Textile EPR Takes Shape: Global Momentum and California’s First-Mover Model
- Mimi Martinez Okhuysen
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
A growing frontier for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) lies in the management of textile waste. Internationally, the European Union (taking a page from France’s playbook) is at the forefront of emerging textile EPR programs, requiring all Member States to implement textile EPR programs by 2027 under the revised Waste Framework Directive. Switzerland, Australia, and Chile are also in the process of developing national programs. Monitoring how these international EPR frameworks evolve will be critical for anticipating how textile EPR policy and markets are likely to take shape in the United States.
In the United States, California has become the first state to implement a mandatory textile EPR program through SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, approved in September 2024. The law places end of life responsibility for apparel and covered textile products on producers and requires them to participate in a state approved Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO). That PRO is responsible for designing, financing, and operating a statewide system to support the collection, repair, reuse, sorting, and recycling of covered textile materials, with the broader aim of reducing landfill disposal and strengthening circular textile markets.
Under the statute, the entity considered the producer is the company responsible for placing the product on the California market, with responsibility assigned through a clear hierarchy. The cascading structure ensures that a legally accountable party can always be identified for compliance purposes.
The law applies broadly to apparel, footwear, and other textile articles sold in California. Covered products include clothing and accessories, curtains and other fabric window coverings, knitted and woven accessories, towels, tapestries, tablecloths and napkins, blankets, linens, and pillows, as specified in the relevant sections of the Public Resources Code. While SB 707 establishes the statutory foundation, operational specifics will be clarified through implementing regulations and the PRO program plan. In effect, the statute defines what the system must achieve and the PRO plan will describe how producers collectively meet those requirements[i].
California has now entered the implementation phase of its textile EPR program, beginning with the selection of a PRO and the launch of a statewide needs assessment. Several key milestones will shape this rollout. By July 1, 2026, producers must join the approved PRO. The initial Textile Needs Assessment must be completed by March 2027, and final implementing regulations may be adopted no earlier than July 2028.
On February 27, 2026, Landbell USA was approved as the PRO responsible for implementing the Act’s requirements. In parallel, CalRecycle continues to convene public workshops and issue guidance to support stakeholder engagement. This includes a Textile Needs Assessment Informational Workshop scheduled for April 7, 2026, which will provide a statutory overview of the assessment process.
Once fully operational, the PRO will develop a comprehensive program plan detailing financing mechanisms, producer reporting obligations, compliance pathways, and potential ecomodulation structures to incentivize more sustainable textile design and management.
Fee modulation, adjusting producer contributions based on product design characteristics, will likely become a central feature of the system. International experience provides insight into how such incentives may function. France textile PRO, Refashion, offers an example of how textile eco fee frameworks can reward improved design performance.[ii] Under its 2025 framework, producers may receive financial incentives for demonstrated product durability based on defined technical standards, certification under recognized environmental labeling schemes where accepted, and the incorporation of recycled raw materials, particularly post-consumer textile inputs supported through EPR systems. Conversely, higher fees may apply where product design limits recyclability, such as through complex material blends or components that obstruct recycling processes.
California program is also unfolding against a broader national backdrop. New York and Washington State have introduced textile EPR proposals, signaling growing legislative interest in extending producer responsibility beyond packaging and electronics into the apparel sector. Together with developments in the European Union, California implementation may serve as a reference point for how textile EPR frameworks evolve in the United States, particularly in clarifying administrative structures, defining producer responsibility, and testing early approaches to program fee structuring, ecomodulation pathways, and reporting requirements.
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