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A pair of jeans inspired her to become a fashion industry reformer Recently, the American business magazine Fast Company announced the list of "The Most Creative People in Business 2022 " (The Most Creative People in Business 2022), and one of the winners is from the American non-profit organization "New Standard Institute" (NSI for short) Founder Maxine Bédat. She is committed to improving fashion industry issues and working with New York legislators to promote fashion reform bills. ​From fashion brand founder to sustainable fashion promoter When Maxine visited Ghana in 2019, she saw burning landfills outside the capital Accra, spewing out bursts of toxic smoke, which made her realize that the garment industry is causing serious damage to the environment. These landfills are full of clothing and accessories from international brands, much of which comes from the United States. Americans routinely throw away second-hand clothing, sending out some 1 billion pounds (over 450 million kilograms) of clothing each year, “a result of overproduction and undervaluation of clothing.” Maxine writes in her book Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment," wrote. This book tells the story of the production process of a pair of jeans - from the cotton grown on the farm, to the pants sent to the multinational factory, and finally worn by consumers, used and discarded. The ready-to-wear industry is reshaping the world, showing that every step has a serious impact on the environment. After the book was published in 2021, it received a lot of response. Maxine was not only a lawyer in the past, but also the founder of fashion brand Zady (now defunct). "We can see the fact that the garment industry is hurting, but our hearts are still shaped by past experiences," she said. Knowing that it's hard to change people's actions, she didn't stop writing about what's wrong with the ready-to-wear industry. Publish books to explain issues, promote reforms and change enterprises In February 2022, the non-profit organization NSI she founded and cooperated with two New York legislators to launch the "Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, referred to as the "Fashion Law", which mandates that revenues exceed A $100 million footwear and apparel company must identify at least half of its supply chain and disclose the most significant social and environmental impacts of these supply chains, and reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the standards of the Paris Agreement. When lawmakers meet again next year, a smooth passage of the Fashion Law could make New York a pioneer in bringing accountability to the fashion industry. At the same time, legislators in other states have also seen the benefits of this bill and are actively contacting NSI to learn how to promote similar bills. For Maxine, it is very important that "Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment" and the promotion of "Fashion Law" go hand in hand. Through the book, the importance of the issue is clearly and clearly stated, and the bill is to drive people to take action. “We’ve always thought of ourselves as consumers, but we’re also citizens who can change the law,” she said.  

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