Among the oldest EPR schemes in France, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme for clothing textiles, household linens, and footwear (TLC) holds a unique position, both pioneering in its principles and now weakened by profound changes in the global market. The structural challenges it faces, between the rise of ultra-fast fashion, the closure of export outlets, and insufficient national recycling capacities, make it a textbook case of the limits that well-established EPR schemes can encounter.
A pioneering textile sector facing deep structural tensions
A regulatory framework strengthened by the AGEC law
The TLC EPR is one of the oldest EPR schemes in France, established in 2009 based on pioneering French regulations. However, the 2020 AGEC law has profoundly renewed its ambitions, and a new set of specifications applicable since January 2023 sets revised objectives for the 2023-2028 period, raising the overall recycling rate to 80% by 2027. All manufacturers, importers, and distributors who place new clothing textiles, household linens, or footwear on the market for individuals are subject to this, with the liable company being the one that makes the first invoice with French VAT to a final consumer.
A sector out of breath despite decades of existence
Paradoxically, this sector, among the most mature in France, is currently experiencing the most severe difficulties. Only one-third of used textiles is collected each year, with the rest ending up in household waste to be incinerated or landfilled. Of this collected third, less than one-third is effectively recycled, mostly outside Europe, and the proportion reused in France remains even lower. The situation has worsened due to the combined effect of two phenomena: the massive growth in textile waste volumes, accelerated by the development of ultra-fast fashion, and the gradual closure of export outlets, which durably weakens the economic model of collection and sorting operators. In response to this structural congestion, the Ministry of Ecological Transition initiated in 2025 a thorough revision of the specifications, providing exceptional financial support to sorting operators and a new model aimed at developing national industrial sorting and recycling capacities.
Signage, the ban on unsold goods, and the bonus-malus system
The AGEC law introduced a series of concrete obligations directly affecting market players. Since February 2023, all TLC products placed on the market in France must include the info-tri signage with the Triman logo, to guide consumers towards the right actions. The ban on the destruction of unsold non-food items, in effect since January 2022, also requires brands to find reuse or recycling outlets for their unsold stocks rather than disposing of them. The eco-contribution modulation system, operational since 2023, complements this arrangement: producers whose products incorporate recycled materials, have good durability, or facilitate end-of-life sorting receive bonuses, while the least virtuous items are subject to penalties.
An environmental display being deployed
The 2021 Climate and Resilience law provided for the implementation of mandatory environmental labeling for textiles, intended to inform consumers about the life cycle impact of products. This measure has experienced significant delays in its deployment: Europe approved the French decree project in May 2025, and its application remains voluntary for the moment, with the decree governing its use being applicable since October 2025. The challenge is considerable for market players who will eventually have to communicate on greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and impacts on biodiversity generated by their products.
A unique eco-organization at the heart of a weakened ecosystem
Refashion, formerly Eco-TLC, is the only approved eco-organization for the TLC sector. It ensures, on behalf of market players, the prevention and management of the end-of-life of products by coordinating a network of voluntary drop-off points in public spaces and at distributors, as well as a network of contracted sorting centers. Social and solidarity economy actors play a central role in this system, ensuring a large part of the collection and sorting of used textiles since the sector’s inception. Refashion also funds a repair fund to encourage individuals to have their clothes and shoes repaired by certified repairers, although this initiative still faces a shortage of artisans engaged in the certification process.
A real environmental benefit but recycling capacities to build
A study published by Refashion in 2025 shows that the sector generates a net benefit for the environment, with second-hand being the main lever for impact reduction by avoiding the production of new textiles. However, the sector remains structurally dependent on exportation to valorize the collected deposits, due to insufficient national sorting and recycling capacities. The revision of the specifications initiated by the ministry aims precisely to correct this dependency by funding the development of a French and European textile sorting and recycling industry, presented as a lever for job creation and industrial sovereignty for the coming years.
