This bill creates a new statewide extended producer responsibility program for apparel and textile articles by adding a new chapter to Title 70A RCW and by amending and reenacting several existing RCW sections. It establishes program intent (emphasizing repair and reuse and minimizing hazardous waste, greenhouse gases, environmental and environmental justice impacts, and public health impacts), adds definitions, and assigns the Department of Ecology to implement, administer, and enforce the chapter. The law requires producers to appoint a producer responsibility organization (PRO) by January 31, 2027, and for PROs to register with the department by March 1, 2027; the department must approve a PRO meeting statutory requirements by March 31, 2027. PROs must prepare needs assessments and submit multi‑year plans that fund and operate collection, sorting, repair, reuse, repurposing, upcycling and recycling systems, include five‑year budgets and performance metrics, describe free and convenient drop‑off or mail‑back collection (with county minimums for permanent collection sites), provide for contingency trustees, and implement eco‑modulated per‑unit fees that allocate program costs to participating producers. Plans are posted for public and advisory council comment, reviewed on set timelines, must be implemented within specified deadlines, and must be revised at least every five years. Procedural and financial rules are established: PROs pay all administrative and operational program costs, submit initial and annual department payments, maintain reserve funds and independent annual audits, and file detailed annual reports with the department. Apparel producers must make annual product and chemical-related disclosures beginning January 31, 2027, with larger producers subject to additional disclosure requirements. Online marketplaces and sellers have reporting and compliance duties, and retailers/importers/distributors are prohibited from introducing covered products unless the producer and brand are listed as compliant. The bill creates enforcement and penalty procedures and related administrative processes. The Department must issue a notice of violation by certified mail and may assess civil penalties after a 60‑day period; producers generally face penalties up to $1,000 per violation per day for a first violation and up to $10,000 per violation per day for subsequent violations, while separate higher penalty limits apply to PROs (up to $10,000 per violation per day for a first violation and up to $50,000 per violation per day for subsequent violations). The department may also order corrective actions, require contingency implementation, revoke plan approval, audit records (which must be kept five years), and pursue other enforcement steps; affected persons may appeal to the Pollution Control Hearings Board. The act creates a textile extended producer responsibility account for department receipts and establishes an advisory council to advise on implementation. Some definitions and procedural details in the extracted text are incomplete (for example, the social vulnerability population definition is truncated and some fee and contingency timing specifics are not fully provided).

If enacted, Washington would require apparel and textile producers to join or form producer responsibility organizations (PROs) that must pay for and run a statewide system to collect, repair, reuse, repurpose, upcycle, and recycle postconsumer textiles, with PROs funding all program administration and operations through eco‑modulated per‑unit fees on producers. The Department of Ecology would run the program, register and approve PROs (with producers designating PROs by Jan 31, 2027 and PROs registering by Mar 1, 2027), require plans and needs assessments, expand permanent collection sites by county, require detailed annual reporting and independent audits, and has authority to impose civil penalties and bar sale of noncompliant products; retailers and online marketplaces must check the department’s compliance list and report large third‑party sellers. The direct impacts fall most heavily on producers (especially large and brand‑owning firms) who will face new funding obligations, recordkeeping, disclosures about chemicals and supply chain working conditions, and potential penalties for noncompliance; PROs will carry operational and financial responsibilities, including reserve funds and payments to the department, while government collection sites can be reimbursed for demonstrable costs. Consumers should not see point‑of‑sale fees for the program, but collection options and local repair/reuse services would likely expand. Key implementation details remain unclear from the provided text, including full formulas for eco‑modulated fees, some definitions (e.g., portions of the socially vulnerable population definition), and truncated contingency and penalty timing language that will affect exact cost allocations and enforcement timing.