Textile & footwear EPR
Textile EPR makes businesses that qualify as producers under national law contribute to the end-of-life management of products they place on the market. The revised EU Waste Framework Directive requires Member States to establish schemes for textile and footwear products.
Brands, importers and other businesses may qualify as producers, depending on national rules and where products are first made available. As practical preparation, map product categories, quantities, fibre composition and sales markets; each national scheme sets its own registration and reporting details.
Producer contributions fund collection and the management of textiles for reuse, preparation for reuse, recycling and disposal. Fees may reflect sustainability factors such as durability and recyclability. Fibre composition helps determine suitable recovery routes; repairability and traceability may also be covered by separate product rules.
Separate collection of textile waste has been required since 1 January 2025. Under the revised rules, separately collected textiles are treated as waste and must be sorted before shipment, supporting appropriate reuse and recovery routes.
EU implementation
The revised Directive entered into force on 16 October 2025. Member States have 20 months to transpose it into national law and 30 months to establish textile and footwear EPR schemes. Registration, reporting and fee details will vary by country, so companies should map their product categories and sales markets and check local requirements.
Sustainability · Germany system design
A 2026 cross-value-chain report on German textile EPR sets out recommendations for the national system. These are design proposals, not yet binding German requirements.
The report recommends area-based collection tenders and shared coordination, rather than duplicating local networks.
It proposes a consistent fee framework, with incentives linked to product and material characteristics. The eventual rules and fee levels remain for legislation and scheme design.
It recommends coordinated funding for sorting, preparation, reuse, repair and recycling, supported by traceability. Digital Product Passports may help, but systems must also handle legacy textiles.
Source: System Design Report for the Textiles EPR in Germany (2026), CIRCULAR REPUBLIC and cross-value-chain contributors. The report is a stakeholder contribution to the German implementation process.
Rules by market
Artus works with partners across collection, sorting, reuse and recovery. EPR registration and statutory duties remain with the responsible producer. Read Directive (EU) 2025/1892 · European Commission overview
