New shipping rules within the EU

New EU Packaging Rules from 12 August 2026. Why We Will Temporarily Ship Orders Only Within Germany

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is a new EU regulation designed to reduce packaging waste and make packaging more sustainable. It will start applying on 12 August 2026.

The basic idea is simple: businesses should take responsibility for the packaging waste generated by the products they sell.

In other words, the packaging you receive with your order will eventually be thrown away and, ideally, recycled. Recycling costs money — and it seems perfectly fair that businesses should contribute to covering these costs.

However, for small businesses selling across Europe, the new rules also bring additional registrations, bureaucracy and costs.

Under the new system, businesses may need to comply with packaging EPR requirements in each EU country where they sell and ship their products. This can involve registering in local systems, paying recycling fees and, in some cases, appointing an authorised representative in the country concerned.

For a small business, these fixed compliance costs can quickly become significant — especially in countries where only a handful of orders are placed each year.

The EU currently has 27 Member States an continuing to ship to all 27 EU countries could potentially cost up to €7000 per year.

The European Commission is currently considering a possible exemption for micro-enterprises that could postpone or reduce the obligation to appoint an authorised representative until 2035. If such an exemption is introduced, it could significantly reduce the costs for very small businesses.

What does this mean for my business?

Small businesses simply cannot afford to spend several hundred euros per year for every country from which they may receive only a handful of orders.

At the same time, the administrative burden can be similar for a small independent business and a large corporation — even though the scale of the packaging waste may be completely different.

Whether a business ships 200 grams of paper packaging or tonnes of plastic, the compliance framework can still create significant obligations.

For this reason, if no suitable exemption for micro-enterprises is introduced, I may unfortunately have to stop shipping to the all European countries from 12 August 2026.

Customers in Germany will still be able to order as usual.

Why will we ship only within Germany?

We are a small independent business. While we are happy to serve customers across Europe, complying with different packaging requirements in every EU country can create significant administrative and fixed costs for a small business.

Simply put, if you buy packaging in Germany and sell to a customer in Germany, the packaging will most likely be recycled in Germany, and the recycling fees are already being paid by the packaging suppliers.

Therefore, from 12 August 2026, we plan to continue shipping orders within the European Union only to Germany.

Customers in Germany will be able to continue ordering as usual.

We hope that future developments will make it easier and more affordable for small businesses to sell across the EU. If the rules and compliance processes become more accessible, we will reconsider our international shipping policy.

Thank you for your understanding and for supporting a small independent business. :)