This summer, I fulfilled one of my biggest dreams: I opened my online store to customers across Europe. I spent hours translating texts, building language versions, refining product descriptions, and making sure the shop works just as smoothly in English as it does in Finnish. When I finally pressed Publish, I felt proud and happy — at last I could serve European customers and offer handmade, timeless accessories across borders.
But almost immediately after that, a new acronym appeared in front of me: PPWR. And with it, the entire packaging responsibility system — one that works differently in every EU country.
Ecological Packaging Has Been Self‑Evident to Me From the Very Beginning
I want to say this out loud, because it matters: reducing packaging and choosing recyclable materials are not new ideas for me. They are not obligations that arrived with PPWR — they have been part of my brand from the moment I started designing my very first product.
I have always packed my products in:
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the smallest possible cardboard box, or a mailer bag
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without unnecessary filler
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without plastic
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and with only a small product card made of recyclable paper
For me, this is not a trend — it is a value. Handcraft, ecology and thoughtful packaging go hand in hand. They are part of the reason I do this work at all.
That’s why it feels contradictory that a system meant to support ecological choices ends up making a small entrepreneur’s everyday life more complicated and more expensive.
When sustainability is already built into my business, it would be reasonable for the system to be just as clear and lightweight as the package I send to my customer.
Why Do EU Countries Have Different Registration Systems and Fees?
This is the first question every small business owner asks.
The EU has shared legislation, but producer responsibility (EPR) is implemented nationally. In practice, this means:
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every country builds its own system
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every country sets its own fees
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every country decides how small businesses are treated
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every country requires its own registration and reporting
That’s why Germany has LUCID, France has CITEO, Spain has ECOEMBES, Italy has CONAI… And each has its own prices, its own portals and its own annual reports.
For a small handmade brand, this means the EU is not one market — it is 27 separate packaging responsibility markets.
Could There Be One Unified Process for the Entire EU?
It could — and it should.
One unified registration, one annual report and one fee for the entire EU would be:
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clear
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cost‑effective
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entrepreneur‑friendly
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supportive of competition
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beneficial for the EU’s internal market
But at the moment, PPWR does not provide this. It harmonizes technical packaging requirements, but does not unify producer responsibility.
Why Has This Been Made So Complicated?
The reason is simple: producer responsibility has historically been part of waste management, and waste management is a national matter. Each country wants to control its own recycling system, its own costs and its own targets.
But the result is difficult from a small entrepreneur’s perspective:
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27 different systems
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27 different fees
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27 different reporting processes
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27 different registrations
And when sales are small — as they often are for handmade businesses — costs cannot be predicted in advance.
How Can a Small Business Budget for Germany’s Registration Fees When Sales Are So Low?
Short answer: it can’t.
Germany’s system is mandatory from the very first package. But no one can know in advance whether one order will come from Germany — or none at all.
This makes budgeting impossible:
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you pay the registration even if you get 0–1 orders
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you pay the annual fee even if you use only a few grams of cardboard
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you pay for administrative work that takes more time than the actual sales
That’s why many small entrepreneurs — myself included — have had to make a difficult decision:
to exclude the most expensive and bureaucratic countries from the online store.
It doesn’t feel good, but right now it is the only sensible way to protect a small business.
EU’s Internal Market Will Not Grow Under This Model
When small brands are forced to close their doors to certain EU countries, the internal market does not strengthen — it weakens.
And at the same time:
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non‑EU sellers can sell here without the same obligations
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the EU loses competitiveness
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small brands cannot grow
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craftsmanship and local production fall behind
This is not the direction many of us hoped for.
Still, I Continue — and I Hope the System Will Become Lighter
Even though PPWR brought a significant amount of extra work right after opening my shop to Europe, I won’t let it stop me.
I want to serve European customers. I want handmade, timeless and ecological accessories to find new homes. I want to build a small, beautiful and sustainable brand, even if the path is sometimes rocky.
However, I’ve had to limit my sales — at least for now — to Finland and only certain other countries where the costs and bureaucracy are the lightest.
And I hope that one day the EU will have one unified system that supports small entrepreneurs — instead of making cross‑border commerce unnecessarily difficult.
I’ve used AI mainly to gain an overall understanding of PPWR and how it affects a small business like mine.
14 August 2026 — blog updated: the paint list has been revised to match the current situation.