Who is the PPWR manufacturer for own-brand packaging?

Short answer: Under the PPWR, the manufacturer is not automatically the factory that physically forms or fills the packaging. A person that has packaging designed or manufactured and markets it under its own name or trademark can be the manufacturer. The facts, contracts, branding and microenterprise exception must be checked for each packaging type.

Start with the legal role, not the supplier label

Article 3 distinguishes the manufacturer, who manufactures packaging or has it designed or manufactured and markets it under its name or trademark, from the producer responsible for extended producer responsibility in a Member State. The same company may hold both roles, but the tests are different.

For an own-brand product, record who commissioned the packaging, who controlled the specification, whose name or trademark is used and which entity first places the packaging on the Union market. A purchasing description such as “packaging supplier” does not settle the PPWR role.

The microenterprise exception matters

The definition contains a specific exception where the person having packaging designed or manufactured under its own name or trademark qualifies as a microenterprise. In that case the person that manufactures the packaging can be treated as the manufacturer. Do not apply this exception based on an informal description of company size; document the status and the entity to which it applies.

What own-brand businesses should document

1. Identify every legal entity whose name or trademark appears on the packaging.
2. Record who commissioned and approved the design and specification.
3. Confirm whether the microenterprise exception is relevant.
4. Name the manufacturer for the packaging type and record the basis for that conclusion.
5. Assign the Article 15 conformity assessment, technical-documentation and declaration duties.
6. Separately determine the EPR producer in every Member State concerned.

Do not solve the question only in the contract

A contract can allocate work, evidence delivery and indemnities, but it cannot change a role created by the Regulation. The technical file should contain the role assessment, the final packaging identifier, the responsible manufacturer and the evidence received from physical manufacturers and component suppliers.