How Rep. Pingree hopes to fight climate change one darned pair of jeans at a time

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree at a launch event for her slow fashion caucus. (Provided by the office of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree)

On her North Haven farm, it’s usually jeans and a beloved green jacket. Down in Washington D.C., it’s normally black pants with a colorful blazer.

When it comes to her wardrobe, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree prioritizes practicality and comfort. It’s the Mainer in her.

She said she never wants what she is wearing to distract her from being present in the moment. While she appreciates that others like to, Pingree said she’s never been a big shopper nor does she want to spend too much time each day dwelling on what to wear.

Though her wardrobe is more expansive than the handful of outfits she joked her staff is probably sick of seeing her in, Pingree said it’s only grown to that size by not throwing away too many pieces of clothing over the years; another instance of her roots poking through.

“You love to run into people who say ‘I’ve owned this flannel shirt for 42 years, it was my grandfather’s,’” she said of her fellow Mainers.

Take, for example, the beloved blue blazers she was spotted wearing at multiple appearances in Maine between late July and mid-August .

Pingree doesn’t have to be so thrifty. According to Open Secrets, the congresswoman’s net worth totaled more than $9.9 million in 2018. She also holds two assets of between $1 million and $5 million. One is Nebo Lodge, an inn and restaurant on North Haven, and an account with Paloma Partners, an investment firm founded and co-led by her former spouse S. Donald Sussman.

And while Pingree isn’t concerned about repeating her outfits, she is concerned about the fossil fuels it takes to make them. That’s why Pingree launched her slow fashion caucus in late June.

In a way, it’s a marriage of her no-frills Maine lifestyle and her environmental efforts in Congress over the past 15 years.

Serious work to be done

At first, when Pingree told her colleagues that she wanted to bring the fashion and textile industries into the fold of climate change discussions, she said some of them brushed it off, telling her there is serious work to be done. Others shared anecdotes about their children being into thrifting and finding vintage apparel.

Though the reactions have varied, Pingree said she was surprised by how many colleagues told her they want to learn more about how to become more engaged on the issue.

As ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Pingree has her hand in the funding of different efforts related to the environment. That role, as well as her longstanding interest in recycling, got her thinking about how much of the waste stream is clothing.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, textile waste in the U.S. amounted to 17 million tons in 2018, representing just under six percent of all municipal solid waste. And with the explosion of so-called “fast fashion” with brands like Shein, that amount has likely grown .

While Pingree has goals to introduce legislation in this area, she said awareness is a key piece of her efforts. Much of the work is simply getting people to think about how much of a toll clothing takes on the environment. For example, Pingree shared an idea she has to enhance labeling on clothing; similar to food labels that mark something as organic or grass-fed.

“Everybody got all engaged when we decided we should end plastic straws, but it’s nowhere near the volume of the clothing that we buy,” she said.

Pingree, who years ago founded the small business North Island Yarn, said she is also interested in finding ways to support more sustainable materials like wool or exploring more ways to use hemp as a fabric. But fashion doesn’t live in a political silo. Pingree talked about how trade policies can be a factor in the textiles brought in from other countries and perhaps putting more responsibility on manufacturers to ensure responsible disposal of their products.

She also said her work on the farm bill that Congress rewrites every five years to set policy and funding levels for agriculture, food and conservation programs is another chance to weave in more eco-friendly fashion policy.

Earlier in August, the caucus sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to include the fashion industry in his new White House Task Force on Climate and Trade.

A darned jacket and future plans

Pingree hasn’t introduced any slow fashion legislation yet. She’s waiting on the results from a study that she and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut, asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to complete, outlining ways the fashion industry and the EPA can better manage textile waste.

That study is supposed to provide more information about what the EPA has done to increase fabric recycling and how much the textile industry is using practices that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other information.

The report from that study isn’t expected until later this year. Pingree said she hopes to introduce legislation next year, but she has an election to win first.

Pingree is again running to represent Maine’s 1st Congressional District, the seat she’s held since she was first elected in 2008. She is up against Republican Ron Russell and Ethan Alcorn, an unenrolled independent.

When asked where he stands on policies concerning the fashion industry and its effect on the environment, Alcorn told Maine Morning Star he has no opinion on Pingree’s “fashion agenda.” Russell did not respond to a request for comment on the proposal.

The Democrat is hoping her party will win the White House and take control of the U.S. House of Representatives so there will be an opportunity to make progress on this issue. Another term with former President Donald Trump and his support of fossil fuel industries would not be conducive to her efforts, Pingree explained, drawing on her experience working with the Republican nominee during his first term.

Regardless of what happens in November, Pingree is sure to keep up her own habits of slow fashion. She loves to sew and mend, especially jeans and socks. Not only does it embody her own environmental policy positions, but it means she can hold onto the pieces she loves the most even longer.

“I have a beautiful wool coat that I love to wear,” Pingree said. So, “when it got a hole, I did a little darning.”

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