If you haven't heard of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) yet, now is the time to get familiar. A new wave of regulations is quietly reshaping who is responsible for what happens to products after they're sold — and the bill is coming due for retailers and brands who aren't prepared.
This post breaks down what EPR is, how it works, and what retail operators and supply chain teams need to know before compliance deadlines arrive.
EPR 101: The Basics
Extended Producer Responsibility is a policy framework that shifts the cost and responsibility for end-of-life product management away from consumers and municipalities — and onto the companies that make and sell those products.
The idea is straightforward: if your business puts a product into the market, you share responsibility for what happens to it when it's discarded. That means funding collection, sorting, recycling, reuse, or responsible disposal — depending on what the specific law requires.
EPR laws are typically overseen by a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) — an industry-led body made up of stakeholders from the sector the law targets. This structure is intentional. It encourages buy-in from within the industry and allows for practical input on what's feasible. Many EPR laws are written with deliberately broad language so that the PRO and industry can fill in the operational details over time.
Here's how the funding model typically works: producers defined under the law pay fees to the PRO, which then uses those funds to cover the costs of collection, diversion from landfills, and verifiable tracking of materials. Some laws also allocate funding for education, outreach, and infrastructure development.
What Products Are Covered Today?
EPR isn't new — it's been applied to packaging, mattresses, paint, hazardous household materials, batteries, beverages, and pharmaceuticals for years. But the scope is expanding rapidly, and textiles are next.
For retailers who sell clothing, footwear, accessories, home goods like bedding and towels, uniforms, or handbags — pay close attention. A significant regulatory shift is underway, and it's closer than you might think.
California's SB 707: The First Textile EPR Law in the US
California Senate Bill 707, also known as the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, is the most advanced textile EPR legislation in the United States, and it's the one every retail operator should be watching. It shifts responsibility for textile waste — historically borne by consumers and public waste systems — directly onto producers.
What's covered under SB 707: Clothing, footwear, accessories, knitted and woven goods, handbags, backpacks, uniforms, and home textiles like bedding, towels, and curtains.
What's not covered: PPE, reusable personal hygiene products, and items already covered by separate policies such as mattresses and carpet.
Full implementation and fines won't begin until 2030, but that runway is shorter than it sounds. The early phase — sometimes called "ongoing informal rulemaking" — is where the PRO conducts needs assessments, identifies reporting gaps, maps compliance pathways, and formally defines responsibilities and financial infrastructure. The groundwork being laid right now will determine how the rules are written. That's why getting involved early matters.
While additional textile EPR bills have been introduced in other states like Washington and New York, California's SB 707 remains the furthest along and the clearest signal of where the rest of the country is heading.
Who's the PRO?
California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) oversees the implementation of EPR policies like SB 707. The government department reviewed three applications from industry organizations earlier this year. On February 27, 2026, Landbell USA was chosen as the new textile PRO. Landbell USA is a New York-based nonprofit subsidiary of the German-based Landbell Group, which operates similar programs in Europe.
Why Compliance Is Harder Than It Sounds
Even with a 2030 deadline, the operational challenges of textile EPR compliance are significant — and they start well before fines kick in.
Collection is hard. Getting clothing back from consumers at scale requires infrastructure that doesn't yet exist in most markets.
Sorting is manual and complex. Unlike packaging, textiles are often mixed materials that can't be easily separated or recycled with current technology.
Recycling isn't ready. Textile recycling infrastructure hasn't scaled to meet the volume these regulations will require. The technology is still catching up, and there's real uncertainty about whether it will be ready by 2030.
That last point is critical for supply chain strategists: recycling alone will not be the answer. Reuse, resale, donation, and product lifecycle extension will be essential complements — and in many cases, more practical and cost-effective options in the near term.
This is exactly why solving the problem closer to the source matters. Retailers who build circular processes into their returns and inventory management operations now won't just be ahead of the compliance curve — they'll be operating more efficiently and reducing waste before regulations force the issue.
What Retailers Should Be Doing Right Now
The informal rulemaking phase is where the industry's voice shapes the regulation. Stakeholder input — from retailers, logistics providers, platforms, and nonprofits — will influence what's required, how it's tracked, and what solutions qualify as compliant.
Retailers who engage now have the opportunity to:
- Identify reporting gaps in their current inventory and returns tracking
- Map compliant diversion pathways by including donation, resale, and repair alongside recycling
- Build relationships with the PRO and industry associations to collaborate on shaping the rules
- Pilot scalable solutions so operations are ready to perform at volume by 2030
At LiquiDonate, we're diving deep into both EPR requirements and Digital Product Passport (DPP) standards — in Europe and here in the US — because we believe donation is a high-value, scalable path for product lifecycle extension. Our platform helps retailers reroute returns and excess inventory directly to nonprofits and community organizations, creating a traceable, landfill-diverting outcome that aligns squarely with where these regulations are headed.
We're actively seeking to connect with brands and retail teams whose textile products are looking to take practical steps today — both to get ahead of SB 707 and to build the operational infrastructure that will make compliance achievable when 2030 arrives.
The Bottom Line
EPR isn't a distant policy debate. It's a regulatory framework that's already reshaping retail in Europe and is now landing in the US — starting with textiles in California. The window to prepare, engage, and shape the rules is open right now.
Retailers who wait for the fine print to be finalized will find themselves scrambling. Those who start building circular, traceable, landfill-diverting operations today will be ready — and ahead of the competition.
Want to understand how LiquiDonate can support your compliance strategy? Let's talk.
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