EPR and Promotional Products: Who’s Responsible?

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws aim to make producers responsible for a product’s end-of-life. In printing, this can affect everything from product packaging and printed paper to textiles and apparel.

Geoffrey Inch, senior vice president of producer services at Circular Action Alliance, says EPR obligations are tied to materials placed into the market in states with active laws, and whether a company is responsible depends on how each state defines covered materials and producer roles. Applicability isn’t always obvious and requires a closer look at state-specific rules.

“These laws use fees to address end-of-life management of covered products,” PRINTING United Alliance’s EPR page says. “The fees are based on the recyclability of a covered product and are designed to provide an incentive to design products that are easier to reuse or recycle.”

Find out why this issue matters for print and promo professionals — directly from those working in EPR.

Why Does EPR Matter?

From stationery items and calendars to packaging and now even apparel, EPR touches several areas of the print and promo industries. Yet many companies still treat it as someone else’s problem, says Ammi Borenstein, CEO of Snaplinc Consulting.

“The promo industry sits at the intersection of printing, packaging, and branded merchandise, so more companies and brands are affected than you might think,” Borenstein says. “If you’re printing on boxes, making custom notepads, shipping marketing collateral in branded packaging, or even decorating a product that ends up in a consumer’s hands, you might be in scope and expected to report and pay fees.”

While EPR in the U.S. is currently focused on consumer packaging and printed paper, Sara Osorio, environmental, health, and safety affairs coordinator at PRINTING United Alliance, says there’s “growing momentum” in textiles. California passed the country’s first textile EPR law in 2025, which, Osorio says, “signals that while consumer packaging is the immediate focus, additional product categories relevant to promo, like apparel, are already starting to come into scope.”

“For companies in the promotional products space, EPR matters because even if the product itself isn’t covered, the packaging it’s sold or shipped in can be unless it is exempt,” Osorio explains.

Paper products are already covered in several state EPR laws, bringing items like stationery, notepads, calendars, and other printed materials into the fold, Osorio notes.

Who’s Responsible?

There are many steps in the promo supply chain: the manufacturer of the blank product, the printer or decorator of that product, and the person ordering the product for end-use. In that chain, who is the “producer” under EPR laws?

Credit: ArtAJer via Getty Images

“That’s the million-dollar question, and the reality is that it depends on the state and how your deals are structured,” Borenstein says. “The key principle is that the producer typically ends up being the brand whose name appears on the packaging, because the brand is the one making decisions on what kind of packaging to use and has the market power to demand different materials or designs,” Borenstein says.

Typically, the “producer” is the company that sells the packaged products, which could be the brand owner, licensee, retailer, or distributor. If there is no U.S. brand owner, it’s the importer.

For promo, Osorio says the producer answer is found in asking: Who controls the brand and market placement of the covered item or packaging?

“In complex supply chains like promotional products, determining who qualifies as the producer requires reviewing the relevant state’s statutory definition and implementing regulations,” Inch adds.

In most cases, the company putting its name on the product, and ultimately shaping how it enters the market, is the one on the hook.

What’s Covered?

For promo companies, EPR most commonly applies to two areas: packaging and printed paper. “The scope is broader than most people realize, and covered materials vary a little by state,” Borenstein says.

For the promotional products industry, that can include:

• Bags


• Corrugated shipping boxes


• Poly mailers


• Printed paper products (branded folders, notepads, calendars, flyers, catalogs)


• Retail packaging


• Shipping labels


• Stickers

“For example, Colorado covers a big range of paper products including printed paper, newspapers, magazines, flyers, and brochures,” Borenstein explains. “Maryland, Washington, and Minnesota cover paper products and consumer packaging more generally, and each carve out certain printed materials with slightly different exemptions.”

The takeaway: Don’t assume a product is out of scope; check each jurisdiction.

Promo companies sometimes operate in a hybrid space serving corporate clients but ultimately placing packaged goods into the waste stream, so they may still be required to register as a producer and pay fees depending on how a state defines “producer” and “covered materials.”

Beyond packaging and paper, apparel is likely to be next. California is already setting the precedent with SB 707 — the Responsible Textile Recovery Act.

“Momentum is already building as New York and Washington have introduced similar legislation,” Osorio says. “California has also moved into implementation, with CalRecycle approving Landbell USA as the approved Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) in February 2026, signaling that the program is shifting from policy and regulation development to practice.”

“It [SB 707] requires covered producers to join the approved Producer Responsibility Organization, Landbell USA, by July 1, 2026, and fund the collecting, processing, and recycling of apparel and textile articles,” Borenstein adds.

Here’s where states stand on EPR laws covering packaging and printed paper (Note: Scope varies by state):

• California – Active; fee obligations expected to begin in 2027; early reporting underway


• Colorado – Active; fee obligations begin in 2026; registration and reporting underway


• Oregon – Active; implementation underway and producer fees in effect as of 2025 (the only state with a fully operational program)


• Maine – Active; phased rollout underway; mandatory reporting date of May 31


• Maryland – Early-stage; registration and planning requirements begin in 2026; phased implementation by 2030


• Minnesota – Early-stage; compliance obligations expected closer to 2029


• Washington – Early-stage; registration and planning requirements begin in 2026; phased implementation by 2030

“While there are ongoing calls for federal-level harmonization, that process will likely take time,” Osorio says. “In the near term, each state will continue to have its own scope, definitions, timelines, and reporting obligations, making it essential for companies to stay informed and monitor updates regularly.”

You can find more details on timelines here.

“There are also a handful of other states that have full EPR programs or EPR-adjacent requirements like needs assessments on the books for consideration, and even more have EPR-related bills in deliberation right now,” Borenstein shares. “This is a case where taking action right now can save you a lot of headaches in the future as there’s no sign of EPR stopping.”

How Do You Track It?

With reporting deadlines approaching in some states, producers need to start collecting data now.

“The total amount and detail of data you need to report means close coordination across multiple departments,” Borenstein says. “A lot of companies are finding that the quality of their data isn’t good enough. For example, your database should include inventory for every SKU. That includes substrate type, weight, and recycled content percentage.”

That requires real visibility into your supply chain, Borenstein adds, so covered materials don’t go unchecked. The process can be complex, but resources are available to help.

“Start by reviewing your operations to flag which products are being shipped into the seven states with EPR laws,” Osorio says. “Those states are California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington. The next step would be to identify the products that could potentially fall under each of the state’s EPR covered products, especially anything involving packaging and paper.”

For covered items, producers need to document:

• Material types (e.g., paper, plastic, corrugated, mixed materials)


• Material weights (particularly for packaging and paper components)


• Sales or supply volume by customer and state


• Brand owners or responsible parties who may be considered the “producer”

Osorio shares additional tips:

• Double-check how each state treats B2B packaging


• Map your role in the supply chain


• Start building a system now, even if the data isn’t perfect yet

Inch also recommends assigning an internal EPR owner early, since compliance often spans legal, operations, sustainability, and finance.

Who Can Help?

For reliable EPR guidance, print, promo, and packaging businesses can turn to Circular Action Alliance (CAA), PRINTING United Alliance, and state environmental agencies.

“CAA’s role is to administer state EPR programs and provide producers with guidance and tools based on enacted laws and regulations; we do not determine producer responsibility obligations for individual businesses,” Inch says.

Inch notes that CAA’s Producer Portal offers guidance documents, prep workbooks, and webinars to help producers meet program requirements. Partners like PRINTING United Alliance and Snaplinc can also help producers stay up to date on EPR developments and build materials databases.

“The Alliance team has recently published articles on the state of packaging and textile EPR in the U.S., helping translate complex policy into practical guidance for the industry,” Osorio explains.

RESOURCES

What Do I Need to Do Now?

If promotional products suppliers, decorators, and printers haven’t started exploring EPR yet, sources agree the time to act is now, before requirements fully take effect. In a space with this much nuance, it’s better to give yourself as much time as possible to understand what it means for your business.

“If you haven’t started yet, the first step is to figure out your producer status in every state your products ship to,” Borenstein says. “Check your revenue and material tonnage against small business thresholds to see if you’re obligated.”

Osorio agrees, advising promo suppliers to identify where they may have EPR exposure, begin organizing the necessary data, and position themselves as a trusted resource for clients.

Next, get registered. Failing to do so can be costly. “In Colorado, producers who aren’t registered and participating in the EPR program are actually banned from selling covered products as of July 1, 2025,” Borenstein warns. “There are serious penalties for noncompliance beyond market access restrictions, too: In Oregon, for example, it’s up to $25,000 per day.”

Producers also need a robust data infrastructure to meet reporting requirements. In states with eco-modulation, more eco-friendly products may carry lower fees, making thorough reporting key to reducing costs, Borenstein says.

“The promo industry still has time to catch up and get ahead of the curve instead of scrambling as more EPR obligations come online,” he adds. “Clarifying supply chain roles, building clean data systems, and preparing reports as soon as possible will put you in a much stronger position for compliance as well as advising their clients in the years ahead.”

Taking that advisory approach to sustainability and EPR can become a value-add, Osorio says: “Companies that lean in early won’t just be prepared; they’ll be better positioned to lead.”