The Nickel Report

On November 3, 2025, the California Retailers Association, the American Apparel and Footwear Association, and the National Retail Federation launched the Textile Renewal Alliance, a 501(c)(3) organization that will seek approval from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to implement an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program under California’s Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 (SB 707).

Governor Newsom signed SB 707 into law in September 2024, introducing the nation’s first EPR law for textiles. The launch of the Textile Renewal Alliance responds to SB 707’s requirement that textile producers form and join a producer responsibility organization (PRO), which will be responsible for collecting fees from producers and implementing a program to ensure that covered products are collected, sorted, transported, processed, reused, and recycled after consumer use. Prospective PROs must apply and submit a compliance plan to CalRecycle by January 1, 2026, and CalRecycle must in turn select a PRO by March 1, 2026.

Recent experience from packaging EPR programs in multiple states suggests the PRO will have substantial influence over how SB 707 is implemented. Producers should accordingly be on the lookout for opportunities to engage with both CalRecycle and the Textile Renewal Alliance. Near-term opportunities include signing up for email alerts from CalRecycle and subscribing to the Textile Renewal Alliance’s monthly newsletter. The Textile Renewal Alliance has also indicated that it will be offering webinars on producers’ compliance obligations and the SB 707 implementation process. 

SB 707 adds to a growing body of product stewardship programs administered by CalRecycle, including California’s EPR program for packaging and food service ware, SB 54. Although California was the first state to pass a textile EPR law, producer obligations have the potential to expand to other states. In 2025, EPR legislation for textiles was introduced in both New York and Washington. As both states’ legislative sessions have closed for this year, this will be an issue to continue monitoring in 2026. Sellers of apparel and other textile-based fashion items should also continue to monitor potential fashion accountability legislation proposed in several states, as detailed in our prior post.