The French Environmental Labelling Decree of 29 April 2022 requires businesses selling to France through all channels, to provide details of certain environmental qualities and characteristics of waste-generating products to the consumer.

The product categories impacted by this Decree include new textile clothing, household textiles, footwear, paper and packaging. You are obliged to meet the requirements of the Decree if your business turnover and the number of products placed on the French market each year is within the perimeters set by the Decree, with an implementation date of 1 of January 2023.

UKFT Members can request a copy of the Guide to the Decree by emailing: info@ukft.org .

UPDATE

Within the Decree is a requirement to state the recyclability of products to a set of 5 criteria. We have been advised by the French Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) Re_Fashion, that for textile clothing, household textiles and footwear, this obligation has been reoriented towards reuse rather than recycling. You should therefore not state the recyclability of textile clothing, household textiles and footwear in the “product sheet relating to environmental qualities and characteristics” (or any other method specified by the Decree). At a later stage, it may be possible to meet the criteria specified in the Decree for this product sector. If so, Re_Fashion will provide a tool to enable businesses selling to the French market to assess the recyclability of products so that you can add this information to the “product sheet relating to environmental qualities and characteristics”

All the other obligations of the Decree relating to textile clothing, household textiles and footwear remain unchanged and should be met.

PACKAGING AND PAPER

The requirement to provide information to the consumer on the recyclability of paper and packaging has not changed. We are advised that the tool to enable this to be determined will be available from the Packaging PRO’s in Spring 2023.  In the meantime, if your business is liable under the Decree to provide information to consumers from the 1st of January 2023, and you are preparing your “Product sheet on environmental qualities and characteristics”, (or any other method specified by the Decree), until such time as the tool is available, please do not include  information on the recyclability of paper and packaging.

All other obligations of the Decree relating to packaging and paper remain unchanged and should be met.

TRIMAN

Please note the French Environmental Labelling Decree is a separate requirement to Triman marking and sorting information which applies to all businesses regardless of turnover and the number of products placed on the French market. Please request the UKFT Guide to Triman labelling.

UKFT Members can request a copy of the Guide to the Decree by emailing: info@ukft.org .

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