Packaging rules for fashion (PPWR)
Polybags, hang tags, tissue and cartons are packaging. The regulation applies soon and national packaging fees already do.
Regulation (EU) 2025/40
In force February 2025. Applies August 2026. Harmonised labels August 2028. Recyclability and recycled-content targets from 2030.
The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation entered into force in February 2025 and applies from August 2026. Everything a garment ships in is packaging: the polybag, the tissue, the hang tag, the carton. National packaging producer registers already exist 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 and an empty-space limit for transport and e-commerce packaging, to be verified against the final text before quoting a percentage. |
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 in every country where you sell before the harmonised registers arrive, so nothing is retroactive.
One record
What the Seamdex record already carries
- Packaging components per product by type (polybag, hang tag, silk paper, shipping box, desiccant), material, weight, recycled share and certification.
- Packaging mass per garment, per box and per batch, in the EPR export.
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.
Questions on this rule
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (EUR-Lex) checked September 2026
- European Commission, packaging waste checked September 2026
Regulatory dates last reviewed September 2026. Future dates are expectations, not law. This guide describes the rules; it is not legal advice.