The US House of Representatives received a new bill this week that would task the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with leading federal efforts to reduce textile waste. The proposal, named the Textile Waste Reduction Act (TWRA), was introduced by Representative Chellie Pingree, based on a previous Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into fast fashion pollution.

The GAO report, released in December 2024, cited EPA textile waste data showing that US textile waste grew by an estimated more than 50% between 2000 and 2018. The report identified the fast fashion business model and still-immature textile recycling technologies as contributing factors, and recommended that Congress designate a federal agency to lead coordination with other departments on advancing textile circularity. Pingree's bill assigns this responsibility to the EPA.

Pingree said the GAO report confirmed what the industry has judged for years: textile waste is one of the fastest-growing waste categories in the United States, driven mainly by fast fashion, and the federal level must take concrete action. She believes the bill will lay the foundation for reducing textile waste and building a more circular textile economy by establishing a coordinated federal strategy.

The bill's core provisions include: requiring the EPA to develop a comprehensive National Textile Circularity Strategy and conduct a needs assessment to identify the actions, investments, and policy priorities needed to implement it; establishing an interagency textile circularity working group, along with an advisory committee to provide recommendations to the working group; in addition, the EPA must identify and publish federal funding opportunities for state, tribal, local governments, and non-governmental organizations to support textile circularity projects.

Whether the bill can advance during the current administration, which is not enthusiastic about environmental protection, remains to be seen. But the legislative call itself shows that the United States still has a long way to go before establishing a national strategy, especially compared with the regulatory environment in the European Union. Pingree said the United States has the resources and technology to lead this work globally, and it is now time to turn potential into action and make this highly wasteful industry more efficient and more sustainable.

Source: Bill Calls On EPA To Strategize For Textile Circularity · Originally published 2026-09-23