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Signed into law by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in September 2024, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act (RTRA) intends to drastically change the life cycles of apparel and textiles in California. The law does not impact just California-based businesses; it imposes obligations on anyone who sells, offers for sale or distributes certain products in California, regardless of where the business is located. Subject entities in the act are called “producers,” but this term’s meaning is broader than it appears, affecting multiple parties.
The stated purpose of this far-reaching law is to divert more postconsumer apparel and textiles away from landfills and toward reuse, repair and recycling. To achieve this, the RTRA establishes an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for apparel and textiles. The scope of the RTRA is ambitious, with the first binding obligations for producers in July 2026, although producers may benefit from developing a producer responsibility organization (PRO) before that date.
Given these developments, it’s worth considering what the RTRA might mean for your business, given that similar programs are being explored elsewhere.
To whom the RTRA applies
The RTRA applies to producers selling, offering for sale or distributing “covered products” in California. To understand the act, it is important to know what this term means. Covered products include:
• Apparel: The act defines “apparel” as clothing and accessory items intended for regular wear, formal occasions or outdoor activities. That means anything from shirts and pants to handbags and athletic wear. This definition does not include personal protective equipment (PPE) or clothing for use by the U.S. military, nor does it include PPE used to protect from health or environmental hazards and certain reusable products.
• Textiles: Items made entirely or primarily of natural or synthetic fiber, yarn or fabric and customarily used in households or businesses are covered products under the act. Specifically, covered textile products are listed as blankets, curtains, fabric window coverings, knitted and woven accessories, towels, tapestries, bedding, tablecloths, napkins, linens and pillows. Single-use products such as paper towels or toilet paper are not considered covered products.
If your business handles any of these covered products, the next step is to determine if you are a producer under the act. Again, the RTRA applies not just to businesses based in California but also to businesses providing covered products to consumers in California. The sale of a covered product comes under the purview of the act if the product is delivered to a consumer in the state of California.
Businesses that sell only secondhand covered products or that have less than $1 million in “annual aggregate global turnover” are not considered producers. The act details how the annual aggregate global turnover is calculated and adjusted.
Requirements under the RTRA
Much is yet to be determined about the exact requirements that will apply to individual producers because the RTRA leaves much of the actual implementation of the act to the PROs and regulations that the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) has not
yet promulgated.
Once approved by CalRecycle, PROs will be self-governed and self-funded organizations. Each PRO is required to put together a stewardship plan for the collection, transportation, repair, recycling and management of covered products. The first deadline under the act is for PROs to submit applications for department approval by Jan. 1, 2026. If multiple PROs submit applications, the department will pick one that it deems can most effectively implement the act. Additional PROs can apply for approval starting in 2035.
The PRO’s formation and development of its stewardship plan, as well as other required deliverables under the RTRA, may offer opportunities for producers to shape RTRA implementation. Individual producers will be required to join and register with a PRO by July 1, 2026, and once the PRO’s stewardship plan is approved or beginning July 1, 2030 (whichever is sooner), producers will face penalties if they are not participating in the PRO or if not all covered products are accounted for
in the PRO’s plan.
The PRO’s work under the RTRA includes:
• Preparing an initial needs assessment to determine the steps and investment required to implement the RTRA. The scope of that assessment is broad and must evaluate issues such as market conditions for the reuse, repair and recycling of covered products; funding sources and investment needed to achieve the act’s goals; and consumer behaviors and education needs to achieve the act’s requirements.
• Developing the stewardship plan and fully implementing that plan within 12 months of department approval. Plans must address costs and funding for plan operation, performance standards and metrics, how the PRO will provide free and convenient drop-off and collection systems for covered products, and how those sites will be managed. Other necessary aspects include
how the plan will incentivize reuse over recycling and information
on a comprehensive consumer education program.
• Fully funding its own administrative and operational costs in addition to covering the costs of the department implementing and enforcing the act. Participating producers will pay a fee to the PRO that is “eco-modulated” to incentivize choices that facilitate reuse, repair and recycling through reduced fees.
• Fulfill other obligations, such as approving collection sites.
It’s unclear what, if any, level of participation the PRO will offer to producer members as it develops its various required deliverables under the RTRA. The PRO is required, however, to have a governing board consisting of producers diverse in size and type.
Complying with RTRA requirements
Starting 12 months after the effective date of its regulations, the department will post an annual list on its website of all compliant producers and their brands of covered products. Once the PRO plan is approved, retailers, importers, distributors and online marketplaces are prohibited from selling, distributing or importing covered products from producers that are not on the department’s list.
The RTRA establishes administrative penalties for noncompliance of up to $10,000 per day. This penalty increases to a maximum of $50,000 per day for violations deemed intentional or known. Both individual producers and the PRO itself can face administrative penalties, and the department has the authority to revoke or require resubmission of the PRO plan.
The future of similar state or federal programs
Extended producer responsibility programs designed to shift responsibility to producers for the full life cycle of a product are not a new creation. More than 30 states have similar programs across various product categories, such as electronics. However, this is the first program in the U.S. to focus on apparel and textiles. New York has considered a similar program under New York Senate Bill 2023-S6654, which was introduced in the 2023–2024 legislative session but remains in committee. The fate of the New York bill is uncertain. The federal government has recently evaluated reduction and recycling efforts for textiles in a Government Accountability Office report published in December 2024. The report largely recommended more governmental coordination.
Outside of the U.S., the European Union is finalizing a similar program for textiles that would apply throughout the EU. Producers should also monitor developments in such programs for packaging, which may gain traction in the years ahead.
Keith Casto is a counsel at Womble Bond Dickinson in San Francisco and Walnut Creek, Calif. His practice focuses on environmental regulatory and transactional consulting and environmental and toxic tort litigation.
Jess Portmess is a senior counsel at Womble Bond Dickinson in Denver, Colo. She has also worked as an attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, providing counsel on matters under the Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances and Control Act.