Let's say you bought a new pair of jeans and wore them for a few years before deciding it was time to part ways. You could throw them away, or, if you wanted a more environmentally friendly option, you might try to sell or swap them or donate them to a local thrift store. Either way, the onus is on you to pass those jeans on, and hope for the best.
But a new California bill that tackles the growing problem of fashion and textile waste could change the way we get rid of our clothes, putting the burden on clothing producers to implement a system for recycling the wares that they sell. If passed, Californians will be able to bring unwanted and even damaged apparel and household textiles to thrift stores, charities and other accessible collection sites throughout the state for sorting and recycling. This first-in-the-nation bill, known as the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, requires producers of apparel, towels, bedding and upholstery to implement and fund a statewide reuse, repair and recycling program for their products.
Since 1960, the amount of textile waste generated in the US has increased nearly tenfold, exceeding more than 17m tonnes in 2018. A shocking 85% of all textiles end up in landfills where they emit methane gas and leach chemicals and dyes into our soil and groundwater. And only about 15% of clothing and other textiles gets reused, even though an estimated 95% of the materials – including fabrics, yarns, fibers, zippers and buttons – are recyclable.
These d.
