Extended producer responsibility fees on clothing – would consumers notice?

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) on clothing and textiles is a relatively new policy adopted by several countries, with others expected to follow in the future. Extended Producer Responsibility leverages fees on products at the point of sale to raise funds to invest in national waste collection, reuse and recycling infrastructure, as well as reduce environmental impacts through better product design and increased rates of recycling and reuse. However, an important research gap addressed in this paper, is how consumers might respond to variable fees on clothing in terms of their purchasing decisions. The aim of this research was to explore what level of fee on items of clothing would be easily acceptable (“unnoticeable”), influential, or intolerable to consumers. A survey of UK consumers suggested a fee of £0.5 on lower priced items (£10) and a fee of £1 on higher priced items (≥ £20) would be largely unnoticeable, while fees of> £2 on items of clothing priced at £20 would begin to influence consumer behaviour. In terms of general consumer acceptance of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes on clothing, reference to “charges” rather than “fees”, and transparency in the form of traffic-light labelling of eco-credentials are preferred. We discuss the implications of these findings for policymakers and industry stakeholders seeking to design effective Extended Producer Responsibility schemes to support the growth of circular economies for fashion and textiles.