California Textile EPR Moves Ahead as Landbell Lawsuit Continues

California is continuing implementation of its first-in-the-nation textile producer responsibility program while an apparel industry challenge to the state's selection of Landbell USA remains before the courts.

MONTREAL (RecyclingMonster): California is moving ahead with implementation of its textile extended producer responsibility program even as a legal challenge continues over the organization selected to manage the statewide system.

The Responsible Textile Recovery Act, or SB 707, requires covered apparel and textile producers to participate in a producer-funded system designed to expand collection, reuse, repair and recycling of unwanted textiles.

CalRecycle selected Landbell USA on February 27 as the state's approved Producer Responsibility Organization, or PRO. Covered producers were required to join Landbell by July 1, 2026.

AAFA Challenge Continues After Injunction Denied

The American Apparel & Footwear Association filed a legal challenge in March contesting CalRecycle's selection of Landbell USA.

AAFA alleges that Landbell does not satisfy several statutory requirements for the PRO, raising issues involving nonprofit status, producer governance, board representation and financial oversight.

On September 17, Sacramento Superior Court denied AAFA's request for a preliminary injunction that would have paused Landbell's work while the case proceeds.

The ruling allows Landbell to continue carrying out its responsibilities as the approved PRO while the underlying case remains unresolved. A hearing on the challenge is scheduled for March 12, 2027.

Producer Registration Remains Open After July Deadline

The statutory July 1 deadline for covered producers to join the approved PRO has passed, but Landbell continues to accept registrations.

For the 2026-27 cycle, Landbell charges producers a flat $1,000 administrative registration fee. The fee supports early program-development work, including the statewide needs assessment and preparation for the future stewardship system.

Companies selling covered apparel or textile products into California must determine whether they fall within the law's definition of a producer.

Among the exclusions, sellers with less than $1 million in annual aggregate global turnover are not considered producers under SB 707. Businesses selling only secondhand covered products are also excluded from the producer definition.

Formal Producer Penalties Come Later in the Timeline

SB 707 authorizes administrative penalties of up to $10,000 per day for violations and up to $50,000 per day for intentional or knowing violations.

For producers, however, the law ties the specified compliance penalty trigger to approval of the PRO stewardship plan or July 1, 2030, whichever occurs first.

Producers that missed the initial registration deadline are therefore being encouraged to determine their obligations and complete registration while the broader program is still being developed.

California Textile Regulations Continue to Take Shape

CalRecycle is using informal public workshops to develop regulatory concepts for the textile stewardship program. Its next workshop is scheduled for November 12 and will address topics including the Producer Responsibility Plan, contingency requirements, plan termination and revocation, and annual reporting.

The agency's current rulemaking calendar projects publication of proposed regulations in October 2027, a public hearing in December 2027 and agency adoption in February 2028. Regulations cannot take effect before July 1, 2028.

Landbell is required to complete the initial statewide needs assessment by March 1, 2027. The assessment will help identify existing collection and processing infrastructure, service gaps and investments that may be needed before the full stewardship plan is developed.

California's current implementation timeline calls for an approved PRO plan by July 2030 and full implementation of the plan in 2031.

California Could Set a Template for U.S. Textile Recycling

SB 707 created the first mandatory U.S. extended producer responsibility program specifically targeting apparel and textiles.

Covered products include categories such as clothing, accessories, towels, bedding, curtains, blankets, linens and other textile articles defined by the law.

Its development is being closely watched because the infrastructure, fee structure and collection model California ultimately adopts could provide a reference point as other jurisdictions evaluate textile-recovery policies.