Ask Our Experts: Top Frequently Asked Questions on Textiles Extended Producer Responsibility

This blog was originally posted on 1st October, 2024. Further regulatory developments may have occurred after publication. To keep up-to-date with the latest compliance news, sign up to our newsletter.

---

At Compliance & Risks, we help the world’s leading brands to monitor and manage global regulations and standards via C2P, our comprehensive SaaS platform. We enable you to monitor, assess and prove your products’ compliance, protecting your brands and helping drive growth.

In our new ‘Ask our Experts’ series, we bring you some of the pressing questions asked by your peers on a hot compliance topic. This month, we break down some of the top frequently asked questions on Textiles Extended Producer Responsibility.

Textiles Extended Producer Responsibility FAQ’s

Question 1:

French law 2020-105 “AGEC” has over 50 implementing decrees (incl. EPR). We are trying to get clarity on the sales – units & turnover (revenue?) – thresholds for when AGEC will apply. Could you please confirm the upcoming dates that apply to Textiles & Sporting Goods? And, if we determine that we are under the threshold for AGEC, does that mean that none of the associated decrees apply at this time?

The AGEC law does not declare thresholds in regards to EPR of textiles or sporting goods.

Provisions relating to extended producer responsibility are required to be met by either joining an approved eco-organization or by setting up your own individual system.

Ecologic is the is eco-organization appointed for sports and leisure articles.

As per Ecologic, the producer is responsible for the end of life of its waste and must fulfill its regulatory obligations. To do so, there are two possibilities: either to join an eco-organization or to set up its own system.

In both cases, the producer is obliged to:

Register on the Ademe’s national register of producers: Syderep

• Declare every year the total quantities and weights of ASL put on the French market, and the rate of incorporation of recycled material by equipment;
• Inform the end users of the equipment;
• Financing the collection and processing of equipment, and supporting repair and reuse;
• Ensure the collection and processing and promote repair and reuse;
• Transmit annual collection and processing reports to the public authorities.

The producer can transfer his obligations to Ecologic by becoming member.

Regarding the Triman / sorting information requirements, the implementation dates in the Sporting and Leisure Goods sector are:

• By April 28, 2024: 12 months to implement the infotri
• By October 28, 2024: the deadline for the stock clearance period (+6 months after April 28, 2024)

The clothing, household linen and footwear textiles sector was created in 2007.

Refashion is the eco-organization appointed for clothing, household linens and footwear to handle EPR obligations. 

The Triman / sorting information requirement for this sector entered into force in 2023.

Question 2:

Could you please provide more information about the Textile EPR scheme in Hungary and Latvia?

The current EPR systems for Hungary and Latvia are as follows:

Hungary

The existing Hungarian EPR system, established by Decree No. 890/2023, applies to a range of products, including certain textiles products as per the tariff numbers detailed in Annex 1.

The main obligations of producers are to register with a “concession company” and pay the related fees quarterly. The amount of the fees are established in Decree No. 8/2023 based on the net mass of product declared. Producers must also register with the National Waste Management Authority.

Foreign producers may appoint a representative to fulfill their EPR obligations. The appointment of a representative is instead compulsory in case of e-commerce.

Other obligations include:

• Reporting: the EPR declaration must be submitted by the 20th of the month following the quarter in question.
• Keeping records: producers must keep records for at least five years.

Latvia

The main EPR obligations are set out in Articles 37-3 and 37-4 of the Waste Management Law, as lastly amended by Law No. 62, 2023, according to which manufacturers must ensure the collection, preparation for re-use, processing or regeneration of textile waste, using the best available techniques.

To do so, manufacturers may take the appropriate measures themselves or enter into an agreement with a textile waste management company.

According to Article 37-4, manufacturers must bear the costs associated with the operations of collection, transport, preparation for reuse, processing and regeneration of textile waste. Said costs are the tax to be paid under the Natural Resources Tax Law which is calculated based on a tax rate of EUR 0.50 per kilogram. There is the possibility to obtain exemption from this tax if the manufacturer joins a producer responsibility system.

Question 3:

I would like to ask about the labeling requirements that our company would need to comply with for commercializing products in Europe in terms of extended producer responsibility. I’m interested in EPR schemes that are enforceable / will become enforceable in the next year.

In terms of European EPR schemes, the EU Waste Framework Directive is currently under revision to introduce a new EU-wide EPR scheme. The revision is however still at the proposal stage, and after the entry into force of the EU Directive, Member States will have to implement the Directive into national law, so these changes won’t be enforceable within the next year.

In terms of national legislation, there are several EPR schemes in Europe:

1. France: France has introduced EPR for a broad range of products including textiles and footwear as part of the AGEC law. This also entails the obligation to affix the Triman logo. The following sources in C2P entail further explanations on this:

• France: Anti-waste and Promotion of Circular Economy, Law 2020-105
• France: Consumer Information Symbol on Sorting Rule for Waste Resulting from Household Products Subject to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Decree No. 2021-835
• France: Triman and Sorting Info for Clothing, Household Linens and Footwear, Guidance Document, February 2022

2. Netherlands: The Netherlands have introduced EPR for a range of products in 2020, and EPR has been made mandatory for textiles through an implementing decree in July 2023. This Decree however does not entail any labeling obligations for companies.

• Netherlands: Scheme for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), Decree, 18 September 2020
• Netherlands: Extended Producer Responsibility for Textiles, Decree, April 2023

3. Latvia and Hungary introduced EPR for textiles, but none of these schemes contain labeling obligations for manufacturers:

• Hungary: Rules for the Operation of the Extended Producer Responsibility System, Decree 80/2023
• Latvia: Waste Management Law, 2010 – Amendment – (on regional waste management centers, retail packaging waste, textile EPR, etc.) Law No. 62, 2023

In addition to these, there is a number of proposed EPR schemes across Europe, including in Sweden and Bulgaria. To conclude, France is currently the only country that mandates labeling of textiles for EPR purposes that I am aware of.

Your Questions Answered

The above questions asked on Textiles Extended Producer Responsibility were submitted and answered via the “Ask Our Experts” (AOE) button in C2P. 

Our customers use AOE to ask about the latest proposed, enacted and amended regulations and mandatory standards applicable to their products and geographies of interest. 

When AOE questions can be answered in 30 minutes or less, Compliance & Risks’ subject matter experts answer them at no charge!

To learn more about C2P and how Compliance & Risks’ SMEs can help you with your questions, start a conversation today.

Meet our Experts