The governing French law behind the Triman logo is Article 17 of the French AGEC Law and Decree No. 2021-835 of 29th June 2021. The Triman logo informs French consumers of how to dispose of household waste regardless of whether it is recyclable or not. The Triman logo can be found across various industries including personal care, cosmetics, food & drink and fashion.
The Triman logo is made up of 2 parts - the Triman and the info-tri. The Triman is the symbol of the person with 3 arrows pointing to the info-tri. The info-tri details how each element of packaging should be disposed of. This can be presented using words, approved icons or a mixture of both. If a product has more than 3 packaging elements, the phrase ‘Éléments D’Emballage’ can be used in the info-tri alongside the disposal instruction. It is important to ensure the approved icons and wording are being used when creating the info-tri to ensure compliance.
The Triman logo is only applicable to products sold in France and its territories. It is mandatory on all household packaging waste except for glass and it must be visible to the consumer at the time of purchase.
The requirement to display the Triman logo came into force on 1st January 2022 and all packaging on the French market must display the sorting instructions unless exempt from 9th March 2023. There is also an additional deadline of 9th September 2022 for all packaging printed from this date to comply with the Triman sorting instructions.
There are some exemptions to the deadline of 9th March 2023. Products may still be placed on the French market without the Triman sorting instructions if both of the following apply:
When designing the logo, there are 4 main elements:
The formatting, measurements, spacing and fonts used must be correct and compliant to the Triman requirements. Logos can be designed in monochrome or other to suit branding but it must remain visible to the consumer at the point of purchase.
There are some exemptions for small packaging and for cylindrical and spherical packaging. For small packaging, if the biggest side is of less than 10cm² and there is no documentation supplied with the product, the Triman logo and info-tri can be made available via electronic means. If the biggest surface area is between 10cm² & 20cm² and no documentation is supplied, the Triman logo must be on pack but the info-tri can be made available via electronic means.
For cylindrical and spherical packaging, if the biggest side is less than 20cm² and no documentation is supplied, the Triman logo and info-tri can be made available via electronic means. Packaging with the biggest surface area between 20cm² and 40cm² and no documentation is supplied, the Triman logo must be on pack but the info-tri can be made available via electronic means.
