PPWR: EU Packaging Regulation Forces Small Retailers to Stop EU-Wide Shipping
Thousands of small retailers, creatives, and micro-enterprises in the EU are ceasing their cross-border online trade effective immediately—triggered by the new EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR). Instead of a centralized EU solution, they must register individually in each destination country, appoint local authorized representatives, and pay high minimum fees—regardless of whether they ship one package or ten thousand.
Bureaucracy Instead of the Single Market
The PPWR was actually intended to prevent waste and promote recycling, but its implementation has proven to be a “bureaucratic monster” for micro-businesses: There are no de minimis thresholds, no lower limits, and no exceptions for very small quantities. Anyone who sends even a single package per year across an EU internal border is subject to the full force of the recipient country’s national legislation.
To be allowed to deliver a package to a private customer in another EU country at all, merchants must:
- register in the respective country and fill out complex applications in the local language
- appoint a local authorized representative who is based in the destination country and assumes liability
- pay flat-rate minimum annual fees—completely independent of the actual shipping volume
The costs associated with this paperwork are absurd: While the actual licensing fees for a few grams of cardboard often amount to mere pennies, mandated agencies, notaries, and national waste management lobbies charge hefty annual flat fees—150 euros in France, 250 euros in Austria, 350 euros in Spain, and hundreds more in Poland, Sweden, or Slovakia. That adds up to more than 1,000 euros per country.
Amazon laughs, the artisan cries
The bitterest realization: A global fast-fashion giant, an electronics conglomerate, or a Far Eastern platform like Temu or Shein effortlessly brushes aside the few thousand euros in authorized agent fees per country. With surgical precision, the very backbone of European culture and economy is being targeted—small niche shops, independent publishers, sustainable textile labels, potters, musicians, and artists. The result is an unprecedented wave of self-isolation: for small businesses, Europe is shrinking back to its own national borders overnight, while cross-border e-commerce is systematically being left to the monopolists and giants. >> So sad!
Effective immediately, only Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
In light of the new EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR), we have—unfortunately—decided to limit our deliveries to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The bureaucratic hurdles and costs associated with cross-border shipping within the EU make it impossible for us, as a small business, to continue delivering throughout Europe without significantly raising our prices or taking economically unsound risks.
We deeply regret this decision, as interacting with customers across Europe was important to us. At the same time, we want to be transparent: The PPWR disproportionately affects small, independent shops—while large corporations and platforms have no trouble complying with the new rules.
As long as the framework conditions do not change, Trendmedic will remain a DACH-focused service. Should the situation improve, we’ll be happy to provide an update.
