EPR Fee White Paper | Weft Limited

Visible EPR fees on clothing: consumer responses

Policy Briefing – Visible EPR fees on clothing: consumer responses and policy implications.

WEFT was funded by the Back to Baselines programme though the University of Leeds to conduct shopper research on EPR fee levels - to determine consumer acceptance thresholds for EPR fees and identify at what price points these fees might begin to alter purchasing decisions.

This White Paper summarises the findings and a full detailed academic paper will be published in later 2025.

Until now – no one has asked UK shoppers about their views on the level of fee.

This project fills a vital gap in understanding the potential for EPR to fund meaningful collection, reuse and recycling systems in the UK.

Join the Sandbox

Read the report to discover…

Purchase motivations

Shoppers tend to prioritise price, fit and comfort of clothing above all other attributes (including sustainability or ethical supply attributes). Durability is their next highest concern, and the highest issue related to circularity.

Langauge makes a difference

In focus groups, most shoppers were tolerant of an EPR fee being applied - even those with less concern for environmental issues. But language is important, and the term "fee" was not popular.

Fee levels needed to influence purchases

Shoppers indicated that the EPR fee would need to be substantial to persuade them to consider alternative (lower fee) products. These responses were consistent across income groups

Full details to be published

This project was funded by the Back to Baselines through the University of Leeds. Further details and statistical analysis will be published in an academic paper later in 2025.

Getting into the detail of the Sandbox

At the 2024 UKFT Sustainability Conference the WEFT Sandbox White Paper was launched. If you missed it you can watch again following links here:

Opening session with Adam Mansell
WEFT co-founder Gerrard Fisher introduces the Sandbox
Brands and retailers who joined phase one share insights
How EPR could work in fashion
Back to Baselines – Steve Russell, Professor at the University of Leeds, outlines how the Back to Baselines project is looking to establish research-validated baselines about the environmental impact of the fashion and textile industry
The importance of good data management
The visible fee project – Steve Russell

OUR PARTNERS

Collaborating for Sustainable Change

WEFT collaborates with industry partners to drive sustainable change and advocate for fair and balanced EPR systems globally. Together, we work towards a more environmentally responsible fashion and textiles sector.