Extended producer responsibility (EPR) regulations for packaging are expanding across the United States, requiring home furnishings companies to take financial responsibility for the packaging they use to ship products.
Companies that have gross sales of $1 million or more in the State of California face a November 15 deadline to report their baseline 2023 data, including the types and amounts of packaging they shipped into the state.
The data will be reported to the Circular Action Alliance (CAA), which is the organization implementing the California law, along with similar laws in Oregon, Colorado, Maryland, Maine and Minnesota. The American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) offers an overview of EPR laws, available (to members and non-members) by emailing pbowling@ahfa.us.
“Producer registration and reporting data are critical to shaping California’s packaging EPR program plan, establishing the source reduction baseline and guiding implementation,” explains Geoffrey Inch, senior vice president of CAA’s producer services. “Registering and reporting by November 15 allows CAA to better tailor the program to meet producer needs.”
The CAA reporting portal for California opened September 22. Those with questions about the process are urged to attend a producer onboarding session. These sessions provide an overview of EPR, CAA and producer requirements. Additional guidance for producers is available in CAA’s Producer Resource Center. Specific questions can be directed to producer.support@circularaction.org.
Businesses shipping products into Oregon, which had a March 31, 2025, registration and reporting deadline, began receiving the first wave of non-compliance notices from the state in mid-September. Producers subject to Oregon’s EPR program have a chance to take corrective action before CAA escalates compliance violations to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. If compliance is not achieved in a timely manner, the DEQ can issue producers fines up to $25,000 a day.
The state laws vary in scope, covered products and compliance timelines, creating complex challenges for companies. AHFA plans an industry-wide packaging forum in the spring of 2026 to review existing and proposed state laws and to examine types of packaging commonly used to protect home furnishings during shipment. Packaging materials that are not recyclable will carry higher fees, and some state programs offer incentives for companies that use compostable packaging or packaging designed for recyclability.