Think about every piece of clothing you’ve thrown away in the last year. A worn-out T-shirt, a pair of jeans that didn’t survive the move, a jacket that never quite fit right. Now multiply that by 40 million — the population of California. In California alone, 1.2 million tons of textiles are discarded every year, according to CalRecycle. Nationally, well over 17 million tons of textiles enter the domestic waste stream annually, according to the U.S. EPA. For decades, that problem landed squarely on consumers, municipalities, and nonprofits like Goodwill. California just decided that’s no longer how it works.
CalRecycle selected Landbell USA as the producer responsibility organization to enact the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, which mandates that producers of textiles and apparel pay into a system to keep waste out of landfills. The announcement, made Feb. 27, puts into motion the first extended producer responsibility, or EPR, program for textiles in the United States — a framework that shifts the financial burden of managing end-of-life clothing from the public to the brands and manufacturers that made it in the first place.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed S.B. 707 into law in October 2024, making apparel and textile producers responsible for creating a plan to collect, repair, and recycle their products. Under the law, covered products span an impressively wide range: everything from shirts and dresses to handbags, bedding, window coverings, towels, and tablecloths. Secondhand sellers and businesses with less than $1 million in annual global sales are exempt.
Landbell USA
Landbell USA beat out two other applicants — the Circular Textile Alliance and the Textile Renewal Alliance, both Sacramento-based — to take on the role. It’s part of the Landbell Group, headquartered in Mainz, Germany, which bills itself as a global leader in EPR solutions. Its program philosophy leans heavily on the idea that recycling is the last resort, not the first. Landbell USA’s program messaging is intentionally straightforward: “Mend it. Wear it. Pass it On.” — meaning repair comes first, reuse follows, and recycling is there when those first two options aren’t possible.
The organization is planning to build real infrastructure to back that up. Its plan for the estimated 35,000 to 40,000 producers covered by S.B. 707 includes establishing 15,800 municipal collection bins, each serving roughly 2,500 state residents, with retailers also taking on roles as collection partners.
The National Stewardship Action Council, known as NSAC, applauded CalRecycle’s “careful due diligence” in the selection. “The selection of a textile PRO represents a critical milestone in moving landmark policy into operational practice,” NSAC said. “Successful implementation of S.B. 707 will require collaboration, transparency, innovation, and strong stakeholder engagement across the textile value chain.” NSAC Executive Director and CEO Heidi Sanborn will serve on Landbell’s Advisory Committee, which brings together experts in policy, municipal outreach, eco-design, digital product passports, footwear deconstruction, and more.
What comes next
For brands, the clock is already ticking. The July 1, 2026, deadline requires producers to join the PRO, followed by a needs assessment due by March 1, 2027. CalRecycle must adopt implementing regulations by July 1, 2028, with full program rollout and enforcement beginning July 1, 2030 — including daily fines of up to $50,000 for knowing or intentional violations.
Rachel Kibbe, Founder and CEO of American Circular Textiles, says the real test starts now. “The designation is an important step, but the real work begins now,” she said in a statement. “Companies are focused on implementation, timeline, costs, governance, and how the system will operate in practice. Because other states are watching closely, the decisions made in California will likely influence how textile EPR develops nationally.”
Legislatures in New York and Washington state have already considered similar legislation, though nothing has passed either statehouse as of yet. That could change quickly. California has a long track record of setting the regulatory pace for the rest of the country — and this time, what gets built here isn’t just a recycling program. It’s a blueprint.
