CalRecycle Names Landbell USA Producer Responsibility Organization for California Textile EPR

CalRecycle selected Landbell USA to run California’s Responsible Textile Recovery Act program, approving the company as the state’s Producer Responsibility Organization on February 27, 2026, and requiring that all producers of covered textile products join Landbell USA by July 1, 2026. The action puts SB 707 into the implementation phase and sets a firm producer deadline just four months after the appointment.

SB 707, authored by Newman and codified as Chapter 864, Statutes of 2024, creates an Extended Producer Responsibility framework under Public Resources Code section 42984.4 that compels producers to form and join a PRO. Governing bodies of proposed PROs were required to submit applications to CalRecycle by January 1, 2026, and the Department had a statutory review deadline of March 1, 2026; CalRecycle issued its decision on February 27, 2026, within that statutory window.

Three organizations filed PRO applications with CalRecycle: Landbell USA, Textile Renewal Alliance, and Circular Textile Alliance. Industry summaries describe Textile Renewal Alliance as backed by the National Retail Federation, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, and the California Retailers Association, while Circular Textile Alliance is characterized as a nonprofit focused on circularity. Landbell is presented in industry materials as “part of a global EPR compliance provider with digital infrastructure and experience across product stewardship.”

As the approved PRO, Landbell USA will be responsible for building and managing collection networks, overseeing collection, sorting, and recycling of textile waste, and establishing reporting systems and compliance structures to meet SB 707 obligations. Landbell’s public materials frame the law as a shift away from public funding, stating that “EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) is a policy approach that makes producers financially and logistically responsible for the end-of-life management of their products.” Landbell’s FAQs also enumerate three core producer duties: join a PRO, fund textile collection and recycling programs, and anticipate evolving obligations to meet recycling targets.

Advocacy groups have already signaled engagement with implementation. The National Stewardship Action Council issued a statement that “NSAC applauds CalRecycle for its careful due diligence and thoughtful selection of Landbell USA as the Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) for textiles under California’s SB 707, the first Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program for textiles in the United States.” NSAC also announced that Executive Director Heidi Sanborn will serve on Landbell’s Advisory Committee, which the organization says will address policy and legislation, municipal outreach, eco-design and digital product passports, footwear deconstruction, academic curriculum reform, spinner innovation, and community creative hubs.

Key operational details remain to be published publicly: neither CalRecycle nor Landbell has released producer fee schedules, specific diversion or recycling targets, or a timeline for rolling out collection points across California. CalRecycle directs inquiries to Textiles@calrecycle.ca.gov. With a July 1, 2026 join-by deadline fast approaching, Landbell must move from proposal to operational systems that will determine how apparel and textile brands actually pay for and participate in California’s new EPR regime.