Product Stewardship is often used interchangeably with Extended producer responsibility, a similar concept. However, there are distinct differences between the two, as suggested by the semantics of the different terms used.
While both concepts bring the onus of waste management for end-of-life products from the government to the manufacturers, Product Stewardship further extends this responsibility to everyone involved in the life-cycle of the product.[3] This includes not only the manufacturers, but also the retailers, consumers and recyclers as well.