Triman and Info-tri: the EPR symbols France requires on packaging, textiles and electronics

If you sell consumer products in France, the label has to tell the buyer how to sort the product when it becomes waste. France requires this for almost every consumer product covered by extended producer responsibility (EPR): packaging, clothing and shoes, electronics, furniture, toys and more. The rule comes from the French anti-waste law of 2020 (loi AGEC) and is set out in Article L541-9-3 of the French Environmental Code.

For sellers from outside the EU, this is one of the most common reasons a product or a listing is not ready for France. This article explains what the Triman logo and the Info-tri are, what you need for packaging, textiles and electronics, where you may put them, and what else France expects from you, such as the IDU registration number.

1. Triman and Info-tri in short
2. Which products, and since when
3. Packaging
4. Textiles, household linen and shoes
5. Electronics
6. Small products: when you may move the information online
7. The IDU number
8. Fines
9. What changes with the PPWR
10. Checklist

Triman and Info-tri in short

The Triman is the French sorting logo: a figure with arrows, telling the buyer the product must not go into general waste. The Info-tri is the box next to it that explains how to sort the product or where to bring it. Both are required together: the Triman sits against the Info-tri (Article R541-12-21 of the Environmental Code).

Each producer responsibility organisation (eco-organisme) designs the Info-tri for its own product group, and the French ministry approves it. Producers then have 12 months to put it on their products, plus up to 6 months to sell stock made or imported before the deadline (Article R541-12-18, from Decree 2021-835 of 29 June 2021). The French law sets no minimum size for the Triman. The size rules you will see come from the guides of the eco-organismes.

Where it goes: on the product or its packaging, or failing that in the documents supplied with the product (Article L541-9-3). For household packaging, the sign goes on the packaging itself. Stickers are allowed (Article R541-12-21).

Which products, and since when

The rule applies to all household products covered by a French EPR scheme, except glass beverage containers. The main groups and their deadlines:

Furniture, toys, sports and leisure items, DIY and garden products have their own EPR schemes and Info-tri as well. All transition periods for these groups have passed, so every product on the French market today needs the right symbol.

Packaging

Household packaging carries the Triman with the Citeo Info-tri. The Info-tri shows each part of the packaging that is sorted separately, linked with a plus sign, and where it goes: "bac de tri" (sorting bin) or, for glass, "tri verre". The Triman cannot be separated from the Info-tri box.

• Glass. Glass beverage containers, such as wine bottles, are excluded by law. Jars and other glass packaging are not, and outer packaging such as cartons and gift boxes is not either.
• Multilingual packaging. If the same packaging is sold in France and in other countries, Citeo offers a version with pictograms only and no text, with a mandatory "FR" tab.
• Two EPR schemes. A product that falls under two schemes carries two Info-tris. A T-shirt in a bag carries the textile Info-tri and the packaging Info-tri.
• The Green Dot. France once penalised the Green Dot (two arrows in a circle) as a confusing sign. The Conseil d'État annulled that rule on 30 June 2023 (decision 449872), so the Green Dot is no longer penalised in France. Under the PPWR, labels that may mislead consumers about sorting will become prohibited across the EU (Article 12(8) of Regulation (EU) 2025/40).

Packaging rules differ in each country. Our articles on packaging labels in Italy and recycling symbols in Spain cover the other two markets with their own marking.

Textiles, household linen and shoes

Clothing, household linen and shoes carry the Triman with the Refashion Info-tri. The recommended version shows:

• the Triman;
• a pictogram for the product type: a garment, household linen or a shoe;
• a pictogram of a drop-off container;
• a link to the French government website on sorting;
• "FR".

According to Refashion, the whole block must be at least 2.7 cm wide (or 2.7 cm high for the vertical version) and printed in one colour. It can go on the composition label, a hangtag, the product itself, the sales packaging or a sticker. The sign may also be added in France after import: customs do not check it, but the consumer authorities (DGCCRF) do.

The sorting symbol is not the same as the care symbols or the fibre composition. Our article on EU textile labelling explains what has to be on a textile label in every EU country.

Large brands only: the product sheet. France also requires a digital product sheet on environmental characteristics, such as recycled content and the countries where the product was made (Article L541-9-1, Decree 2022-748). Since 1 January 2025 it applies to companies with a turnover of at least 10 million euro that place at least 10,000 units on the French market. Most small sellers are below that threshold.

Electronics

Electrical and electronic equipment must carry the crossed-out wheeled bin under the EU WEEE Directive, in every EU country (Article 14(4) and Annex IX of Directive 2012/19/EU). France adds the Info-tri.

The Info-tri for electronics, set by ecosystem and Ecologic, says "Cet appareil se recycle" (this device can be recycled), or "Cet appareil et sa batterie se recyclent" for products with a removable battery, with "FR" and where to bring it: a shop ("à déposer en magasin") or a recycling centre ("à déposer en déchèterie"). For electronics, the crossed-out bin may take the place of the Triman inside the Info-tri. French law allows a sign that is regulated by EU law to replace the Triman (Article R541-12-20). The crossed-out bin still has to be on the product itself, unless the product is too small for it.

Our article on WEEE for importers explains the registration side.

Small products: when you may move the information online

For small products, French law allows part of the marking to move online (Article R541-12-21):

• If the largest side of the product or its packaging is smaller than 10 cm² and no other document comes with it, both the Triman and the Info-tri may be shown online instead.
• Between 10 and 20 cm², only the Info-tri may move online. The Triman stays on the product.
• For round or cylindrical products or packaging, the limits are 20 and 40 cm².

The IDU number

Every producer under a French EPR scheme registers with ADEME, the French environment agency, and receives a unique identification number (identifiant unique, IDU) for each EPR category (Article L541-10-13). You must show this number in your terms of sale or another contractual document, and on your website (Article R541-173). Not registering, missing or wrong registration data, or not showing your IDU can lead to a fine of up to 30,000 euro (Article L541-9-5).

Online marketplaces are responsible for the EPR obligations of sellers who use them, unless they have proof that the seller is compliant. A valid IDU counts as that proof (Article L541-10-9). This is why marketplaces ask for your IDU before you can sell in France.

Fines

Missing or incorrect Triman and Info-tri marking can be fined up to 3,000 euro for a natural person and 15,000 euro for a company (Article L541-9-4). The DGCCRF, the French consumer authority, enforces this.

What changes with the PPWR

The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) introduces a harmonised EU sorting label for packaging. It applies from 12 August 2028, or 24 months after the Commission's implementing act on the label design enters into force, whichever is later (Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) 2025/40). From 12 February 2027, a symbol showing that packaging is part of an EPR scheme, such as the Green Dot, may only be shown through a QR code or other standardised digital marking (Article 12(9)). This does not apply to sorting instructions such as the Triman and Info-tri.

The PPWR does not say when national labels such as the Triman have to disappear. The European Commission has taken France to the Court of Justice of the EU over the Triman. Until the court rules or the French law changes, the French marking rules still apply.

Checklist

• List your products by EPR group: packaging, textiles and shoes, electronics, furniture, toys and others.
• Register with ADEME for each group and get your IDU numbers.
• Show your IDU numbers in your terms of sale and on your website.
• Put the Triman with the right Info-tri on the product or its packaging.
• For packaging: add the Citeo Info-tri, and check glass and outer packaging.
• For textiles and shoes: add the Refashion Info-tri, at least 2.7 cm wide, on the label, hangtag or packaging.
• For electronics: keep the crossed-out bin on the product and add the electronics Info-tri.
• For small products: check whether part of the marking may move online.
• Watch the PPWR: the harmonised EU sorting label becomes mandatory on packaging from 12 August 2028 at the earliest. Until then, and unless French law changes, keep the Triman and Info-tri.

The symbol files are free to download in our Academy: French Triman symbols for packaging, French EPR icons for clothing and shoes and French EPR icons for electronics.

Sources

• Code de l'environnement, Articles L541-9-1, L541-9-3, L541-9-4, L541-9-5, L541-10-9, L541-10-13, R541-12-17 to R541-12-21 and R541-173. Légifrance
• Décret n° 2021-835 du 29 juin 2021 relatif à l'information des consommateurs sur la règle de tri des déchets issus des produits soumis au principe de responsabilité élargie du producteur.
• Conseil d'État, décision n° 449872 du 30 juin 2023.
• Citeo, fiche Info-tri (October 2021); Refashion, guide Info-tri (February 2022) and FAQ; ecosystem and Ecologic, guide Info-tri (January 2022).
• Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), Article 14 and Annex IX. EUR-Lex
• Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR), Article 12. EUR-Lex
• Consulted November 2026.