In March 2023, the California state senate is considering SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2023, which would require textile producers to create a stewardship program for the collection and recycling of covered products, including any apparel, textile, or textile article, and set up free collection sites in every county in California where consumers can drop off unwanted items.
The average U.S. consumer discards more than 81 pounds of clothing per year, and textiles are one of the top materials found in the California waste stream. With the rise of fast fashion across the U.S., this issue will only continue to worsen. This bill aims to enhance recycling and reuse in this sector requiring producers to take responsibility for how their products will be repurposed or recycled, which has long been left to thrifts, collectors, and second-hand markets. There are no textiles EPR laws in the U.S. yet; France began a textile EPR program in 2008.