. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/FRA/66 
11 September 2007 
 (07-3797) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   French 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  FRANCE
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible:  
Ministère de l’écologie, du développement et de l’aménagement durables  (Ministry of 
Ecology and Sustainable Development) Direction de la prévention des pollutions et des risques  (Department of Pollution and Risk 
Prevention) 
Sous-direction des produits et des déchets  (Product and Waste Division) 
Bureau de la qualité écologique des produits  (Office for Environmental Product Quality) 
20, avenue de Ségur 75 302 Paris 07 SP 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers and E-mail and website 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be  indicated if different from above:  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Waste from new textile 
clothing products, footwear and household linen for domestic use 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Projet de décret 
relatif au recyclage et au traitement des déch ets issus des produits textiles d’habillement, 
des chaussures ou du linge de maison neufs destinés aux ménages (Draft Decree on the 
recycling and treatment of waste from new textile clothing products, footwear and 
household linen for domestic use) (6 pages, in French). 
6. 
 
     
 Description of content:   The notified draft Decree lays down the organizational procedures 
for an extended producer responsibility scheme fo r textile waste.  Individual systems and 
bodies set up by market distributors of new textile clothing products, footwear and household linen for domestic use in order to recycle and treat or contribute to the recycling and treatment of the waste from their products require approval or recognition by the public 
authorities.  The authorized bodies determine the scale of contributions on the basis of the number of units sold and/or the total productio n sold, in order to uphold their contractual 
commitments with sorting operators, pay the local authorities responsible for coordinating 
the selective collection of textile waste a contribution towards the publicity for the 
collection and, in general, comply with the provisions of the terms and conditions annexed 
to the decision authorizing their operation. G/TBT/N/FRA/66 
Page 2  
 
  6. 
 Description of content:  (cont'd) 
 These terms and conditions are specified in the notified Decree.  They establish, in 
particular, objectives for individual systems and bodies both in terms of the quantity of waste to be sorted, re-used, recycled or recove red and in terms of research and development, 
as well as objectives relating to the integrati on of people experiencing employment-related 
difficulties.  They also provide that the cont ribution to waste recycling and treatment costs 
will be adjusted according to whether or not  each individual sorting operator achieves a 
minimum objective in relation to the integra tion of people experiencing employment-related 
difficulties. The terms and conditions also set  forth the requirements to be met by each 
approved sorting operator with regard to the qua lity of the sorting and selective collection of 
the waste in question.  A fine corresponding to a third-class offence will be imposed if a 
textile product is placed on the French market  without a financial contribution having been 
made to an authorized body or without the required approval having been obtained for any individual system. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where applicable: 
 The notified draft Decree implements Article L.541-10-3 of the Environmental 
Code, which seeks to ensure the continuity of the used textile recovery industry and to 
increase the tonnage of selectively collected and recovered waste by requiring distributors 
on the French market of new textile clothing  products, footwear or household linen for 
domestic use to recycle and treat or to contribute to the costs of recycling and treating waste from such products. The used textile recovery  sector, in which the social and supportive 
economy plays a particularly significant role, h as, for several years, been facing a crisis 
related to the deterioration in the quality of  selectively collected products as well as lower 
resale prices for used textiles which mirror the downward trend in the sales price of new textiles. 
 By adjusting the contribution to waste recycling and treatment costs according to 
whether or not a sorting operator achieves a mi nimum objective in relation to the integration 
of people experiencing employment-related difficulties, the notified text also seeks to 
promote the integration of such persons , pursuant to Article L.541-10-3 of the 
Environmental Code. 
8. Relevant documents:   Article L.541-10-3 of the Environmental Code 
9. Proposed date of adoption: 
Proposed date of entry into force:  Publication on 1 January 2008 
1 January 2008 (Article L.541-10-3 of the 
Environmental Code provides for the entry into force of the scheme on 1 January 2007 
10. Final date for comments:   60 days after the date of registration 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, E-mail and website addresses,  if available, of other body:  
National enquiry point 
CINORTECH 
AFNOR 
11 avenue Francis de Pressensé  93571 – Saint Denis – La Plaine Cedex