Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach under which producers are given a significant responsibility – financial and/or physical – for the treatment or disposal of post-consumer products. Assigning such responsibility could in principle provide incentives to prevent wastes at the source, promote product design for the environment, and support the achievement of public recycling and materials management goals.
AN ISSUE BIGGER THAN PLASTIC...
The problems of the textile industry go far beyond waste into water use and labor issues. Even within the waste realm, the issue is bigger than plastic as large-scale natural fiber waste could feasibly be put to better use at the end of their first life. Textile manufacturing is the second-largest polluting industry in the world after oil and gas. Pesticides and water used to grow cotton, toxics in dyes, plastic fibers that shed into waterways when washed, and energy-intensive production all contribute to the industry’s staggering environmental impacts. Even though recycled equivalents need to be mixed with virgin cotton to create new clothes, the fashion industry is far from reaching the capacity of how much-recycled content can be included in their garments. As with many other problematic waste streams, much of the root cause is consumerism itself. However, it is not consumerism, rather the type of consumerism that is evident in the trend for fast fashion.
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
Reusing and recycling textiles that are currently disposed of will create jobs, reduce taxpayer and local government costs, and reduce environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions. The counter-culture equivalent slow fashion is based on long-lasting, better quality garments that have a lower impact on the planet. EPR programs create an organized system for cooperation and communication that is based on financial incentives and producer responsibility.
EPR systems work by creating a level playing field among producers so that all compete equally. At the same time, EPR lifts the burden of managing waste textiles from taxpayers, who are currently paying for disposal regardless of their textile consumption habits.
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