Extended Producer Responsibility

At EU Green Week 2025, leaders reaffirmed that circular economy is not just green policy—it’s Europe’s competitive strategy. From the upcoming Circular Economy Act to fast fashion regulations, the EU aims to reduce resource dependency, boost innovation, and scale circular systems. Now, the focus shifts from ambition to implementation.

New research shows that UK shoppers support small, visible Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) charges on clothing to fund textile recycling and promote sustainable fashion. Transparent communication and simple labelling could help drive a circular economy without deterring consumers from making purchases.

The UK Government has been urged to adopt a variable EPR system to support and safeguard textiles manufacturing businesses by designing and selling more circular products, and by offering circular services like repair and reuse.

A new study finds that 75% of an apparel product's environmental footprint stems from areas of impact beyond carbon emissions, and reveals raw material choices and specific manufacturing processes - not packaging, distribution, or even assembly - contribute up to 90% of product impact.

FEAD and EuRIC have come up with a set of recommendations to address the crises facing the post-consumer textile collection, sorting and recycling industries following the introduction of the EU-wide mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for textiles.

The European Parliament and Council have reached a provisional agreement on new measures to prevent and reduce waste from textiles across the EU. This provisional agreement will now have to be endorsed before undergoing legal linguistic revision and once formally adopted, member states will have up to 20 months to update their national laws to follow the new rules.

To make the next textile revolution happen, we need a major shift of mindset – to value a product, appreciate the stages and participants it has taken to manufacture each item, and going back to having less but of better long-lasting quality. While quality is hard to quantify, we can measure and test durability and many other aspects of textiles to ensure they last longer.

An OECD study on ‘Extended producer responsibility in the garments sector’ contends that EPR is a promising approach for addressing environmental impacts of garments. Its focus on producers and post-consumer products lends it well to addressing impacts at the end-of life and production stages. However, complementary policies can amplify its effect.

The industry-led Circular Fashion Innovation Network (CFIN) has published an interim report which highlights key insights and next steps in the UK's journey towards a circular fashion ecosystem by 2032. It focuses on three critical areas: Circular Business Models, Sustainable Manufacturing, and Recycling Infrastructure.

California has become the first US state to pass a textile Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bill, which aims to hold producers accountable for the reuse and recycling of apparel and footwear sold in the state.