Landbell USA announces its selection by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) to serve as the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) for the Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2024 (SB 707). As the first-of-its-kind legislation in the United States, SB 707聽establishes聽a formal framework for the collection, repair,聽reuse聽and recycling of apparel and textile products. By selecting聽Landbell聽USA,聽CalRecycle聽has聽designated聽a mission-driven 501(c)(3) nonprofit to lead the state鈥檚 transition toward a circular textile economy.
In its role as the PRO,聽Landbell聽USA will聽be responsible for聽overseeing the end-to-end management聽and proper stewardship聽of covered products sold within California. This includes the development of a comprehensive Producer Responsibility Plan designed to reduce textile waste and increase the longevity of garments through聽the procurement聽of innovative聽consumer education programs, repair,聽reuse聽and recycling infrastructure.
鈥淲e are honored to take on this historic responsibility,鈥� said Patrick Gibbs, Textile Lead聽at聽Landbell聽USA. 鈥淐alifornia is setting a global precedent for textile sustainability. Our goal is to provide a seamless, transparent, and highly effective program that聽requires聽producers聽to聽fund a product聽stewardship聽program聽for聽the聽covered materials they put into the California marketplace,聽while providing Californians with accessible options for textile recovery.鈥�
Under the statutory requirements of the Public Resources Code, Landbell USA will immediately begin executing several critical mandates, including: Statewide Needs Assessment:聽Conducting聽an initial聽evaluation of California鈥檚聽SB 707 covered materials聽recovery infrastructure to聽identify聽gaps and聽available resources. Producer聽Outreach:聽Covered Producers must sign up with the selected PRO by July 1, 2026.聽Maintaining聽an updated registry of聽covered聽producers聽ensures聽compliance across all participating entities.
Landbell USA鈥檚 operations are guided by a diverse governing board comprising producers of various sizes and covered material categories, ensuring that the unique needs of the apparel and textile industries are fully represented. To ensure public trust, Landbell USA will undergo annual financial audits and provide comprehensive progress reports to CalRecycle. 鈥淭his selection marks a turning point for the industry,鈥� added John Hayes, President at聽Landbell聽USA. 鈥淏y leveraging聽Landbell鈥檚聽global expertise in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), we are prepared to turn the challenges of textile waste into a robust system of resource recovery.鈥�