The Extended Producer Responsibility for Textiles Decree

Published on 30 August 2023 · Last updated 28 October 2026

Since 1 July 2023, the Dutch Extended Producer Responsibility for Textiles Decree (Besluit uitgebreide producentenverantwoordelijkheid textiel) makes every business that first makes clothing or household textiles available on the Dutch market responsible for their reuse and recycling, with rising targets each year and a mandatory Dutch representative for producers based abroad.

This page is for clothing brands, web shops, importers and workwear suppliers, in particular those outside the Netherlands, that sell textiles to Dutch customers. It explains who counts as a producer, the targets for 2025 to 2030, reporting and enforcement, and what changes when the EU textile rules of Directive (EU) 2025/1892 are implemented. The overview of all Dutch producer responsibility schemes is on our page on extended producer responsibility in the Netherlands.

Which textiles does the Dutch EPR decree cover?

Newly manufactured clothing and household textiles: consumer and workwear clothing in chapters 61 and 62 of the Combined Nomenclature, and table, bed and household linen under heading 6302 (Article 1 of the decree). Footwear, bags and second-hand products are outside the Dutch scope.

The decree is based on Article 9.5.2 of the Environmental Management Act and works together with the general Decree on extended producer responsibility schemes (Besluit regeling voor uitgebreide producentenverantwoordelijkheid), which sets the obligations that apply to every Dutch EPR scheme. The textile decree entered into force on 1 July 2023 (Article 8 textile decree).

Who is a producer under the textile decree?

Anyone who, in the course of business and regardless of the sales technique, first makes textile products available on the Dutch market (Article 1). That includes a Dutch importer, a brand with its own Dutch stores, and a foreign web shop that sells directly to Dutch customers.

A producer that is not established in the Netherlands must appoint a natural or legal person established in the Netherlands as its authorised representative to carry out its obligations (Article 2(1) textile decree). In practice this means that a UK, US or Asian brand selling online to Dutch consumers cannot comply without a Dutch party acting on its behalf.

What are the reuse and recycling targets for textiles in the Netherlands?

Each year, the producer must ensure that a share, by weight, of the textiles it placed on the Dutch market in the previous year is prepared for reuse or recycled. The overall target rises from 50% in 2025 to 75% from 2030, with separate minimums for reuse and fibre-to-fibre recycling (Articles 3 to 5).

Year	Prepared for reuse or recycled (Art. 3)	Prepared for reuse (Art. 4(1))	of which reuse in the Netherlands (Art. 4(2))	Fibre-to-fibre share of recycled textiles (Art. 5)
2025	50%	20%	10%	25%
2026	55%	21%	11%	27%
2027	60%	22%	12%	29%
2028	65%	23%	13%	31%
2029	70%	24%	14%	32%
from 2030	75%	25%	15%	33%

The producer must also take measures aimed at using as much recycled fibre from post-consumer textiles as possible in the products it places on the market (Article 6). That last duty has no percentage, but it is part of what the producer reports on.

What must a textile producer do besides meeting the targets?

Provide a free take-back system available all year, inform waste holders, carry the costs, notify the Minister within six weeks after the scheme applies to it, and report every year before 1 August on the previous calendar year (Articles 2 to 5 of the general EPR decree and Article 7 of the textile decree).

Take-back: available throughout the year and not limited to the most cost-efficient areas, free of charge for the person discarding the textiles (Article 2(2) general EPR decree).
Costs and self-control: the producer has the financial and organisational means and bears the costs of collection, notification and reporting (Article 3).
Notification: within six weeks after the scheme applies to the producer, including the take-back system and the financial means (Article 4).
Annual report: before 1 August, with data and a document allowing verification (Article 5 general decree; Article 7 textile decree).

Producers may comply collectively through a producer responsibility organisation; the obligations then rest on the organisation that files the notification on their behalf (Article 6 general EPR decree). Joining such an organisation does not end the producer’s own interest: the contract with it, and with the representative, determines who pays and who is liable if volumes are reported incorrectly.

Who enforces textile EPR in the Netherlands?

The Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management is responsible for administrative enforcement of the producer responsibility rules in Title 9.5 of the Environmental Management Act (Article 18.2b(1)(a)). Enforcement can take the form of an order subject to a penalty payment (last onder dwangsom) (Article 5:32 General Administrative Law Act).

Against such a decision you can lodge an objection (bezwaar) within six weeks (Article 6:7 Awb), followed by an appeal to the court. Do you sell textiles in the Netherlands without a representative or scheme, or has the Ministry asked about your reports? Have a Dutch product regulation lawyer assess your position before you respond.

How will the EU textile rules change the Dutch decree?

Directive (EU) 2025/1892 amends the Waste Framework Directive and requires every Member State to set up an EPR scheme for textile, textile-related and footwear products by 17 April 2028; Member States must transpose it by 17 June 2027 (new Article 22a(14) of Directive 2008/98/EC and Article 2 of the amending Directive).

Point	Dutch decree today	Directive (EU) 2025/1892
Products	Clothing and household textiles	Textile, textile-related and footwear products listed in Annex IVc (Article 22a(1))
Producer responsibility organisation	Optional (Article 6 general EPR decree)	Producers must entrust a producer responsibility organisation (Article 22c(1))
Register	Notification to the Minister	National register; no first making available without registration (Article 22b(2) and (3))
Foreign producers	Representative in the Netherlands mandatory	Mandatory for producers in other Member States that sell at a distance directly to Dutch end users; optional for Member States as regards such producers outside the EU (Article 22a(3))
Micro-enterprises	No exemption in the decree	Articles 22a to 22d apply from 17 April 2029 (Article 41)

Until the Netherlands adopts the implementing rules, the current decree applies. Brands that sell footwear or textile-related products, or that now comply individually, should expect changes and keep their representative and scheme contracts flexible enough to absorb them.

Practical example: a UK fashion brand with a Dutch web shop

Suppose a UK clothing brand sells directly to Dutch consumers through its web shop and has no Dutch entity. It is the producer for the textiles it first makes available on the Dutch market, so it must appoint a representative established in the Netherlands (Article 2 textile decree).

The representative joins a producer responsibility organisation, which handles the targets and reporting. The UK brand supplies sales volumes per year. Its contract with the representative should set out the data it must deliver, audit rights, the fee and how it is passed on, and who bears the consequences if the reported volumes are wrong. The brand also sells packaged goods at a distance, so it should check its packaging obligations at the same time, see EPR in the Netherlands.

When do you need a Dutch lawyer for textile EPR?

When you are unsure whether you or your Dutch distributor is the producer, when you appoint a representative or join a producer responsibility organisation, when the Ministry questions your reports or announces a penalty order, and when your contracts need to anticipate the EU rules of 2027-2028.

MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam advises textile brands, importers and web shops on their producer role, drafts and reviews representative and producer responsibility organisation agreements, and acts in objection and appeal proceedings. Martin Krüger is your contact for product regulation; for the wider waste framework, see our page on waste management regulations in the Netherlands.

Frequently asked questions about textile EPR in the Netherlands

Since when does textile EPR apply in the Netherlands?

Since 1 July 2023, when the Extended Producer Responsibility for Textiles Decree entered into force (Article 8). The first targets apply to 2025, measured against the textiles placed on the market in the previous year.

Do foreign web shops have to comply with Dutch textile EPR?

Yes. A business that first makes clothing or household textiles available on the Dutch market is a producer, regardless of the sales technique. If it is not established in the Netherlands, it must appoint a Dutch authorised representative (Articles 1 and 2).

What are the Dutch textile recycling targets for 2026?

55% of the textiles placed on the market in 2025 must be prepared for reuse or recycled, at least 21% prepared for reuse (11% in the Netherlands), and 27% of recycled textiles must be recycled fibre-to-fibre (Articles 3 to 5).

Are shoes covered by the Dutch textile decree?

No. The Dutch decree covers clothing and household textiles only. Directive (EU) 2025/1892 also covers footwear and textile-related products, so footwear will come under EPR once the Netherlands implements the Directive.

When must EU Member States have textile EPR schemes?

By 17 April 2028, under Article 22a(14) of the Waste Framework Directive as amended by Directive (EU) 2025/1892. Member States must transpose the Directive by 17 June 2027.

Primary sources

Dutch statutes are only officially available in Dutch, on wetten.overheid.nl. Judgments can be found on rechtspraak.nl by their ECLI number. Legal position checked on 28 October 2026.