Extended producer responsibility in the garments sector

Garments generate many environmental impacts. They use chemicals and water, produce greenhouse gas emissions and generate waste. The aim of this working paper is to evaluate the potential for the extended producer responsibility (EPR) approach to help achieve public ambitions for the adoption of circular economy principles in the garments product sector. The paper reviews the environmental impacts of garments, the landscape of current policy and an analysis of the impacts of existing EPR schemes. The limited available experience suggests that EPR improves rates of separate collection of garments. In addition to improving collection and sorting, there is the possibility that EPR can help to reduce environmental impacts generated by the production, use and disposal of garments. This is primarily by changing the economic incentives for producers, consumers and waste managers.