California has introduced the first Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law for apparel and textiles. With the adoption of Senate Bill 707 – Responsible Textile Recovery Act, signed into law in September 2024, California became the first state in the United States to establish a mandatory extended producer responsibility regime for the apparel and textile sector. The law places on producers the responsibility and costs of collecting, repairing, and recycling their products at end of life, for companies operating in the California market.
The programme is administered by CalRecycle, the California state recycling agency, which has designated Landbell USA as the sole Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) authorised to manage the programme, handling the collection, transport, sorting, repair and recycling of textile products.
Registration is open from March 2026 through 1 July 2026.
Who is subject to the law
SB 707 applies to all entities that manufacture, import or distribute apparel and textile articles sold in California, regardless of where the company is legally registered. The law covers a wide range of products: garments, footwear, bags, backpacks, fabric accessories, as well as bedding, towels, curtains, tablecloths and textile articles for domestic or commercial use.
The responsible party is identified according to a precise hierarchy. The first to be required to comply is the manufacturer who holds the brand; in their absence, the brand licensee; then the importer; and finally the distributor or retailer. In short, for every product sold in California there is always a responsible party. Exempt from the law are sellers of solely second-hand goods and producers with an annual global turnover of less than one million dollars.
Obligations and the contribution system
Once registered, producers are required to register with the PRO all their brands and products sold in California, updating the list each year by 15 January. The contribution system is eco-modulated: annual fees are not fixed, but vary according to sales volume, product type and recyclability. Those who already operate their own collection or repair programmes benefit from reductions; those who use materials that are difficult to recycle (such as blended fibres or PFAS-treated fabrics) will bear higher costs.
Financial penalties apply from the approval of the PRO’s operational plan or, at the latest, from 1 July 2030. For unintentional violations, penalties of up to $10,000 per day are foreseen; for intentional or knowing violations, up to $50,000 per day.