NYT: A California law coming into force could change fashion

California is trying to become the first state to make fashion brands, manufacturers and retailers pick up the tab for textile waste, and the details of the plan are taking shape now. If it works, the transformation could be enormous: California residents discarded nearly 1.2 million tons of textiles in 2021 alone, according to a report from the recycling company USAgain. “The vast majority of textile waste is landfilled,” said Sheng Lu, a professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware. Currently, consumers and local municipalities pay for managing all that waste. But under a state law adopted in 2024, the Responsible Textile Recovery Act, that’s supposed to change. By 2030, businesses will be legally responsible for the cost of collecting, sorting, repairing and recycling used clothing and household textiles.