Who Counts?
Who counts as producer and must take producer responsibility according to Swedish legislation?
Producers = Are those who manufacture, import, or sell goods or packaging.
It can be somewhat confusing to determine definitively whether one qualifies as a producer, so let us explain further.
What is a Producer?
A producer is generally the entity that first introduces products to the Swedish market. This includes manufacturing, selling, providing free distribution, or renting. Importantly, producer responsibility doesn’t apply solely to product manufacturers; it also encompasses businesses that import to Sweden or directly sell to consumers in Sweden from abroad, regardless of whether they are private households or companies.
To be considered a producer, you must meet one of the following criteria:
- Own Manufacturing: If your company is established in Sweden and manufactures, has products manufactured, or designs a product or packaging under its own brand name, and provides it on the Swedish market.
- Selling Others’ Products: If your company is established in Sweden and sells a product or package under its own brand name on the Swedish market, which has been manufactured by someone else, and there is no producer (as described in point 1) whose brand appears on the products or packaging.
- Import from Abroad: If your company is established in Sweden and introduces a product or package from another country to the Swedish market.
- Distance Selling within the EEA: If you sell products or packaging remotely directly to a user in a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) where the seller is not established. For example, a German-registered company sells products or packaging directly to Swedish end customers.
Additional Examples:
We will use Sweden as an example country
– A Swedish-established manufacturer sells products to a Swedish-established company, which then resells these products to end customers in Sweden. In this case, the Swedish manufacturer is considered the producer.
– A Swedish-established company purchases products from a Swedish-established manufacturer and sells them to end customers in Sweden. Here, the Swedish manufacturer is the producer.
– A Swedish-established company buys products from a foreign manufacturer or foreign company and sells them to end customers in Sweden. In this scenario, the Swedish-established company is the producer.
– A foreign-registered company sells products (e.g., via e-commerce) directly to Swedish end customers. In this case, the foreign company is considered the producer.
We hope this explanation provides you with a better understanding of the producer’s role.
Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions!
Connect your Company with us
To connect your company with us, simply fill out our form tick off which country or countries you want to take your producer responsibility and for which categories. Upon completion, you’ll receive an email containing a connection agreement and all the necessary information to manage your producer responsibility seamlessly.