Apparel brands will soon be mandated to recycle used clothes in California

California has just passed a law mandating textile companies to set up systems to collect and recycle post-consumer waste, including used clothes, by 2030.

This is the first piece of legislation making extended producer responsibility (EPR) mandatory in the textile industry in the US, and aims to tackle the 11 million tonnes of clothes that end up in landfills every year.

California’s Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, also known as SB 707, requires apparel and textile producers selling products in the state to form, join – and fund – a ‘producer responsibility organisation’ (PRO), to be approved by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The department itself has until July 1, 2028 to create and adopt the necessary regulatory mechanisms.

Once approved, the PRO will have to submit “a complete plan for the collection, transportation, repair, sorting and recycling, and the safe and proper management of apparel and textile articles in the state”.

From July 1, 2030 at the latest, apparel manufacturers that have not joined a producer responsibility organisation to manage “all apparel and textiles” will be subject to civil penalties including fines of up to US$10,000 per day – US$50,000 per day for intentional violations.

Circularity in the fashion industry

While many apparel and footwear brands have stated circularity goals, efforts are mostly concentrated on using recycled or biobased materials – and even there, progress is slow.

Some companies have joined initiatives to create new circular business models, but a lack of transparency around overproduction, and retail traceability issues have so far limited their ability to act on post-consumer waste.

The California law includes a requirement for producer responsibility organisations (PROs) to conduct an“initial statewide needs assessment to determine the necessary steps and investment needed to achieve the objectives of the legislation. 

The assessment, to be updated every five years, could serve as a blueprint for companies around the world to understand what’s needed to properly manage post-consumer waste – from logistics and infrastructure to consumer messaging and education.

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) impact on circularity

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) means a producer is responsible for the recovery, sorting and recycling of its own products – forcing them to invest in circularity. In the plastics industry, adopting an EPR policy has been identified as a clear indicator of improved circularity performance.

In the fashion sector, EPR schemes are still too rare, but policymakers around the world are working on making them mandatory. France was the first country to implement mandatory EPR for post-consumer textile waste including clothing, footwear and household linens. 

The EU also introduced a proposed amendment to its Waste Framework Directive in 2023, which would also mandate EPR for apparel brands. The proposal is set to be discussed in the newly formed EU Parliament in the autumn 2024 legislative session.