The EPR Scheme for Clothing Textiles

Among the oldest EPR schemes in France, the scheme for clothing textiles, household linens, and footwear, known as TLC, holds a unique position: pioneering in its principles, but now under real strain from profound changes in the global market.

The structural challenges it faces, the rise of ultra-fast fashion, the closure of export outlets, and insufficient national recycling capacity, make it something of a textbook case for the limits a well-established EPR scheme can run into.

This article covers who’s concerned, why the sector is under pressure despite being mature, and what the 2025 specification revision is trying to fix.

Summarize this article with:

🎯 TL;DR: The TLC Textile Scheme

• TLC covers clothing textiles, household linens, and footwear, and is one of the oldest EPR schemes in France, dating to 2009.
• Only about a third of used textiles get collected each year, and less than a third of that is actually recycled, mostly outside Europe.
• Refashion, formerly Eco-TLC, is the sole approved eco-organization for TLC.
• The 2023-2028 specification targets an 80% overall recycling rate by 2027, and a 2025 revision is funding a domestic sorting and recycling industry to reduce export dependence.

🔍 How We Checked This

The collection and recycling figures (about a third collected, less than a third of that recycled) and the environmental benefit study are sourced to Refashion’s own 2025 published research, cited below. The 80% recycling target reflects the 2023-2028 specification in force since January 2023. The environmental labeling timeline (EU approval May 2025, decree applicable since October 2025, currently voluntary) reflects the 2021 Climate and Resilience law’s implementation as of the time of writing; voluntary programs can become mandatory on their own timeline, so confirm current status before assuming it remains optional.

👕 A Pioneering Sector Facing Deep Structural Tension

A regulatory framework strengthened by the AGEC law

TLC is one of the oldest EPR schemes in France, established in 2009 under pioneering French regulation. The 2020 AGEC law significantly renewed its ambitions, and a new specification applicable since January 2023 sets revised objectives for 2023-2028, raising the overall recycling rate to 80% by 2027. Every manufacturer, importer, and distributor placing new clothing textiles, household linens, or footwear on the market for individuals is subject to it, with liability falling to whichever company issues the first invoice with French VAT to a final consumer.

A sector out of breath despite decades of existence

Paradoxically, this sector, one of the most mature EPR schemes in France, is currently facing some of the most severe difficulties. Only about a third of used textiles get collected each year; the rest ends up in household waste, incinerated or landfilled. Of the third that is collected, less than a third gets effectively recycled, mostly outside Europe, and the share actually reused within France is smaller still.

Two things have combined to make this worse: a massive growth in textile waste volume, accelerated by the rise of ultra-fast fashion, and the gradual closure of export outlets, which has durably weakened the economics of collection and sorting operators. In response to this structural congestion, the Ministry of Ecological Transition launched a thorough revision of the specification in 2025, providing exceptional financial support to sorting operators and a new model aimed at building out national industrial sorting and recycling capacity.

🏷️ Signage, Unsold Goods, and the Bonus-Malus System

The AGEC law introduced a series of concrete obligations that directly affect market players. Since February 2023, every TLC product placed on the French market has to carry the info-tri signage with the Triman logo, guiding consumers toward the right action at end of life. The ban on destroying unsold non-food items, in effect since January 2022, also requires brands to find reuse or recycling outlets for unsold stock rather than disposing of it.

The eco-contribution modulation system, operational since 2023, adds another layer: producers whose products incorporate recycled materials, hold up well over time, or sort easily at end of life earn bonuses, while the least virtuous items carry penalties.

🌱 An Environmental Label in the Works

The 2021 Climate and Resilience law provided for mandatory environmental labeling on textiles, meant to inform consumers about a product’s life cycle impact. This measure has faced real delays: the EU approved the French decree project in May 2025, and application remains voluntary for now, with the decree governing its use applicable since October 2025. The scale of the task is considerable, as market players will eventually have to communicate on greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and biodiversity impacts generated by their products.

🏢 A Single Eco-Organization in a Strained Ecosystem

Refashion, formerly Eco-TLC, is the only approved eco-organization for the TLC sector. It handles prevention and end-of-life management on behalf of market players, coordinating a network of voluntary drop-off points in public spaces and at distributors, alongside a network of contracted sorting centers. Social and solidarity economy actors play a central role in this system, and have handled a large share of used-textile collection and sorting since the sector began. Refashion also funds a repair fund to encourage individuals to have clothes and shoes repaired by certified repairers, though this initiative still faces a shortage of artisans going through the certification process.

📊 A Real Environmental Benefit, But Recycling Capacity Still to Build

A study Refashion published in 2025 found that the sector generates a net environmental benefit, with second-hand as the main lever for reducing impact, since it avoids new textile production altogether. Even so, the sector remains structurally dependent on exports to valorize what it collects, because national sorting and recycling capacity isn’t sufficient. The ministry’s specification revision is aimed squarely at fixing that dependency, funding the development of a French and European textile sorting and recycling industry, framed as a lever for job creation and industrial sovereignty in the years ahead.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions About the TLC Scheme

Who is liable for the TLC eco-contribution?

Whichever company issues the first invoice with French VAT to a final consumer, whether that’s the manufacturer, importer, or distributor.

Can I choose between eco-organizations for TLC?

No. Refashion, formerly Eco-TLC, is the only approved eco-organization for the sector.

Do I have to display the Triman logo on textile products?

Yes, since February 2023, every TLC product placed on the French market has to carry the info-tri signage with the Triman logo.

Can I destroy unsold clothing instead of donating or recycling it?

No. The ban on destroying unsold non-food items has been in effect since January 2022, requiring brands to find a reuse or recycling outlet for unsold stock.

Is environmental labeling mandatory for textiles yet?

Not yet. It remains voluntary at the time of writing, with the governing decree applicable since October 2025, following EU approval of the French project in May 2025.

Get Your TLC Compliance in Order

TLC shows what happens when a mature EPR scheme meets a genuinely disrupted market: the compliance obligations are clear, but the sector behind them is under real strain. Getting your declaration, signage, and bonus-malus positioning right doesn’t fix the sector’s structural issues, but it does keep your business squarely on the right side of the rules while that gets sorted out.

Start your free trial with Ekovio to manage your TLC compliance with Refashion.