What's next after California's textile EPR law is passed?

Diving certificate:

• Recycling and waste groups in California expect fewer textiles to enter their facilities in the coming years after the state adopted a first-in-the-nation extended producer responsibility program for the material.
• CalRecycle is expected to begin the regulatory process, including hosting stakeholder meetings, as early as the first quarter of next year, said Joanne Brasch, director of advocacy and outreach at the California Product Stewardship Council, a lead sponsor of the bill. This will keep the state on track to offer more options for recycling, repairing and reusing old clothing and textiles by 2030, she said.
• SB 707The bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this week would also target the environmental impact of fast fashion and “throwaway culture,” state lawmakers said Senator Josh Newman in a statement. Newman said the law “isn’t just about recycling; It’s about changing the way we think about textile waste.”

Insight into the dive:

These are textiles fastest growing category According to the CPSC, the state generates residential and commercial waste. Textile waste can also cause particular problems in waste and recycling facilities.

“Textile and clothing manufacturers produce too many difficult-to-handle materials that can absorb, tangle and burn when mixed into the plastic recycling system[s]said a coalition of waste groups, local governments and brands in an August letter. They also hope that success in California could lead to similar EPR programs in other parts of the country.

Currently, most of the labor and cost of disposing of textile waste falls on thrift stores and second-hand markets, as well as local governments, CPSC said.

The new law requires textile producers, including major brands, to be financially responsible for the disposal of such materials at the end of their life. That could include funding for convenient drop-off locations across the state, Brasch said.

The law requires manufacturers of certain clothing and other textile products to establish a producer responsibility organization that funds statewide reuse, repair and recycling programs.

CalRecycle must approve a producer responsibility organization by March 1, 2026 and then issue regulations implementing the program no earlier than July 1, 2028. The PRO must submit a plan for the collection, repair and recycling of such textiles by July 1, 2030.

The law also requires brands to emphasize repair and reuse programs, such as by partnering with an organization that repairs branded clothing for resale, Brasch said. Manufacturers that prioritize repair aspects may also pay lower fees into the EPR program because the law considers repair programs to be part of the ecomodulation process. “Repair is source reduction,” she said.

Numerous waste and recycling groups supported the bill, including Republic Services, Recology, GreenWaste, local chapters of the Solid Waste Association of North America, National Stewardship Action Council, Californians Against Waste, Resource Recovery Coalition of California and others coalition from brands and environmental groups.

Robert Reed, public relations manager at Recology, said in an email that textiles are “a growing waste problem” led by the rise of fast fashion. “More of these materials are ending up in our landfills and our environment than ever before,” he said.

The new EPR model “brings garment manufacturers on board to improve collection and diversion, displace raw materials needed to produce new fabrics, and reduce the environmental impact of the textile and fabric industry,” he said.

Proponents of the bill expect the success of the textile EPR in California will prompt other state legislatures to consider their own versions of the bill – possibly in New York, where a similar bill didn't make any progress last year. Federal lawmakers have also called for more in-depth solutions to textile waste across the country.

There is now a textile disposal ban in Massachusetts, which is different from a full EPR program but indicates political movement in the state.

Brasch said CPSC has already spoken to lawmakers and lawyers in other states about their process. Doug Kobold, CPSC executive director, said the topic of textile EPR came up several times at a recent EPR event he attended in Canada.

Building a coalition was an important aspect that enabled the law to pass in California, Kobold said, and he hopes other states considering their own EPR legislation for textiles can follow California's lead.

The bill was first introduced during the 2023 California legislative session and passed the Senate. However, it was converted into a two-year bill to update the language and take into account more stakeholder input, including from Retailers and the clothing industry that originally had opposing elements of the bill. Over the summer, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, which previously opposed the bill, offered a more neutral stanceciting improved stakeholder engagement from lawmakers.

“The advocates who have been working on this issue for years deserve great credit for building a consensus around addressing textile waste,” said Nick Lapis, dHead of Advocacy at Californians Against Waste, which supported the bill.

In the long term, Lapis hopes the law will help encourage manufacturers to “invest in more sustainable design decisions from the start.” I for one am ready for more slow fashion.”

This story first appeared in the Waste Dive: Recycling newsletter. Sign up for weekly emails here.