French Sorting Info (Triman and Info-tri): the labelling rule that applies far beyond packaging

Most producers selling into France meet the Triman for the first time on their packaging and assume that is the whole story. It is not. In France the Sorting Info label (in French, Info-tri) is a horizontal obligation that runs across almost every Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme, and it lands on the product itself as often as on the box. For anyone shipping a broad consumer catalogue, that single fact changes how much of the range has to be labelled, and on which parts.

This guide sets out what the Sorting Info is, the legal basis, the three marking regimes that coexist, who must display it and from when, the size thresholds and exemptions, the penalty, and a scheme-by-scheme reference with worked multi-marking examples. It is written for EU and non-EU producers alike: the trigger is placing goods on the French market for households, not nationality.

Sorting Info is a horizontal obligation, not a packaging rule

The obligation flows from Article L. 541-9-3 of the Code de l'environnement (introduced by the AGEC law of 10 February 2020, article 17). It requires a common sorting symbol plus sorting information on every product covered by an EPR scheme and placed on the market for households, with narrow exceptions. Packaging is simply the oldest and most visible system. Around ten schemes are relevant to a general consumer range, and each carries its own Sorting Info:

• Packaging and graphic paper
• Electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
• Batteries and accumulators
• Furniture (elements of furnishing)
• Textiles, household linen and footwear
• Toys
• Sport and leisure articles
• DIY and garden articles
• Household chemical products

The catch for a varied catalogue is that one low-cost item often triggers several schemes at once. A remote-control toy is a toy plus electrical (WEEE) plus a battery plus its packaging. A rechargeable USB fan is WEEE plus a battery plus packaging. Each of those carries its own marking, on its own element. Treating Sorting Info as a packaging afterthought is the single most common and most expensive mistake.

If you are still mapping which schemes your products fall under, start with the complete EPR compliance guide and the scope check tool, then come back to the labelling layer.

The three marking regimes you must not confuse

The obligation is one, but the common symbol differs by product family. This is why a Bluetooth speaker carries a Triman on its box and a crossed-out bin on the device. There are three regimes, and every one of them still needs the Info-tri strip alongside the symbol.

Do not confuse two different things on chemicals. The CLP hazard pictograms (flame, skull, exclamation mark, from Regulation (EC) 1272/2008) are a separate labelling duty for dangerous substances and mixtures. They are not the Info-tri. On a household chemical, the CLP hazard marking and the EPR sorting marking coexist; you need both, and they mean different things.

The Triman itself is a common sorting logo signalling that a sorting or drop-off rule applies. It is not a recyclability claim, and it does not certify that a product is recyclable. The editable, official artwork for each regime is published by the relevant eco-organisation (Illustrator and PDF kits), so there is no need to redraw anything from scratch.

Who must label, and from when

Who. The producer in the EPR sense is whoever first places the product on the French market. For imported goods, this is decided by the transfer of title on import into France, not by the brand name or the Incoterms. If a product may be sold to households, the duty applies, and a dual-use item counts as household. Strictly professional goods that cannot reach households are outside the household Sorting Info duty.

Origin is irrelevant. Goods imported from another EU Member State or from outside the EU must carry the French Sorting Info to be placed on the French market. A registration in another Member State does not cover France: labelling and producer registration are country-specific, and this is exactly the point where a German, Spanish or Chinese seller with no French entity has to appoint a French authorized representative and register before the first shipment.

When. The marking must be present at the first placing on the French market. Entry into force runs from each scheme's own approval date, so confirm the exact date per adhering eco-organisation before printing a specific reference. As a working map:

Labelling is part of market entry, alongside producer registration and the unique producer identifier (IDU). It is not a post-launch fix. If France is a target market, fold the Sorting Info into the launch plan with registration and the IDU, before the first shipment.

Penalties, size thresholds and exemptions

The penalty is charged per product reference. Up to €15,000 for a company and €3,000 for an individual, per non-compliant reference, under Article L. 541-9-4 of the Code de l'environnement. The French authorities issue it, not the eco-organism, and each reference found non-compliant on a check counts as a separate breach. On a catalogue of thousands of SKUs the exposure is cumulative, which is why the label is not a detail.

Size thresholds let you dematerialise, not skip. The information can move to a website within these limits, but the duty remains:

Exemptions and special cases. Glass beverage packaging is excluded from the obligation by L. 541-9-3 itself (voluntary marking is recommended). Strictly professional and industrial goods sit outside the household duty. Medicines are not exempt but get a ten-month stock sell-off window because of safety-stock rules.

A note on the Green Dot (Point Vert). The circular two-arrow symbol is not mandatory and does not mean recyclable. The 2020 order that had banned confusing markings was annulled by the Conseil d'État (decision no. 449872, 30 June 2023), so the mere presence of the Green Dot is no longer, by itself, sanctionable. It is still best removed to avoid confusing consumers. The positive duty to show the Triman and the Info-tri, and the penalty for failing to, are unaffected.

Packaging Sorting Info: the Citeo system in brief

Because every product has packaging, this system applies to the whole range, and it is the most mature. The rules come from the official Sorting Info guide of Citeo (the eco-organisation for household packaging and paper); Adelphe and Léko are also approved and use the same marking.

• Four components: the Triman logo, a text-and-image block, the separable elements to sort (box, tube, bottle, film, each shown as text, pictogram, or both), and the target stream (sorting bin, or glass bank).
• Colours: green for glass, yellow for other packaging and paper. Monochrome is allowed (one clean colour, never a mix) as long as it stays legible. Export and international versions are black and white, because stream colours differ between countries.
• Formats and sizes: standard by default and can be enlarged; compact is only for tight spaces and must never be shrunk (its Triman is already at the 6 mm minimum; standard minimum is 10 mm).
• Keep caps on bottles and tubes so small parts are recovered, and show only the parts the consumer actually separates. A lid of a different material from the body is shown separately.
• The FR tab: when the same artwork ships to France and abroad, add the FR tab to show the rule applies to France; multi-country versions are black and white.

For the deep dive on the packaging label specifically, see Info-tri explained for French packaging and the Triman logo for foreign brands.

Sorting Info scheme by scheme

Beyond packaging, each scheme has its own symbol, recommended wording, target stream and eco-organisation. Confirm the exact obligation date with the eco-organisation the producer adheres to.

Some ranges also touch construction products (PMCB), lubricants and oils, tyres, or single-use sanitary textiles; treat these case by case. For the electronics-heavy schemes, our stream pages on WEEE and batteries set out registration alongside the labelling.

One product, several markings

The multi-marking cases are where compliance is won or lost. Mark the device, the cell and the packaging; missing any one of them is a non-compliant reference.

The scheme most often missed in a varied catalogue is electrical and batteries. Sweep every powered, plug-in or battery-containing item first: appliances, LED bulbs and strings, extension leads and multi-sockets, chargers, cables and power banks, calculators, electronic and musical toys, light-up decorations, power tools, bike lights, electric pumps and small beauty devices.

Your implementation playbook

A repeatable method beats improvising per SKU:

1. Qualify each reference. For every SKU, list the EPR schemes it triggers. Flag the easy-to-miss ones first: WEEE and batteries on anything powered, textiles on soft goods, chemicals on sprays and glues.
2. Register and get the IDU. Before the first sale, register the producer with each scheme's eco-organisation and obtain the unique producer identifier. This runs in parallel across schemes.
3. Pull the right editable kit per scheme. Each eco-organisation publishes ready-made, editable artwork; use it rather than redrawing.
4. Choose the carrier and size per element. Product, packaging or leaflet. Apply the 10, 20 and 40 cm² thresholds; dematerialise tiny items, and if a leaflet exists, put the Info-tri there.
5. Build and QA the artwork. Show every separable element and its stream, keep caps on, respect minimum sizes (Triman 10 mm, 6 mm compact; textiles 1 cm by 7 cm), add the FR tab if the artwork ships abroad, and remove any old or confusing sorting mentions.
6. Manage timing and stock. The marking must be present at first placing; track each scheme's date and keep proof of when stock was made or imported.

Run a quick QA pass against the common mistakes: marking only the outer box and missing the device and the cell; mixing schemes under one generic wording; confusing the CLP hazard pictograms with the Info-tri; shrinking the compact format below its fixed size; and assuming an EU registration covers France (it does not).

Frequently asked questions

Is the Sorting Info the same thing as the Triman? Not quite. The Triman is the common symbol for most schemes; the Info-tri is the instruction strip beside it that says, element by element, where each part goes. They must appear together. For electrical and batteries the symbol is the crossed-out bin rather than the Triman, and for household chemicals it is the specific L. 541-10-4 marking, but the Info-tri strip is required in every case.

We already label our packaging. Are we compliant? Only for packaging. If the same catalogue includes anything electrical, battery-powered, textile, furniture, a toy, a sport or DIY article, or a household chemical, each of those needs its own Sorting Info on the right element. Packaging is the most visible scheme, not the only one.

Do the CLP hazard pictograms replace the Info-tri on chemicals? No. They are a separate labelling duty and they coexist. On a household chemical you show both the CLP hazard pictograms (from Regulation 1272/2008) and the EPR sorting marking with its Info-tri.

Can we dematerialise the label to a QR code or website? Within the size thresholds, yes for small or cylindrical items, and the duty then continues online. Above the thresholds the marking stays on the item or its packaging, and if a leaflet exists the Info-tri must be on the leaflet. Dematerialisation reduces where the information sits; it does not remove the obligation.

Does this apply to us if we are an EU company with no French entity? Yes. The trigger is placing goods on the French market for households, not nationality. An EU registration elsewhere does not cover France, so you need French registration, an IDU per stream, and the French Sorting Info, in practice through a French-established authorized representative.

Sources & references

This article generalises a practitioner playbook and traces its claims to primary French sources. Legal figures are a good-faith reading of the current text and not legal advice; confirm the applicable marking and date for a given reference with the relevant eco-organisation. Verified 21 July 2026.

• Article L. 541-9-3 du Code de l'environnement (Sorting Info obligation, AGEC law art. 17), Légifrance, Code de l'environnement
• Article L. 541-9-4 du Code de l'environnement (penalty for the information obligation), Légifrance, Code de l'environnement
• Article L. 541-10-4 du Code de l'environnement (sorting marking for household chemical products), Légifrance, Code de l'environnement
• Décret n° 2021-835 du 29 juin 2021 (implementing decree: format, thresholds, timing, dematerialisation), Légifrance
• Décret n° 2022-975 du 1er juillet 2022 (small and cylindrical or spherical items: 20 and 40 cm² thresholds), Légifrance
• Loi n° 2020-105 du 10 février 2020 (AGEC), Légifrance
• Conseil d'État, 30 juin 2023, n° 449872 (annulment of the ban on confusing markings, Green Dot), Légifrance
• Directive 2012/19/EU (WEEE) and standard EN 50419 (crossed-out wheeled bin marking)
• Regulation (EC) 1272/2008 (CLP hazard pictograms, distinct from the Info-tri)
• Official Sorting Info guides of the eco-organisations (Citeo, ecosystem, Ecologic, Batribox, Refashion, Ecomaison, Valobat, EcoDDS), and ADEME guidance on the signalétique de tri