Extended Producer Responsibility schemes are expanding into textiles and apparel across major markets, creating new obligations around how producers collect, report, and manage product information across their supply chains. While EPR initially focused on packaging and plastics, it is increasingly being extended to textiles, though schemes remain at an earlier stage of development in most countries. Divergence in timelines, definitions, data formats, fee structures, and reporting requirements adds to the compliance burden for producers operating across international value chains.
- EU Member States are required to establish national textile EPR schemes by June 2027, with implementation starting by April 2028, making producers financially and operationally responsible for collection, sorting, and treatment of textile waste.
- France has operated one of the most comprehensive textile EPR schemes since 2007, achieving a collection rate of approximately 31%, compared to an EU average of around 22%.
- Seven US states, including California, Maine, and Oregon, have passed EPR legislation since 2021, with California first to introduce a mandatory textiles EPR scheme; Australia established a voluntary scheme in 2024 and is considering a mandatory transition if circularity targets are not met by 2030.
- The policy deep dive EPR and the Expanding Demand for Data, Traceability, and Interoperability has recently been published by Cascale and Worldly.
THE POLICY WAVE: Multiple regulatory developments across key jurisdictions have brought textile EPR into sharper focus for producers. The EU's Waste Framework Directive ties EPR fee structures to sustainability criteria developed under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, connecting waste policy to product design standards and making producers financially and operationally responsible for managing textile waste at end of life.
- California became the first US state to pass mandatory textile EPR legislation through its Responsible Textile Recovery Act in 2024, though industry groups are challenging the Act on constitutional grounds, with New York and Washington currently considering similar bills.
- Minnesota and Oregon have passed legislation to exempt certain products from EPR regimes, and industry groups in California have engaged actively to influence the timeline and implementation of the state's textile EPR scheme.
- The EU is advancing Digital Product Passports under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation, to be introduced progressively through delegated acts, including for textiles.
- The revised EU Waste Shipment Regulation introduces a Digital Waste Shipment System, mandating digital tracking for waste shipments, with implementation starting in May 2026.
- China's current Five-Year Plan for 2026 to 2030 prioritises integrating green practices into economic development, with EPR alignment identified as a likely high priority.
- Kenya passed comprehensive EPR legislation in 2024 applying to all products regardless of sector and is currently establishing its textiles Producer Responsibility Organisation.
INDUSTRY IMPLICATIONS: For producers operating across international value chains, expanding EPR schemes are generating overlapping compliance demands that reach well beyond waste collection and disposal, compounding pressure across business functions and markets. Differing timelines, financial obligations, and reporting formats across jurisdictions are increasing the burden on sustainability, sourcing, and data teams, reinforcing the need for more consistent and interoperable data systems. The use of AI in supply chain management has the potential to strengthen the standardisation and comparability of EPR data, including by automating product information collection and helping evaluate potential eco-modulation penalties or credits.
- Cascale's Higg Product Tools, including the Higg MSI and Higg Product Module, can inform eco-modulation and product-level impact assessments, supporting the generation of data relevant to fee modulation criteria.
- Worldly's Product Impact Calculator integrates directly with the Ecobalyse API to generate compliant scores, and brands have used it to model impact for more than 400,000 products.
- All eight mandatory data parameters for a compliant French Eco-score are captured in the Product Impact Calculator; Worldly also surfaces optional data points, including number of SKUs, price, and repair service, that can prevent worst-case defaults from inflating a brand's impact score by 2x.
- Facility-level tools such as Higg FEM contribute to the collection and verification of environmental data at the upstream supplier level, covering areas including waste management and chemical use.
- The limited development of fibre-to-fibre recycling remains a central structural challenge, with recyclers facing rising waste volumes and limited downstream demand, while gaps in collection and sorting infrastructure highlight the need for targeted public investment and continued research into automated sorting technologies.
WHAT THEY SAID
Textile EPR is one clear example of how rapidly the regulatory landscape is evolving, and companies are being asked to manage increasingly complex requirements across multiple jurisdictions. For Cascale members and the wider consumer goods industry, this is a strong signal that the conversation is shifting from reactive compliance to more strategic, system-level approaches. The focus now needs to be on aligning how data is collected and used across value chains so it is consistent, comparable, and can be reused across different regulatory requirements. Companies that invest in this kind of alignment will be better positioned not only to respond to regulation, but also to reduce duplication, improve coordination, and make more informed decisions.
— Gabriele Ballero
Public Affairs Manager
Cascale
Companies are under growing pressure to report on regulatory requirements with consistent, actionable data. Scalable technology and aligned data frameworks are essential. By connecting product and facility-level insights in one platform, we can help businesses streamline reporting, improve data quality, and better integrate sustainability into core business decision-making.
— JR Siegel
Vice President of Sustainability
Worldly
