The American fashion industry’s biggest trade groups have thrown their support behind a Californian move to make big businesses report on their greenhouse gas emissions.

Organisations including the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the Council of Fashion Designers of America announced their backing for the climate legislation in a public letter Wednesday. The proposed bill, known as SB 253, would require companies that do business in California and have revenue of more than $1 billion to report annually on emissions across their own operations and in their value chains.

If passed, the legislation would create the first broad-based climate disclosure rules in the US, moving the needle on an issue that has proved contentious among business leaders and policymakers.

Fashion’s support for the Californian bill comes as the industry has stepped up its policy engagement in response to growing efforts to regulate its environmental impact. In February, the AAFA, CFDA and partners published a manifesto for effective legislation. SB 253 meets those criteria, the organisations said in their public letter.

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