The marking of packaging of the following products, placed on the market before 4 July 2022 could be affixed by means of stickers.

• sanitary towels (pads), tampons and tampon applicators
• wet wipes (i.e., pre-wetted personal care and domestic wipes)
• tobacco products with filters and filters marketed for use in combination with tobacco products
• beverage cups

This means that for products placed on the market after 4 July 2022, the marking "Plastic in product" should be properly labelled and not be affixed by means of stickers.

Harmonized marking specifications for wet wipes and similar products

Wet wipes must be covered by the EU’s Directive on single-use plastics, Directive (EU) 2019/904.

Examples of cosmetic products covered by the "wet wipes" definition

• Baby wipes
• Cleansing wipes for skin (including hands and body)
• Facial cosmetic wipes (e.g., facial masks/sheet masks, face cleaning/makeup removal wipes)
• Eye pads

For products to be covered by this directive they must fulfill the following two criteria:

1. they contain plastic, and
2. they are moistened / wet in the package

On the one hand, wet wipes which are made using non-natural polymers or natural polymers that have been chemically modified, fall within the scope of the Directive. Also, if the wet wipe contains a certain percentage of plastic such as binders, then they are covered by the directive and need to be labeled according to the specific instructions.

On the other hand, wet wipes e.g., sheet masks that contain 100% natural material, e.g. 100% cellulose are not covered by the directive.

Specifications

Packaging of wet wipes (i.e., pre-wetted personal care and domestic wipes), with a surface area of 10 cm2 or more, shall bear the following printed marking:

Note: the black line bordering the marking is not part thereof. Its only purpose is to show the thin white line bordering the marking against the white page.

Language

• The information text of the marking shall be written in the official language or languages of the Member State(s) where the single-use plastic product is placed on the market.

Position of the labeling

• The marking shall be placed horizontally on the external front or top surface, whichever is more clearly visible, of the packaging.
• Where the marking of the minimum size cannot fit in its entirety on the external front or top surface of the packaging, it may be placed partly on two sides of the packaging, i.e., top and front, or front and side, whichever is more clearly visible.
• Where it is not possible to place the marking horizontally due to the shape or size of the packaging, it may be rotated 90° and placed vertically.
• The boxes of the marking shall not be separated.
• When opening the packaging in accordance with any instructions, the marking should not be torn or made illegible.

Size of labeling

• The marking shall be composed of two equal-sized red and blue boxes, which are placed next to each other, and a rectangular black box containing the information text ‘PLASTIC IN PRODUCT’ placed below the two equal-sized boxes. The ratio between the height and length of the marking shall be 1:2.
• Where the area of the external front or top surface of the packaging on which the marking is placed is less than 65 cm2, the minimum size of the marking shall be 1,4 cm by 2,8 cm (3,92 cm2). In all other cases, the marking shall cover at least 6 % of the surface area on which it is placed. The maximum required size of the marking shall be 3 cm by 6 cm (18 cm2).

Design of labeling

• The design of the marking shall be reproduced without adding any effects, adjusting the colours, retouching or extending the background. The marking shall be reproduced at a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch when printed in actual size. The marking shall be bordered by a thin white line.
• The information text ‘PLASTIC IN PRODUCT’ shall be in upper case and in Helvetica Bold font. The font size shall be a minimum of 5 pt and a maximum of 14 pt.
• Where the information text is translated into another or several official languages of the Member States, the translated information text shall be placed either close below the marking, or inside the rectangular black box below the first language, and shall be in both cases clearly visible. In exceptional cases due to spatial constraints on the external front or top surface of the packaging, the information text translated into another or several official languages of the Member States may be placed elsewhere on the packaging as close as possible to the marking and where it is clearly visible. The translated information text shall be in upper case and in Helvetica Bold font. The font size shall be a minimum of 5 pt and a maximum of 14 pt. Where the information text in additional languages is placed in the rectangular black box, derogations from the maximum required size of the marking are possible.

• The colours having the following colour codes shall be used:
  • White: C = 0 / M = 0 / Y = 0 / K = 0
  • Black: C = 0 / M = 0 / Y = 0 / K = 100
  • Red: C = 0 / M = 90 / Y = 60 / K = 0
  • Blue: C = 60 / M = 0 / Y = 0 / K = 0.

Source