French Sorting Info (Info-tri and the Triman logo): 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. For packaging and graphic papers, the complete marking rules are in the Info-tri guide; this article covers every other scheme.

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 official artwork for each regime comes from the relevant eco-organisation; for packaging, the files are only available to members (the Easy Info-tri generator in the Citeo client area, licensed files in the Léko member document area). Never redraw the symbols, and note that no eco-organisation validates your artwork.

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 EUR 15,000 for a company and EUR 3,000 for an individual, per non-compliant reference, under Article L. 541-9-4 of the Code de l'environnement. Checks are carried out by the DGCCRF, the French consumer protection authority, not by the eco-organism, and each reference found non-compliant counts as a separate breach. The marking has no effect on the eco-contribution: the 2027 Citeo and Léko scales carry no bonus or malus linked to Info-tri; the marking is a legal requirement. The only related premium (4%) rewards off-pack media awareness campaigns. 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 guides of Citeo and Léko, the eco-organisations for household packaging and paper; where they differ, follow the guide of the one you belong to.

• Four blocks: the Triman logo, the banner, the separable elements to sort (box, tube, bottle, film, each shown as text, pictogram, or both), and the destination of each (sorting bin, or glass bank). The name of the material, the words "à recycler" and a household waste pictogram are not allowed.
• 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. Léko requires a monochrome export version; Citeo only for multi-country versions. Léko does not allow a white Triman; Citeo accepts a reversed Triman if it stays legible.
• 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, place the FR tab first to show the rule applies to France, and do not translate the Info-tri.
• Stickers: Léko accepts a sticker on the packaging, including to relabel stock already produced. The marking always sits on the packaging, never inside.

For the packaging label in full, see the Triman and Info-tri guide; for shipping boxes and stickers, see E-commerce parcels and stickers.

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. Get the official files per scheme. Each eco-organisation provides the artwork, for packaging only to its members; use it rather than redrawing. No eco-organisation validates your artwork, so the final check stays with you and your designer.
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).

Info-tri for foreign brands designing their packaging#

Before your packaging artwork goes to print for France, run through these points. They summarise the published rules of Citeo and Léko; your eco-organisation’s guide prevails on the detail.

1. Check the scope: household packaging and graphic papers sold in France carry the Info-tri, whatever their origin. Packaging of products used only by professionals is out of scope; a package also sold to households stays household packaging.
2. Plan the membership before the artwork: the official files come only with membership (the Easy Info-tri generator at Citeo, licensed files to compose yourself at Léko).
3. List every separable element the consumer handles (box, bottle, cap, film, sleeve), each with its destination.
4. Leave out the name of the material, the words “à recycler” and any household waste pictogram; remove the Green Dot.
5. Respect the sizes: Triman at least 10 mm, or 6 mm in the compact format, text at least 5 pt; colours follow your eco-organisation’s guide.
6. Place the marking on the packaging, on a surface seen without opening it, never inside.
7. Small packaging: check the 10 and 20 cm² thresholds (20 and 40 cm² for round packaging) before moving part of the marking online; if a leaflet accompanies the product and the packaging is too small, the Info-tri goes on the leaflet.
8. Artwork shared with other countries: FR tab first, Info-tri not translated, export version as your eco-organisation requires (Léko: monochrome export version; Citeo: only for multi-country versions).
9. Stock already printed: Léko accepts a sticker on the packaging, including to relabel existing stock; Citeo members follow the Citeo guide.
10. Online orders: Citeo treats the shipping box delivered to a consumer as packaging to be marked.
11. Glass beverage bottles are exempt (voluntary marking recommended); other household packaging is not.
12. Nobody validates your artwork, neither Citeo nor Léko: the final marking stays the producer’s responsibility. A missing Info-tri can cost up to €3,000 (individual) or €15,000 (company) per reference, Article L. 541-9-4.

We open your Citeo or Léko membership, which gives you the official files, obtain your identifier and file your declarations. The artwork stays with you and your designer: we do not design, generate or validate markings. Request a written quote: it arrives within one business day.

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. Updated 7 October 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