement requirements addressing environmental impacts of the fashion industry. It requires all fashion producers to submit annual disclosures to the Department of Ecology beginning January 1, 2027, and requires additional disclosures by larger fashion producers (those with annual worldwide gross income of $100,000,000) starting the same date. The Department must complete a policy-options assessment by October 15, 2026, update that assessment by October 15, 2028 to include labeling best practices, solicit input from potentially impacted stakeholders including overburdened communities and vulnerable populations, and may adopt rules and a de minimis size exemption for reporting. The act adds definitions and compliance rules, including who counts as a "fashion producer" (a hierarchy covering manufacturers, brand owners, licensees, importers of record, and first sellers), what is a covered product (articles of wearing apparel and footwear), and concepts such as due diligence, gross income, and working conditions. It also amends RCW 70A.430.060 to require manufacturers or trade organizations to file annual notices about products containing priority or high-priority chemicals under existing chemical statutes, and it reenacts and amends RCW 43.21B.110 and RCW 43.21B.300 to specify the Pollution Control Hearings Board’s jurisdiction and to set procedures and timelines for notice, appeal, and collection of civil penalties. The bill creates civil penalties tied to the new disclosure requirements (up to $5,000 per violation for a first offense and up to $10,000 per violation for repeat offenses), provides appeal rights to the Pollution Control Hearings Board, and directs that penalties be deposited into a newly created community environmental and public health improvement account. Only the Department of Ecology director or the director’s designee may authorize expenditures from that account, and the Department must consult the Environmental Justice Council when making expenditures; the account’s exact statutory text and some sections of the act are not included in the extracted material, and several referenced RCW provisions and the full amended texts are not provided here.

If enacted, most businesses that make, brand, import, or first sell clothing and footwear in Washington will have to start filing annual disclosures with the Department of Ecology on January 1, 2027, and very large companies (annual worldwide gross income of $100 million) will face additional reporting. Companies should expect new administrative costs to gather supply-chain, chemical, and worker-condition information and to follow OECD/UN-style due diligence; failing to file or meet requirements risks civil fines (up to $5,000 per violation for a first offense and up to $10,000 for repeat offenses), and the department can write rules and exempt very small producers. The Department of Ecology will need to complete a policy assessment by October 15, 2026, update it by October 15, 2028 with labeling guidance, solicit stakeholder input, and manage a new account that holds penalties to fund projects benefiting overburdened communities, with the ecology director and the environmental justice council involved in spending decisions. Important details are missing from the provided text—specific disclosure content, the full account rules, and some cross-referenced provisions are not included—so the exact reporting burdens and how funds will be awarded remain uncertain.