Packaging rules for fashion (PPWR)
Polybags, hang tags, tissue and cartons are packaging. The regulation applies, and the national packaging fees that preceded it still do.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40
In force February 2025. Applies since August 2026. Harmonised labels August 2028. Recyclability, recycled-content and empty-space rules from 2030.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation entered into force in February 2025 and has applied since August 2026. Everything a garment ships in is packaging: the polybag, the tissue, the hang tag, the carton. National packaging producer registers existed before it in several countries and are a separate obligation from textile EPR.
What counts as packaging on a garment
| Type | Examples | What the regulation asks |
|---|---|---|
| Sales packaging | Polybag, branded tissue, hang tag, garment bag | Design for recycling, recycled content in plastics and a harmonised label from August 2028; grades and minimum recycled content from 2030. |
| Grouped packaging | Multi-packs, master polybags | Same requirements, plus minimisation. |
| Transport packaging | Export cartons, pallet wrap, mailer bags | Minimisation now. From 2030, an empty-space cap of half the volume for grouped, transport and e-commerce packaging, with filling material counted as empty space. The Commission sets the calculation method by implementing act. |
What is already true today
- Germany requires producers to register packaging before placing it on the market; France and the Netherlands run packaging schemes with fees.
- Textile EPR and packaging EPR are separate registrations and fee streams in the countries that run both.
- Non-EU brands need a representative in the countries where they are obliged to register.
What to prepare this season
- Record every packaging component per garment with material and weight, including the supplier-sourced ones.
- Ask polybag suppliers about recycled polyethylene film now; supply is expected to tighten as the targets approach.
- Register now in every country where you sell, so nothing is retroactive.
One record
What the Seamdex record already carries
- Packaging components per product by type (garment protective bag, hang tag, silk paper, shipping box, moisture control), material, weight, recycled share and certification.
- The EU material code of each component (PAP 21, LDPE 4 and so on), the fibre content of paper and the ink it is printed with.
- Packaging mass per garment, per box and per batch, in the EPR export, plus a sheet per packaging type grouped by material.
Built around the data set the Commission's researchers have proposed, updated as the delegated act lands. Not a compliance claim: no one can make one before the act exists.
FAQ
Questions on this rule
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (EUR-Lex) checked October 2026
- European Commission, packaging waste checked October 2026
- Commission guidance notice on the packaging regulation (Official Journal C, June 2026) checked October 2026
Regulatory dates last reviewed October 2026. Future dates are expectations, not law. This guide describes the rules; it is not legal advice.
