The proponents of the agenda of sustainability have closely watched the outcome of midterm elections in the US, where both the policymakers and voters have shown a mixed reaction towards the issue of climate change.
There is a general impression that the US has not been proactive on the issue of sustainability because of its offshore presence, especially in the global south.
It is worth noting that where 68% of New Yorkers have approved a $4.2 billion Environmental Bond Act, 59% of residents of California have rejected the imposition of an additional 1.75% tax on individual income over $2 million annually under California Proposition 30Â to address the issues related to air pollution, wildfire and climate change.
It is generally believed that the policymakers in the US are moving ahead at snail-pace to respond to the hazardous practices in the textile industry. Proponents of the cause like Rachel Kibbe, who is CEO of consultancy Circular Services Group, are of the view that the Environmental Bod Act will be relevant to the local textile if funding makes its way to agriculture. However, it would not be able to bring a major shift in the fashion suppliers of the US from the global south so far as the sustainability issues are concerned.
However, there was an impressive approval on the part of voters against other smaller environmental initiatives, including climate funding and recycling expansion in Colorado; and a $50 million green bond in Rhode Island.
It may be noted that former President Donald Trump had withdrawn from the Paris Agreement back in 2020, which was drafted in 2015 to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change. Also, the Bill Clinton administration failed to get the Senate’s backing on the Kyoto Protocol of 1997.
