Brands recognize that consumers value sustainability and continue to promote the green and eco-friendly qualities of their products and services. However, with growing popularity comes extra scrutiny, and “green claims” are increasingly subject to challenge by regulators, competitors, and class action plaintiffs.

The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world and is responsible for roughly 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. There are many contributing factors to this problem, including pollution from textile factories, water-resource depletion, and merchandise waste.

In recent years, apparel and retail businesses have increasingly sought to provide customers with options to participate with the brand’s merchandise and services in virtual environments.

Litigation concerning per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is nothing new. Over the past two decades, thousands of complaints have been filed against hundreds of companies concerning these so-called “forever chemicals.” While past litigation has primarily been related to environmental contamination, an increasing number of class actions are being brought against consumer products companies, alleging false and misleading product labeling based on the presence of PFAS in their products.

Andrew Grant, Collen Ganin, and Akua Asare-Konadu examine unique legal questions facing resellers and brands in the resale marketplace and explain how to navigate them, including secondhand-dealer laws and IP infringement.

Employer vaccination policies are probably the hottest topic in this final quarter of the calendar year. Some employers are even planning to offer COVID-19 vaccination shots at holiday parties to make it easier for employees to get vaccinated.

While recommerce is not new, its renaissance and shift to e-commerce has raised issues that resellers and brands will need to navigate, including possible expansion of secondhand-dealer laws to ecommerce and avoiding IP infringement through proper product authentication.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the digitalization of the fashion industry – including for luxury brands, which have historically been slow to embrace electronic and digital commerce. Indeed, in 2020, e-commerce in the United States achieved an astounding ten years’ worth of growth in a three-month period.

From investors and shareholders to customers and employees, key stakeholders are increasingly demanding both corporate action and broad-based public disclosure of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. As corporations take action and report on their ESG challenges and achievements, they will be well served to take steps to mitigate the risks of both regulatory enforcement and private litigation. 

In this issue of the Perkins Coie Summer Sustainability Series, we discuss the debate over the materiality of ESG disclosures to investors and suggest action items for companies considering increased disclosures on these topics.

The fashion industry is the world’s second largest polluter behind big oil, and is responsible for around 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. There are a number of contributing factors to this problem, ranging from “fast fashion”—a model based on producing low-cost garments intended to be worn only a handful of times—to disposal of luxury overstock merchandise.

There has been much attention focused on Beijing’s labor policies and practices toward the Uyghur Muslim population and other minority groups in China. Given that the western Xinjiang region is responsible for approximately one-fifth of the world’s cotton supply, many industry players are finding compliance issues a challenge.

The 2021 Summer Sustainability Series will discuss topics including Chinese cotton and slave labor, key components of the circular economy, sustainability litigation, and advertising related to sustainable products and programs. It will also touch on how the sustainability discussion is moving beyond environmental components and expanding to address other elements of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.

Current events have sparked a significant change in private businesses' political behavior, as companies and their executives shift from nonpartisan observers to leaders taking on political and social causes. While companies may face pressure from some stakeholders to speak out on every issue of the day, that level of engagement may not be feasible or productive. In this update, we provide a road map for companies and their executives to follow when deciding whether and how to engage in political and social issues.

Patchen Haggerty and Colleen Ganin describe how COVID-19 has created the perfect storm for counterfeiters.

For retailers, the holiday season is indeed the “most wonderful time of the year.”

[Warning: The juxtaposition of joyous holiday festivities and forced labor is not intended to make light of human rights violations, but to assist companies in avoiding common mistakes in their anti-human trafficking disclosure statements.] 

The holiday season and holiday shopping may look a little different this year, especially as more purchases are made online.

COVID-19 has forced many employers to make unanticipated changes to their workforce, with many retailers rolling out a combination of furloughs, layoffs, and breaks in service to address changing market demands and shelter-in-place orders.

Contributor, "Chapter 11: Privacy"

Trademarks play an important role in marketing eco-friendly products and engendering consumer trust. This update highlights that role, potential pitfalls to avoid, and best practices to consider.

COVID-19 is the biggest disruption to consumer retail spending patterns in recent history.

On this episode, we are joined by Deborah White, president of the Retail Litigation Center (RLC) and senior executive vice president and general counsel of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). Deborah provides insight and analysis regarding the retail industry’s varied and innovative response to the pandemic, including how large retailers deal with the patchwork of evolving state and local regulations and how they are innovating at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand while maintaining safety for employees, suppliers, and customers.

Retailers hit by the economic downturn are considering bankruptcy protections.

COVID-19’s effect on the economy does not discriminate. Business activity has slowed down significantly for many companies, and even more drastically in certain sectors.

States across the country are beginning to reopen or considering reopening following shutdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last Friday, the White House declared a national state of emergency amid concerns of the global spread of the coronavirus. Nearly every state and numerous cities have followed suit by issuing declarations triggering emergency measures and regulations on businesses.

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issued finalized amendments on January 14, 2020 to California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986.

Retail as a business is hard. Retail bankruptcies continue at a rapid rate, leaving some commentators to predict that the days of traditional retail are numbered.

Retailers worldwide are predicted to spend an unprecedented $2 billion on artificial intelligence/machine learning capabilities in 2018.

Imagine the public relations nightmare poor Santa Claus would face if forced labor or corruption was found in his factory.

2017 has reminded us that data security threats continue to evolve and that the stakes for companies can be very high if their data security programs fail to evolve as well.

It would be an understatement to say that 2017 has been a difficult year for the retail sector.

This update has been republished in Retail Merchandiser on 10.24.2017, "Holiday Cheer For A Challenging Retail Environment."

Retailers are looking ahead to the holiday season, but many are also watching the NAFTA renegotiation, which is ambitiously (and improbably) slated to conclude around the holiday season.