This guide explains who that is for branded and licensed products, what must be ready, and what can wait until 2030. It follows the European Commission’s PPWR FAQ, second edition, August 2026, and it is an explainer, not legal advice.
Key Takeaways
- Regulation (EU) 2025/40, known as PPWR, has applied in general since 12 August 2026 and covers all packaging placed on the EU market, whether made in the EU or imported.
- The manufacturer is the company whose name or trademark is on the packaging or, for unbranded custom packaging, the company that orders it and sets the design. A factory is not automatically the manufacturer.
- For licensed products, a licensor counts as the manufacturer only if it specifies the packaging design. The contract decides each case.
- The manufacturer must run a conformity assessment, issue an EU declaration of conformity, keep technical documentation and mark the packaging with an identifier and contact details.
- Recyclability, minimisation and empty-space rules start from 1 January 2030, and the Commission says early enforcement should begin with a request to correct, not a sanction.
In This Article
- Key Takeaways
- What Changed When PPWR Applied on 12 August 2026?
- Which Merchandise Items Count as Packaging?
- Who Is the Manufacturer of Merchandise Packaging?
- What Must the Manufacturer Have Ready Under PPWR?
- What Should You Ask Your Agency or Factory?
- What Happens Next Under PPWR?
What Changed When PPWR Applied on 12 August 2026?
PPWR entered into force on 11 February 2025, replaces Directive 94/62/EC, and applies in general from 12 August 2026, according to the Commission’s PPWR overview. It covers all packaging placed on the EU market, empty or filled, made in the Union or imported.
The Regulation defines packaging as an item, whatever it is made of, that a business uses to contain, protect, handle, deliver or present products, to another business or to an end user. Items that form an integral part of a product and are disposed of together with it are excluded. Many design rules arrive later:
Which Merchandise Items Count as Packaging?
The FAQ separates packaging by function, and each type carries its own rules:
- Sales packaging forms a unit with the product for sale to an end user, for example a gift box for a collectible or a backing card for a pin.
- Grouped packaging bundles several sales units, for example a shrink film around a set.
- Transport packaging is the outer layer used while moving goods.
- E-commerce packaging is transport packaging for distance sales, such as a mailer or shipping carton.
A polybag or carton is packaging. Whether a display case or a hanger counts depends on its function, and Annex I gives only an indicative list. If a display base is a permanent part of a product and is disposed of with it, it is excluded as an integral part. Assess each item against the definition in Article 3(1) instead of assuming.
Who Is the Manufacturer of Merchandise Packaging?
This question decides who carries the obligations. The Commission’s FAQ gives these answers:
For example, a football club orders a gift box for a licensed pin set. The box carries the club’s crest and name, the club chose the design, and a factory outside the EU makes it. Under the FAQ, the club is the manufacturer. It needs the declaration and the technical documentation, and the importer must check the factory’s assessment before the boxes enter the market.
The FAQ notes one exception for very small companies. If the company whose name is on the packaging is a microenterprise and its supplier is in the same Member State, the supplier counts as the manufacturer.
The FAQ is clear on two points. Legal responsibility for compliance cannot be transferred by contract. And while a laboratory can perform the conformity assessment and an authorised representative can draw up the declaration, the technical documentation must be compiled by the manufacturer itself. Our guide to the PPWR declaration of conformity for merchandise packaging covers what the declaration contains and how long it is kept.
What Must the Manufacturer Have Ready Under PPWR?
- A conformity assessment per packaging type. A type means a packaging format or batch, not a material. A unit made of a box, an insert and a label needs one assessment and one declaration for the whole unit.
- An EU declaration of conformity. It is drawn up in the languages of the Member States where the packaging is placed on the market (Article 39(2)). One declaration can cover several sizes if the differences do not affect compliance.
- Technical documentation (Annex VII). It includes the conceptual design, manufacturing drawings and materials of components, and must be kept for five years for single-use packaging (Article 15(3)).
- An identifier. A type, batch or serial number, on the packaging or in an accompanying document if the size or nature does not allow it (Article 15(5)).
- Contact details. The manufacturer’s name or trademark, postal address and, where available, electronic contact, physically, as a QR code, or in an accompanying document (Article 15(6)).
- Compliance on substances. Minimise substances of concern, and keep the sum of lead, cadmium, mercury and hexavalent chromium at or below 100 mg/kg (Article 5). The PFAS limits in Article 5(5) apply to food-contact packaging only.
- Supplier information. Packaging suppliers must give the manufacturer the information and documents needed to demonstrate compliance (Article 16).
If the packaging is made outside the EU, the importer must check that the non-EU manufacturer completed the assessment and the declaration before placing it on the market (Article 18). Packaging that was already produced or in stock before 12 August 2026 may use an accompanying document to meet the identification and contact requirements before it is placed on the market.
Producers must also register in each Member State where they first make packaging available (Article 44). Companies already registered under a national scheme, such as Germany’s LUCID packaging register, should ask their national authority how PPWR changes their registration. Am Ball holds Der Grüne Punkt and LUCID for German packaging law compliance.
What Should You Ask Your Agency or Factory?
- Who is the manufacturer for each packaging item, and is that written into our agreement?
- Which materials and substances does each packaging item contain, and can you supply the documents the declaration needs?
- Where will the identifier and contact details appear?
- Will the declaration cover each packaging type and the languages of the markets we sell into?
- What happens to stock produced before 12 August 2026?
Packaging setup is often quoted separately from the unit price, as our guide to what drives the price of custom merchandise explains. For approvals on licensed products, see how sports merchandise licensing works, and for the wider sustainability picture, read our guide to eco-friendly merchandising. The PPWR glossary entry summarises the Regulation in short form.
What Happens Next Under PPWR?
The Commission says enforcement of the obligations that apply from 12 August 2026 should not disrupt trade or supply chains. An authority that finds non-compliance must first ask the company to end it, and only if it persists can it prohibit, recall or withdraw the packaging. Authorities are expected to support companies with awareness-raising and requests for corrective action over a reasonable timeline.
The next big step is design for recycling. The Commission’s FAQ assumes it will adopt the delegated act in January 2028, with binding recyclability criteria from 1 January 2030.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does PPWR apply to a pin sold on a backing card?
A backing card or box that presents a product for sale fits the definition of sales packaging, so it is in scope. Whether any particular item is packaging is assessed against Article 3(1) and Annex I.
Is the factory responsible for the packaging?
Not automatically. The manufacturer is the company whose name or trademark is on the packaging or, for unbranded custom packaging, the company that orders it and sets the design.
Can my supplier take over the legal responsibility?
No. The FAQ states that legal responsibility cannot be transferred by contractual arrangement. A supplier can provide documents, a laboratory can carry out the assessment, and an authorised representative can draw up the declaration, but the manufacturer remains responsible.
Do I need a separate declaration for every size?
A declaration is drawn up per packaging type. If sizes differ in ways that do not affect compliance with the requirements, one declaration can cover them. If the packaged products differ, separate declarations are needed.
Do I have to notify authorities before placing packaging on the market?
No. The FAQ states that manufacturers do not notify the authorities of each Member State, and that authorities contact the manufacturer when they run a check. Registering as a producer under Article 44 is a separate obligation.
Conclusion
PPWR starts with one question: whose name or design decides the packaging. Answer that in writing with your agency, licensor and factory, then collect the documents the declaration needs before the next production run.
Talk to our team about packaging responsibilities for your next collection.
