EU PPWR FAQs Updated August 2026 - Flipbook - Page 13
7) Who is the 8manufacturer9 if a packaged product bears a name of one company and
a trademark of another company? NEW!
A name or trademark on a packaging holds equal weight in terms of the status of manufacturer
under the PPWR (Article 3(1), point (12)). Therefore, if one company manufactures, markets and
distributes products under its own name, for example as the responsible food business operator, but
under the trademark of another company, the status of manufacturer applies to the company which
determines the packaging design and specifications. For example, if the licensor, who is the
trademark owner, specifies that the product placed on the market under their trademark must be in
a specified packaging design to ensure that the packaging used for their products are identical in
Member States, or globally, the trademark owner will be considered the manufacturer. However,
licensors whose trademark may appear on packaging, but who do not determine the characteristics
of the packaging, should not be considered to be the manufacturer. A case-by-case assessment,
based on the contractual agreement between the two companies whose name and trademark are on
the packaging, would therefore be necessary to establish who has the decisive power.
Definition of 8producer9
8)
Is a farmer producer for the purpose of EPR obligations?
Whether a farmer is a 8producer9 will depend on the specific situation. There is no general
exemption for specific sectors such as farmers in terms of extended producer responsibility
obligations since all economic operators making packaging available on the territory of a Member
State for the first time will have to comply with these obligations.
The following examples show some typical examples of when a farmer would normally be
considered a producer and when it would not.
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If a farmer packs a few apples in a container (sales packaging) and sells it under its own
name or trademark to a retailer or consumer in the same Member State, the farmer is a
producer.
If the farmer sells the packed apples under its own name or trademark in another Member
State, the farmer is only the producer if the recipient is the end user of the apples. This
means that the farmer is not the producer if it sells the apples to a retailer in another
Member State.
If the farmer is a micro-enterprise, which is often the case, and the supplier of the apple
container is established in the same Member State, such supplier becomes the producer in
the Member State where the farmer and supplier are located.
If the container is produced under the name or trademark of an agricultural cooperative of
which the farmer is part, then this cooperative, and not the individual farmer, is the
producer.
If the farmer delivers apples in bulk in large containers (transport packaging) to a
agricultural cooperation, who then packs the apples into containers (sales packaging) under
the name or trademark of the cooperative, the agricultural cooperative is the producer.
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