Shopify sellers face EU packaging rules
14 posts across 6 communities in the last 90 days; 36% from r/ecommerce.
“I can’t see any serious means or political will to actually enforce this, especially against the tiny/small businesses reading this sub, and even more so those based outside the EU. Supposed to be reviewed in October. I suspect it’ll be removed entirely or watered down to…”
“On November 1st, parcels shipping into the EU from outside must have 3 product IDs on every product contained in the parcel, or else they will be rejected by customs. https://flavorcloud.com/resources/knowledge-base/eu-product-identifiers-shopify-setup I spoke to a Flavorcloud…”
“Hi all. I run a small mushroom farm in Erlangen, Germany, with a friend. We sell grow kits and substrate online, and we ship everything in paper and cardboard. No plastic, never have. On 12 August the EU’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) kicked in. I’m…”
Several Shopify store owners are concerned about new EU regulations regarding product packaging, with some fearing significant operational disruptions and potential business shutdowns if the rules aren't handled correctly. Others express uncertainty about enforcement and worry that smaller businesses will be disproportionately affected.
SOURCES (27)
“On November 1st, parcels shipping into the EU from outside must have 3 product IDs on every product contained in the parcel, or else they will be rejected by customs. https://flavorcloud.com/resources/knowledge-base/eu-product-identifiers-shopify-setup I spoke to a Flavorcloud rep who confirmed these IDs are: Your store’s SKU…”
“Hi all. I run a small mushroom farm in Erlangen, Germany, with a friend. We sell grow kits and substrate online, and we ship everything in paper and cardboard. No plastic, never have. On 12 August the EU’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) kicked in. I’m honestly all for less packaging waste. But one part of it has been giving me headaches since. https://www.enhesa.com/regulatory-coverage If you ship directly to customers in another EU country, you now need an “authorised repre”
I found this *For packaging EPR in the Netherlands , the important threshold is 50,000 kg of packaging per calendar year * i will double check if its the true but its…
“sigh and how is this going to be policed? I feel the EU is just coming up with random shite now that is badly thought through on a weekly basis. (Im someone that recently stopped selling to the EU. After the packing license/reporting fiasco. Lost over 10% of my business by doing so. Been compliant on the GPSR stuff....costs me £600 per year, but doesnt really seem to be enforced. Not heard of any small companies being done on it yet and alot of people just dont bother with it, in other words its”
“Hi! So, a few days ago I got an order from Austria. I am in the US. I didn’t think anything of it. Now it hit me that as of August 12th the new regulations on packaging started in the EU and Austria is part of the EU. Should I cancel this order? I was going to ship today but now I feel like I need to cancel and apologize to the customer. Best bet? submitted by /u/Last-Pin4399 [link] [comments]”
“The rule most people are reacting to is GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation), in force since Dec 2024. If you're based in the EU selling to EU buyers, you're already the "responsible person," so the asks are practical: a reachable contact (business name, address, email) shown with your listings, basic safety/care info in the buyer's language, and a simple record of sales and any complaints. The sellers who stopped shipping to the EU are mostly non-EU ones, who now have”
“Im a young artist starting up and wanted to start selling art to make a little bit of extra cash (Shitty time, i know) but now theres this new eu law. Im not gonna lie i dont completely understand it but ive seen a lot of people stop shipping to the eu. Has this affected yalls businesses? Or how do you handle it? (Im based in the eu myself) submitted by /u/theCodemeisterr [link] [comments]”
“" The PPWR includes exemptions and simplified requirements for smaller businesses" Does it? I've not seen anything about exemptions. I wonder why this legislation was even brought in when it seems like it wasn't fully thought through.”
“Yesterday I found out the Netherlands has an exemption if your yearly total of shipments doesn't exceed 50,000kg. That's a lot :-D. More information: Moet ik aangifte doen? | Verpact (in Dutch).”
“Hi. I've been trying to clearly understand the new regulations. I am wondering, as a small business, say I were to find a B2B packaging supplier (supplier for cardboard boxes, envelopes, bags, etc. for transport) which: 1. sells EU-wide, and 2. is able to demonstrate upon request that they fulfill all PPWR/EPR obligations in every EU country they ship in (they should, considering point 1, right?) Say I buy carboard boxes from them and use them to ship my product to another EU country, but do”
“Amazon is now requiring UK or non-EU sellers to engage an EU company to represent them and register in each EU country where products are sold for WEEE, Packaging and Batteries EPR. I am quoted for 2000 euros in Spain alone. Also Amazon forcing Pan-EU sellers to sell product into Netherlands and Belgium, both small markets that for me don't justify the costs of EPR registration. Close to throwing in the towel. Are other seeing the same.. submitted by /u/Curious-Nose6895 [link] &#”
“Ok so here is what I understood : I am in Eu country X, I buy a plain brown box from an authorized manufacturer from country X, I fill the box and ship it to country Y inside the EU ‘producer’ means any manufacturer, importer or distributor ‘manufacturer’ means any natural or legal person that manufactures packaging or a packaged product; I am not a manufacturer ‘importer’ means any natural or legal person established within the Union that places packaging from a third country on the market; I a”
“There has been a lot of misinformation on this topic. From what I understand if you buy a box from a EU company and fill it, then ship it anywhere in the EU, you are NOT the producer of the box. this is how the law define the term producer : "producer’ means any manufacturer, importer or distributor to.... blablabla" and then : " ‘supplier’ means any natural or legal person that supplies packaging or packaging material to a manufacturer; ‘importer’ means any natural or legal perso”
“I don’t know what to do, my business had started to do very well recently and now this law came in, and I’m not talking only about the packaging law but mostly about paying to register to each country… submitted by /u/lunarolexler_ [link] [comments]”
“but for most of them they need Authorised Rep registation in ther PRO organization. it is not that easy. for some countries it might work. Regards Complico consulting gmbh”
“Hi everyone, I work in jewelry manufacturing and recently I heard more people talking about the EU PPWR regulation. To be honest, I’m still trying to understand how much impact this will actually have on jewelry brands and suppliers. For those who sell jewelry in the EU, are you already making changes because of PPWR? submitted by /u/No-Finance-8443 [link] [comments]”
“FYI Amazon is against this too as it requires all the sellers on their marketplace to register in all those countries themselves. So this hurts them too. They published a blog post about this.”
“Here you can provide feedback directly to the EU https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/15352-Packaging-and-packaging-waste-rules-on-national-registers-of-producers_en”
“I can’t see any serious means or political will to actually enforce this, especially against the tiny/small businesses reading this sub, and even more so those based outside the EU. Supposed to be reviewed in October. I suspect it’ll be removed entirely or watered down to provide more relief to small businesses as the current system makes it basically impossible for sub-7 figure brands to start”
“It came from answer on Threads from European commision. Everyone can find it. Answer : Hey Klaire (answer to her question), we have some good news. We asked the European Parliament and the Member States to stop this obligation. We want to make it easy and smooth for our companies, big and small, to sell all over Europe! We made the legal proposal in December and it now needs the agreement of EU lawmakers. While this is ongoing, we also suggested to national authorities to avoid sanctioning compa”
“Yeah we are not big so we would 100% shut down EU operations and just serve our country and follow those regulations in just our country. So this would suck for us ..”
“Latest news from EU that the new law will be overturned in October, and for now EU suggested all countries not to put any penalties to those who have not accepted the new rules, but give a warning.”
“I suspect _they_ don’t know how to handle them/enforce them. Instead of having a single point of contact you need 27, each following different procedures and with different costs. Let’s be honest, if enforced as is, they’ll bring down the business of most small entrepreneurs in EU (and extra-EU too). Essentially the only survivor will be Amazon.”