2026 will be a significant year for retailers and e-commerce companies, with significant changes on the horizon that will affect the entire industry and ecosystem. In this alert, we highlight the top issues retailers and e-commerce companies should be aware of and ready to tackle in 2026. Click here to continue reading the full version
Crowell & Moring partners Cheri Falvey, Meghan McMeel, and Warren Lehrenbaum will be speaking at the 2026 ICPHSO Annual Meeting and Training Symposium, where they will participate in key legal and regulatory panels. This flagship event brings together global product safety professionals for four days of collaboration, learning, and networking.Continue Reading Speaking Engagement Spotlight: 2026 ICPHSO Annual Meeting and Training Symposium
Microplastics pollution has emerged as a significant issue as the public learns more about the presence of microplastics in the environment and how they may enter the human body. In recent years, Congress has considered measures to address microplastics pollution, including a bill requiring the Food and Drug Administration to study the health effects of
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule on August 18, 2025, increasing civil penalties for violations of various animal and wildlife protection statutes by 2.59%. Affected businesses range from importers and exporters of many types of plants and animals and their products, global and domestic e-commerce trade dealers and retailers to
Europe’s biggest online fashion retailer, Zalando, recently agreed to dramatically and rapidly overhaul its sustainability marketing in the face of pressure by the European Commission. This is yet another example of why companies need to be extremely careful when making environmental claims in their advertising. Such claims are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny and activist litigation in the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and elsewhere around the globe.Continue Reading Scrutiny of Green Claims is in Fashion: Zalando Forced to Overhaul Sustainability Claims
On January 31, 2024, EPA Administrator Michael Regan signed two proposed rules related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and corrective action authority under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). These rulemakings follow from a 2021 announcement covered in a prior Crowell client alert, adding to the growing number of pending PFAS-related proposals submitted by EPA.Continue Reading EPA Continues to Push Toward Regulation of PFAS By Proposing Two More New Rules Under RCRA
As the Biden Administration enters its third year, now with a party split in Congress, it seems likely that the Administration will redouble its focus on executive branch regulatory tools that can be used to achieve energy-related policy objectives, including with respect to energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. For manufacturers and importers of appliances and certain other consumer, lighting, plumbing and commercial and industrial products, that means the potential for additional scrutiny of their products’ compliance with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) conservation standards for energy and water efficiency. It also likely means a commensurate increase in DOE enforcement activity for non-compliance with the applicable efficiency standards or the associated test procedures required to demonstrate compliance, as well as registration and labeling requirements. Given the magnitude of the penalties associated with violating efficiency standards, currently $503 per violation, which can quickly run into multiple millions of dollars across noncompliant units, manufacturers and importers should consider refamiliarizing themselves with DOE’s conservation standards regime.Continue Reading Appliance Manufacturers and Importers Should Prepare for Increased DOE Enforcement Activity in 2023
A new draft report to Congress by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on behalf of the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee cites textiles and the fashion industry as the leading sources of microfiber pollution in the environment. While the draft report acknowledges uncertainty about how microfiber pollution impacts the environment and human health, the report’s authors recommend that the textile and fashion industry—along with manufacturers of clothes washers and dryers and personal care products—design their products to prevent microfibers from being released into the environment.
The draft report was required to be developed pursuant to the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act, enacted in 2020 on a bipartisan basis to address problems associated with marine debris and plastics in the ocean. It has been made available for public comment, which closes October 17, 2022.Continue Reading New Federal Report on Microfiber Pollution Spotlights Textile and Fashion Industries
In the article, “H&M class action: what lawyers told us”, featured in Apparel Insider, Partner Jason Stiehl commented on a recent class action complaint filed against H&M over its use of Higg Sustainability labels and its justification to charge premium prices for sustainable clothing. Stiehl provided insight on the importance to tighten internal systems
In the recent AdAge article, ESG Advertising Demands More Than Mere Legal Compliance, Chris Cole shares his thoughts on the five best practices for how companies advertise their ESG efforts: