On September 29, 2026, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) held an informal regulatory concepts workshop on the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 (SB 707), seeking further input on the details of implementing the regulations. SB 707 is California's extended producer responsibility (EPR) law for clothing and textiles, and its definition of "covered products" is quite broad, encompassing everything from shirts, dresses, casual wear, sportswear, formal wear, and work uniforms to handbags, knitted and woven accessories, bedding, tablecloths, fabric curtains, and pillows, affecting the entire supply chain.

Key Points

  • CalRecycle held an informal regulatory concepts workshop on SB 707 on September 29, 2026, with a deadline for written comments of October 13, 2026.
  • Concepts discussed include establishing a unified registration process, with producer responsibility organizations (PROs) assigning producer registration numbers to regulated entities, and requiring clarity on what constitutes "selling in or into California."
  • Clarifying that sellers offering only secondhand covered products are not producers, and clarifying how "secondhand goods" are defined and how they are acquired (e.g., whether they are sold through a secondhand market).

Several proposed regulatory concepts discussed at the workshop directly affect the definition of circulation for used clothing and textiles. First, establishing a unified registration process, with PROs responsible for locating regulated entities within the producer hierarchy, possibly including an online registration portal and issuance of producer registration numbers. Second, clarifying the jurisdictional determination of "selling in or into the state": an entity may be deemed a producer if it is subject to California court jurisdiction or voluntarily assumes responsibility under the law. Third, providing that certain entities may assume some or all of a producer's obligations and responsibilities through a standardized responsibility assumption agreement; such an agreement may be required to be incorporated into a PRO's producer responsibility plan, or submitted separately with specified information. Fourth, setting up an exemption determination process for small sellers with total annual global revenue below $1 million, possibly using a standardized form and annual renewal requirements.

The point of greatest interest to the secondhand industry is this: because sellers offering only "secondhand covered products" are not considered producers, the workshop specifically discussed how to define in the rules when a product constitutes a secondhand product, and how it was acquired—for example, whether it applies only when sold through a secondhand market. This means the compliance status of mitumba (secondhand clothing) and resale channels in California will depend on how this definition is ultimately settled.

Written comments on the September workshop topics may be submitted until October 13, 2026, through the CalRecycle public comment portal or by email to [email protected], with the email subject line required to state "September 2026 Textile Stewardship Informal Regulatory Concepts Workshop."

Source: CalRecycle Holds September 2026 Informal Regulatory Concepts Workshop on California's Textile EPR Law | JD Supra · Originally published 2026-10-07