US Senator Josh Newman has introduced a new act in California to responsibly tackle textile and clothing waste in a bid to promote circularity.
California’s new Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2023 would require producers to establish a stewardship programme for the collection and recycling of “covered products,” which include any apparel, textile, or textile article that is unsuitable for reuse by a consumer in its current state or condition.
The Act is aimed at facilitating the repair and reuse of clothing and the recycling of textile fibres and will be enacted under Bill SB 707.
Senator Newman explained that the average US consumer discards more than 81 pounds of clothing each year – an amount that has increased 55% since the year 2000 on a per capita basis. Adding, textiles are now the fastest-growing component of California’s landfills, comprising 3% of total landfilled waste, and the fifth-most common material overall.
