New EU packaging rules confuse small businesses, some halt foreign orders

A new European Union regulation on packaging and packaging waste took effect last Wednesday. Among its key changes, businesses are now required to register in the producer register of every member state where they sell their goods.

The rule has raised numerous questions among small business owners, and several producers have temporarily closed foreign ordering options in their online stores while they seek clarity.

Kaidi Holm, who works daily providing legal counseling and training to NGOs, has for three years also run her own business, Seebistuudio, acting as its sole owner, manager and employee. Besides Estonia, her main market has been Finland, and until now customers anywhere could order her soaps through her online shop.

With the need to apply the regulation on a country-by-country basis, she has decided to pause deliveries abroad until she fully understands what exactly the obligation involves.

Holm said reducing packaging waste is already a priority for small businesses like hers, but argued that the paperwork burden should scale with company size, with micro-enterprises exempted. She noted that in a small business where a handful of people already juggle multiple roles, every added obligation takes time away from other work — and the administrative load is the same whether a business makes soap occasionally or operates at a much larger scale.

The regulation applies broadly to any business selling packaged goods on the EU market, covering everything from cucumbers grown in Luunja and chemical products to items made by small designers. Estonia's association of professional jewelry artists, A-Gallery, also shut down its online store, citing a lack of clarity on what is permitted and no assurance that sales abroad wouldn't trigger heavy fines. A-Gallery board chair and jewelry artist Valdek Laur said businesses had expected a more official, clearer approach from authorities rather than being told simply to keep operating.

Ministry says there's no reason to stop

Ivo Jaanisoo, deputy secretary general at Estonia's Ministry of Climate, said he sees no reason for businesses to halt sales. He explained that the packaging regulation comes with a transition period: Europe is currently working out the implementing act that will define reporting and data-submission requirements. Once that act takes effect, likely later this year, member states will still have a year and a half to bring their registers into compliance.