France
Triman and Info-tri labelling for France
France requires a sorting-information marking on cosmetic packaging that no other EU member state demands in the same form. It catches exporters out because it is not part of the Cosmetics Regulation at all: it sits in French environmental law, and it has to appear alongside the usual Article 19 particulars. This is a working reference to what it is, where it goes, and the narrow cases where it can be digital.
What the requirement is
The obligation comes from the AGEC law (the anti-waste law for a circular economy, Loi 2020-105 of 10 February 2020) at Article 17, with the detail set by Décret 2021-835 of 29 June 2021. It requires two elements, which the law treats as inseparable: the Triman logo, the marking that signals a product is subject to sorting rules, and the Info-tri, a small panel of sorting instructions for each component of the packaging. Together they are usually called the Triman signage or the Info-tri.
It applies to every household product placed on the French market that falls under an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, with the single exception of glass beverage containers. Cosmetic packaging is firmly within scope. The duty falls on whoever places the product on the French market, the same producer-responsibility logic that funds the EPR schemes.
Where it goes
The signage must be on the product or its packaging, physically and visible to the consumer at the point of purchase, and the Info-tri must cover each element of the packaging (for a cream in a tube inside a carton, both the tube and the carton). For multi-component packaging the Info-tri can be consolidated on the outer pack, listing each element, rather than repeated on every part.
A limited dematerialisation (digital) route exists, and it is narrow. Where the largest face of the item is under 10 cm² and it carries no accompanying documents, the whole signage may be digital. Where the largest face is between 10 and 20 cm², the Triman logo must still be physical but the Info-tri panel may be digital. Above that, both are physical. Most cosmetic cartons and bottles fall outside the dematerialisation thresholds, so the marking has to be printed.
Getting the artwork right
The Triman and Info-tri are not free design. The official artwork and the wording of the Info-tri are issued by the EPR eco-organisation for household packaging (Citeo), and must be used as supplied, with the sorting instruction matched to the actual material of each component. The schematic in the label above shows where the signage sits and how it relates to the Article 19 particulars; it is not the official mark.
Penalties
Failure to display the marking is an offence under Article L541-9-4 of the Environment Code, with a fine of up to 15,000 euros for a company per breach. The practical risk for an exporter is less the fine than a distributor or marketplace refusing the product, or a recall of printed stock, which is far more expensive than getting the artwork right before the print run.
Position as at June 2026. The Triman and Info-tri obligation is in force and applies to cosmetic packaging now. It is, however, under challenge: on 17 July 2025 the European Commission referred France to the Court of Justice of the European Union, arguing that the mandatory national marking is a barrier to the free movement of goods under Articles 34 to 36 TFEU. Separately, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) will introduce a harmonised EU sorting label, with implementing acts expected around August 2026 and enforcement around August 2028, which is likely to supersede the national scheme in time. Until either lands, the French requirement stands. Confirm the current position before committing a print run.
How Oxford Biosciences helps
A France label review checks that the Triman and Info-tri are present and correctly placed, that the right Citeo sorting instruction is matched to each packaging material, and whether any component qualifies for the dematerialisation route, all alongside the Article 19 cosmetic particulars. We set the French requirements out next to the rest of the EU label so the artwork is right once, rather than corrected after the first rejected listing.