An Effort to Tackle Fast Fashion Waste: Mandating Brands Recycle Their Clothes

A new measure in California would mandate clothing producers recycle what they sell, the latest effort to address the environmental impacts of fast fashion and textile waste. Should the bill pass, Californians would be able to bring unwanted or damaged items and household textiles to collection sites, including thrift stores and charity shops, for sorting and recycling.

The bill, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024, stresses the value of reuse, noting that reuse “minimizes generation of hazardous waste, generation of greenhouse gases, environmental impacts, environmental justice impacts and public health impacts.”

The state legislature broadly approved the measure last month and it now sits on the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom, awaiting his signature. The bill received more than 150 endorsements from environmental organizations, municipal waste managers and retailers. The bill’s supporters say it will facilitate the industry's shift towards a sustainable and circular economy and create at least 1,000 green jobs.

While reusing can prolong a product's lifespan, the bill's authors emphasize that any apparel that is eventually discarded must be recycled into secondary products. However, the bill contains extensive text addressing secondhand retailing and online marketplaces, while only briefly referencing the reprocessing of discarded items into new fabrics or materials.

Josh Newman, the Democratic state senator who sponsored the bill, told reporters he wanted to address textile waste, which has exploded across the United States. Notably, 85% of all textiles end up in landfills, emit methane gas and leach harmful chemicals and dyes into our soil and groundwater. Sadly, just 15% of clothing and other textiles are reused despite the fact that about 95% of these materials, including fabrics, yarns, and buttons, are recyclable.

“We worked really hard to consult with and eventually to align all of the stakeholders in the life cycle of textiles so that at the end there was no opposition,” he said. That’s an immensely hard thing to do when you consider the magnitude of the problem and all of the very different interests.”

The bill aims to incentivize manufacturers to adopt more sustainable practices and develop eco-friendly designs, holding them accountable for their products throughout their entire lifecycle. While some of the details are scant, companies have until 2026 to create a non-profit organization responsible for the design of collection sites, mail-back programs, or related initiatives.

Some European countries have already offered examples of how such a model can work.

For instance, earlier this year, French legislators approved a measure that imposes penalty fees on companies in the fast fashion industry for each item sold. Members of parliament (MPs) proposed charges of up to 50% of the selling price on fast fashion items, targeting major brands like Shein and Temu. Statistics reveal the significant presence of fast fashion in France, with 43% of surveyed shoppers reporting their preference for such retailers. This surge in fast fashion consumption has prompted policymakers to push for measures promoting a more sustainable and circular economy, aligning with the objectives outlined in the AGEC law passed in 2020.