Extended Producer Responsibility for Textiles

The EPR for Textiles Decree applies to producers and importers who professionally release consumer clothing, work & corporate wear, bed-, table-, and household linen on the Dutch market. This also applies to textiles with recycled content. It does not matter to whom the product is offered; this can be to a company, or directly to a consumer.

A producer/importer is the one who puts textiles on the market in the Netherlands for the first time. Putting on the market: making textile products available on the market in the Netherlands for the first time. Usually this is the same as the moment when VAT is charged for the first time.

For example:

• A label/brand owner based in the Netherlands who controls the production itself.
• An (online) retail party based in the Netherlands that imports clothing/textiles and places it on the market. 
• An online party based outside the Netherlands that operates from a storage location abroad directly to the Dutch consumer (e.g. Amazon, SHEIN, Aliexpress). This e-commerce party is also obliged to appoint an authorized representative in the Netherlands for the implementation of all obligations in the context of EPR for Textiles.

For the EPR for Textiles Decree is not regarded as a producer/importer:

• A thrift shop for the sale of Dutch second-hand clothing. After all, these clothes have already been put on the market.
• A company based in the Netherlands that supplies semi-finished products/basic materials for the manufacturing of consumer clothing, work & corporate wear, bed-, table and household linen.

In a number of specific cases, the law does not yet provide sufficient information. This may require further implementation of the EPR for Textiles Decree.

The EPR for Textiles relates to consumer clothing (HS/GN 61 and 62), work & corporate wear (61 and 62), bed linen (6302), table linen (6302) and household linen, for example towels and tea towels (6302).

The EPR obligation applies to products marketed in the Netherlands. The producer/importer declares all these products, also when is not clear where the products go to later in the chain. The starting point is that the contribution is paid only once. Within the collective we are working on a settlement and export refund is possible for textiles on which a contribution has been paid, as with other UPV systems. This needs to be elaborated in consultation with the sector to decide what is a practical manageable system. With individual participation (not through a collective), such a settlement is not easy to achieve.

Complying with the legislation on EPR for Textiles is an individual legal obligation, but the EPR states that this may be carried out collectively by means of a producer organization. MODINT and INretail have taken the initiative for a collective implementation by establishing Stichting UPV Textiel (EPR Foundation for Textiles). This foundation will act as a producer organization and works for the entire sector, both members and non-members. In other sectors that preceded (packaging, tyres, cars, electronic devices, …), this appears to be the best way to keep the EPR efficiently, effectively and affordable. The foundation wants to cooperate with systems in other EU countries. Companies who are active on the international market have an interest in this.

The EU has promised harmonization through directives. Every EU Member State must design separate textile collection by 2025 at the latest. The legal background to this is the recent update of the EU Waste Framework Directive. This is one of the reasons that the EPR for Textiles Decree was created in the Netherlands. Producers are obliged to set up an adequate collection system. It is expected that several Member States will follow the example of France (already 12 years) and the Netherlands. MODINT is a member of the European trade association Euratex. Together they lobby to ensure harmonization of the EPR for Textiles Decree within the European textiles industry.

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The goal is to have the structure that is being formed align with existing textile intake and processing infrastructure. Currently, about 35% of the textiles are reused and recycled, but this needs to be increased to 50% by 2025, requiring additional measures. The foundation is collaborating with the sector to come up with initiatives to achieve these objectives. In addition, the foundation will make agreements with other stakeholders, such as collectors, municipalities, sorters, second-hand stores and recyclers, on behalf of the affiliated producers and importers. The first exploration with representatives of the VHT, BKN and NVRD in preparation of the collective listing was launched in March 2023. These discussions will be further developed in the fall of 2023 and 2024.

Stichting UPV Textiel has drafted a budget for the costs of setting up and administering a collective collection and processing system. Funding for this will be provided through an interim contribution in 2024, estimated at an average of € 0.03 per piece, and a contribution of an average of € 0.06 per piece in 2025. These estimates are based on an estimated market size in pieces and a high level of participation in the collective notification by the foundation. Following the collective notification, a cost analysis will take place in the autumn to accurately map the total costs of collecting and processing discarded textiles and form the basis for the annual contribution. The cost analysis will take place periodically.

Producer/importer pays a fee to the producer organization allowing a separate collection, reuse and recycling, support to innovation/transition circular, cooperation in a sustainable supply chain & waste handling/processing.

No, the initial costs of the system will be shared among all participants, including those joining in future years. As soon as possible, Stichting UPV Textiel will apply for a General Binding Declaration (AVV). Then, all producers will have to participate and contribute, including to the start-up costs. We will compensate the 2024 participants in the 2025-2029 period.

According to the EPR for Textiles Decree, each producer/importer is responsible for the weight put on the market. A small proportion of these companies will market most of the weight. To keep the administrative burden low, Stichting UPV Textiel is investigating the possibility of using a threshold for companies that do not put a lot of weight on the market.

On the basis of the EPR for Textiles Decree, Stichting UPV Textiel must assess whether rate differentiation on the basis of sustainability indicators is feasible and useful. The foundation will conduct further research into this in the near future, for example to stimulate the application of recycled content in clothing/textiles. The foundation will work closely with the sector to develop a fair and applicable form of rate differentiation.

Als u zich aanmeldt bij het collectief, dient u een deelnemersovereenkomst te ondertekenen. Hierin geeft u aan dat de stichting namens u de UPV-verplichtingen zal uitvoeren en dat u afspraken die hieraan gekoppeld zijn zult nakomen. Met het ondertekenen van de deelnemersovereenkomst stemt u in bij te dragen aan de voorbereidingskosten voor het doen van de collectieve melding. Deze kosten zijn geraamd op maximaal € 0,01 per kilo (afhankelijk van de omvang van het collectief). Deze voorbereidingskosten vallen in 2024 onder de startkosten, die zijn begroot op gemiddeld € 0,03 per stuk (ongeveer € 0,10 per kilo). In de toevoeging op de deelnemersovereenkomst, de Textielbeheersbijdrage Overeenkomst (TBBO), staat de verdere uitwerking mbt tarieven, drempel en afspraken die gemaakt zijn met andere stakeholders. De TBBO wordt in het najaar aan u voorgelegd.

In preparation for reporting the collective to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, you estimate the amount of textiles your company expects to put on the market in the Netherlands in 2023. This is a first statement that is only required for the notification of the collective. From 2024, you must declare the amount of textiles that you in have put on the market in the Netherlands in 2023. Based on this, you will pay a provisional fee in 2024. Exactly what that statement system will look like, for example in pieces or kilos, will be determined in the workgroups after the collective notification.

In the 2023 statement you provide an estimate of the amount of textiles (in kg) you expect to place on the Dutch market this year. For the statement system as of 2024, no final choice has been made as to whether this will be in kg or pieces. Trade often works with pieces. The collection and processing work on the basis of kilograms. With the working groups we are now investigating which administration is the simplest and fairest. In the 2023 declaration we will also ask questions about this to the participants. After the collective notification we will work out the declaration system further and include it as a tariff structure in the Textile Management Contribution Agreement (TBBO, in Dutch) that will be presented to you at the end of 2023.

There is great enthusiasm: many companies are substantively interested, take the subject seriously and indicate they would like to join the collective. As with other UPV systems, the collective needs volume to set up an efficient, effective and affordable collection and processing system in the Netherlands for textiles. We count on a majority of the total weight put into the market and of the total number of companies. This majority is needed for a Algemeen Verbindend Verklaring, by which all producers/importers that put textiles in the Netherlands on the market must pay a textile contribution.

Stichting UPV Textiel makes agreements about collection and processing with various stakeholders and will ensure that these are complied with. In addition, participants have the obligation to declare quantities and pay the annual fee. The foundation monitors and reports to the Ministry of of Infrastructure en Water Management and is the point of contact for compliance on behalf of the participants for the Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport (ILT).

In the collective notification to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water management, we describe the size of the collective via the list of participants and the total weight in kilograms of textiles that all participants together expect to market in the Netherlands in 2023. We also describe how an appropriate collection and processing system will be organized, including financing and achieving the objectives, plus how the foundation organizes implementation, monitoring and reporting. By participating in the collective, you do not have to organize all these legal obligations yourself.

By signing the participant agreement, you agree to contribute to the preparation costs. These are estimated at max € 0,01 per kilogram (depending upon the seize of the collective) and necessary for making the collective notification. The moment the Minister receives the collective notification, the foundation takes over your EPR obligations. The preparation costs will be included in the 2024 fee (budgeted at € 0,03 per item - approximately € 0,10 per kilo). You are not yet making a financial commitment for the implementation costs of the legal obligations that will be included in the 2025 fee. These implementation costs will be budgeted more accurately and will be determined by the board of the foundation after the notification has been submitted. In autumn 2023 your will receive the Textile Management Fee Agreement (TMFA) with elaboration of textile management measures and the systematics and the amount textile management fee 2024 and 2025. The moment you sign the TMFA, you make the final decision to participate. If you decide not to join definitively , the foundation will still charge you for the preparation costs. These are the costs that the foundation made up to and including 2023 to be able to make the collective notification and to start further development (max € 0,01 per kilogram depending upon the seize of the collective).

The board of Stichting UPV Textiel includes executives from Angro, Beddinghouse, Kyra, Livera, WE Fashion, Wibra, Zeeman, INretail/Modint.

Rules for reusing and recycling textiles: Chamber of Commerce

Rules for reusing and recycling textiles: Government of the Netherlands

Op weg naar een circulaire textielketen: Afval Circulair (in Dutch)

Uitgebreide Producenten Verantwoordelijkheid (UPV): Afval Circulair (in Dutch)

FAQ Reikwijdte UPV textiel: Afval Circulair: Afval Circulair (in Dutch)

FAQ Doel en inwerkingtreding UPV textiel: Afval Circulair (in Dutch)