As long as we are talking about California… last week, California Governor Newsom also signed SB707, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, creating a new statewide extended producer responsibility program for apparel and textiles. Like the state’s climate disclosure laws, compliance is mandatory regardless of whether a covered producer is domiciled in California. Any producer of apparel or textile articles who sells, offers for sale, or distributes a covered product into the state must comply with the law.
Major elements of the law include:
- A producer of apparel or textile articles must form and join a Producer Responsibility Organization (“PRO”). The state must approve a PRO by March 1, 2026.
- The PRO must submit to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (“Department”) a complete plan for the collection, transportation, repair, sorting, and recycling, and the safe and proper management, of apparel and textile articles in the state, which must be approved by the Department. Article 4 of the Act includes a number of required specific elements for such plans. An initial needs assessment for covered products must be completed by the PRO before the completion and approval of any producer responsibility plan for covered products and submitted to the department by March 1, 2027.
- Upon approval of a plan, or commencing July 1, 2030, whichever is earlier, a producer is subject to civil penalties, unless the producer is a participant of a PRO and all apparel and textiles are accounted for in the plan.
- The PRO must submit an annual report to the department and review their plan at least every 5 years after approval.
- The PRO must also provide to the department a list of brands of covered products that each producer sells, distributes for sale, imports for sale, or offers for sale in or into the state. The list must be updated on or before January 15 of each year or upon request of the department. Hopefully, this won’t need to be at the SKU level, but that is possible.
- A PRO shall approve collection sites under its stewardship program that agree to comply with all applicable state, federal, or municipal laws, regulations, and rules and conditions adopted by the PRO.
- Each producer covered under a PRO must register with that PRO and comply with the PRO’s procedures and requirements.
- An online marketplace is to be created to notify the department and the PRO of all third-party sellers with sales of apparel or textile articles over $1,000,000 sold on their online marketplace in the preceding year and provide all required information and provide those sellers with information regarding laws governing the PRO plan.
- The Department is to post on its website a list of producers that are in compliance with the program.
- Administrative civil penalties are not to exceed $10,000 per day, or $50,000 per day for an intentional or knowing violation.
Of course, like most other ESG laws, this one will likely be litigated.
Members can can learn more about circular economy/recycling here.
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