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How does a certification work, what does it cost, what evidence do the PPWR and EmpCo require, and why do we not certify bioplastics? Here are the answers, gathered for businesses and consumers.
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Verifiable product properties are more than a sustainability topic today. They decide regulatory conformity, monetary advantages in tax and bonus schemes, market access in tenders, and what you are still allowed to claim at the point of sale.
An independent flustix certification delivers robust third-party evidence for defined product properties such as recycled content, recyclability, plastic reduction, microplastic-free status or PFAS-free status. This evidence works in four areas at once: regulatory compliance and market access, monetary advantages from tax and bonus schemes, tenders and supplier qualification, and credible, compliant environmental communication. The difference from a self-declaration lies in the burden of proof: whoever claims a product property themselves has to substantiate it themselves if challenged.
Requirements for verifiable environmental and material properties keep rising. Companies increasingly have to substantiate how high the recycled content of a product is, whether packaging is recyclable, or whether defined requirements on plastic reduction, microplastics or PFAS are met.
An independent certification translates these product properties into traceable third-party evidence that holds up towards customers, retail, authorities, contracting bodies and other market participants. Self-disclosure does not shift the risk; verified evidence does.
Certified evidence can represent an immediate monetary advantage, because several European countries link taxes, bonuses and EPR fees directly to verified recycled content.
In Spain, the plastic tax is levied on the non-recycled plastic share of certain non-reusable plastic packaging. The rate is 0.45 euros per kilogram of non-recycled plastic. For the recycled content to be deducted for tax purposes, Spanish law requires evidence from an accredited certification body on the basis of UNE-EN 15343 or a successor standard.
In France, financial bonuses for the use of plastic recyclates have been granted since 2026. Depending on the origin and application of the recyclate, these are generally 450 or 550 euros per tonne. For certain hard-to-recycle plastics in contact-sensitive packaging applications, the scheme provides for even higher premiums.
The Netherlands also rely on financial incentives: in the Verpact scheme, the use of recyclate is credited in 2026 at 0.20 euros per kilogram of packaging. From 2027 the tariff structure is to be expanded further: the higher the recycled content, the greater the financial advantage. The concrete conditions are currently being finalised.
The direction is clear: wherever taxes, bonuses, reduced EPR fees or other advantages are tied to specific material properties, robust and, where regulation requires it, accredited certification evidence decides whether companies can actually use those advantages. The evidence comes from flustix RECYCLED.
As at August 2026
Since 12 August 2026 the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) has applied directly across the European Union. It considerably tightens the requirements for packaging and introduces binding rules step by step, among others on recyclability, recycled content, packaging minimisation as well as technical documentation and conformity assessment.
Particularly relevant for brand companies is the question of who has to provide the evidence. In its current PPWR guidance, the European Commission makes clear that the “manufacturer” within the meaning of the PPWR is not necessarily the company that physically produces the packaging. Where packaging or a packaged product is made and placed on the market under a company’s own name or brand, the brand owner is in principle to be regarded as the manufacturer. The guidance also stresses that there is in principle only one manufacturer within the meaning of the PPWR along the supply chain.
That manufacturer carries the legal responsibility for the conformity of the packaging. Suppliers have to provide the necessary information and documents, but responsibility for the conformity assessment, the technical documentation and the proof of conformity stays with the responsible manufacturer. The Commission expressly describes the brand owner as the economic operator carrying legal responsibility for the compliance of the packaging.
A pre-certification of the packaging or material supplier therefore does not transfer that responsibility to the supplier. It can be an important component of the evidence, but it does not replace the product- and brand-specific compliance of the party placing the goods on the market. This is exactly where flustix offers a pragmatic route: for materials or packaging already certified at the plant, the flustix sub-licence model can transfer an existing certification to the brand owner or their specific product under defined conditions. A downstream brand therefore does not have to rebuild the entire certification chain, yet obtains the certification evidence relevant to its own responsibility. More on our PPWR page.
Yes, but under one clear condition. From 27 September 2026 the requirements of the EU directive “Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition” (EmpCo) apply. Sustainability labels may then in principle only be used if they are based on a certification scheme or were established by a public authority. At the same time, generic or insufficiently substantiated environmental claims are restricted further.
For companies this means that a mere self-declaration increasingly becomes a regulatory and commercial risk. Infringements of European consumer protection rules can be penalised with fines; in cross-border cases the maximum amount must reach at least 4% of the company’s annual turnover in the member states concerned.
All flustix trustmarks are based on defined certification programmes with independent conformity assessment and can be verified in the public certification database. An environmental claim thereby becomes a substantiated claim. More under green claims.
Verifiable environmental and material properties keep gaining importance in public tenders, supplier qualification and professional procurement. Environmental criteria, recyclability, recycled content and further sustainability requirements can form part of award criteria and technical specifications.
Independent certificates offer a structural advantage here: required product properties do not have to be asserted by the supplier itself, but can be demonstrated traceably and independently towards procurement, clients and business partners. Supplying the evidence shortens the review process on the customer side.
The flustix trustmarks make independently certified product properties directly visible: on products and packaging, in online retail, at the point of sale and in B2B communication. Companies can clearly differentiate their actual performance from competitors and credibly communicate verified properties such as plastic reduction, microplastic-free status, recycled content, recyclability or PFAS-free status.
flustix thereby connects the areas that belong together for companies today: regulatory compliance, financial advantages, market access and credible marketing. Independently certified. Robustly evidenced. Safely communicated.
flustix certifies products, packaging, components, semi-finished goods and raw materials made of plastic, paper, board, cardboard, metals including aluminium, and glass. Which certification programme applies depends on the property you want to substantiate:
Several programmes can be combined for the same product. If you are unsure which evidence fits, we clarify that in a few minutes in a free initial consultation.
The process involves three steps: enquiry and quotation, independent testing, certification and issue of the trustmark. We usually respond to your enquiry within two to three working days with an individual quotation. The testing itself takes four to twelve weeks depending on the programme and the product.
Depending on the evidence, testing takes place in the laboratory or via a supply chain audit. Laboratory analyses run through laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025; the conformity assessment is made independently to ISO/IEC 17065 by accredited certification partners. After successful certification you receive your certificate, your licence number, the trustmark files and the public entry in the flustix certification database.
Costs depend on the programme and the testing effort and are always calculated individually. Four factors determine the price: the chosen certification programme, the number and complexity of the products or materials to be tested, the type of testing (laboratory analysis or supply chain audit) and the licence scope, that is in which markets and to what extent the trustmark is used.
Two things noticeably reduce the effort: existing test reports and prior certifications are recognised where they meet the requirements of the certification programme. And via the sub-licence model, downstream brands can build on an existing certification without going through the full process again.
You can obtain a concrete quotation via the online questionnaire, in a free initial consultation or by email to contact@flustix.com.
Yes. Existing test reports, analyses and prior certifications are recognised where they meet the requirements of the respective flustix certification programme. You therefore do not have to start from scratch if your material or product has already been tested.
What matters is the scope of testing, the test method, the accreditation of the laboratory and how current the data is. We review existing documents in advance and tell you which of them are usable and where additional testing is required. In many cases this considerably reduces cost and time.
A test report confirms a measurement result at a point in time on a submitted sample. A certification additionally assesses conformity with a defined programme, monitors continued compliance and governs which claim may be made at all.
The two levels interlock and are accredited differently:
| Accredited testing laboratory (ISO/IEC 17025) | Certification body (ISO/IEC 17065) |
|---|---|
| Confirms a measurement result | Assesses conformity with a programme |
| Relates to the sample submitted | Relates to the product within a defined scope |
| A snapshot in time | Ongoing surveillance, recertification |
| No statement on the permissible claim | Governs the permissible claim and its labelling |
| Not publicly verifiable | Publicly verifiable via certificate and database |
For internal technical documentation a test report can be sufficient. As soon as it becomes a claim towards customers, retail or consumers, it generally is not. In the flustix programmes, laboratories accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 carry out the testing; the conformity assessment is made independently to ISO/IEC 17065.
A flustix certificate is valid for six years. Within that term, ongoing conformity checks take place to ensure that the certified property continues to be met.
If the formulation, material, supplier or production process changes, this has to be reported to flustix, because a certification is always tied to a defined scope. The current status of every certificate can be viewed at any time in the certification database.
Yes. flustix expressly certifies raw materials, semi-finished goods and components as well, not only finished consumer goods. Suppliers of plastic recyclates, compounders, film and packaging manufacturers and material suppliers can have their goods certified and make origin, recyclate type (PCR, PIR or MIX) and recycled content transparent for their customers.
For suppliers this is increasingly a sales argument: European customers have to provide evidence under the PPWR and EmpCo and request it along the supply chain. Supplying verified evidence makes you the easier decision. Via the sub-licence model, downstream customers can build on this certification without your supply chain being disclosed.
The sub-licence model transfers an existing certification to a downstream market participant under defined conditions. The supplier has the material tested once; its customers receive their own licence number and their own entry in the public database on that basis. Without repeat laboratory testing and without duplicated audit costs.
This solves exactly the problem the PPWR creates: legal responsibility sits with the party placing the goods on the market, the verified data sits with the supplier. The sub-licence closes that gap without disclosing the supply chain to third parties. Important: a sub-licence does not extend the scope of the parent certification and remains tied to its validity.
Details under flustix sub-licence system.
flustix certified products are on the market in more than 28 countries. Certification runs through an international network of accredited certification bodies and testing laboratories with auditors in Europe, the Americas and Asia.
For manufacturers outside the EU this is particularly relevant, because testing can take place in the country of origin and the evidence can then be used across Europe. The underlying standards such as DIN EN 15343, DIN EN ISO 22095 and DIN EN 13430 are internationally recognised. More under EU market access.
Every valid flustix trustmark carries an individual licence number. Using that number, the corresponding certificate can be called up in the public flustix certification database, including product, licence holder, certified property and validity.
Trustmarks without a licence number or without a findable database entry are not valid. If you notice unauthorised use of a flustix trustmark, you can report it to us via our contact form. We follow up on every report.
No. Products and packaging made of bioplastics are not certified as plastic-free by flustix. flustix treats bioplastics made from renewable raw materials (for example bio-polyethylene) or from degradable materials (for example PLA) like petroleum-based plastics. The German Federal Environment Agency and BUND also classify PLA, as it occurs for instance as an exfoliating agent in personal care products, as microplastic.
The reason: bioplastics remain controversial, because they too can contain harmful chemicals. In addition, not all bioplastics are recyclable and they are usually incinerated. If bioplastic is mistakenly disposed of in the organic waste bin, it is not composted but sorted out and also ends up in the incinerator. The additional sorting effort leads to higher energy consumption.
PPWR, EmpCo, recycled content quotas, PFAS limits: European regulation increasingly demands evidence instead of claims. The key requirements at a glance.
The PPWR is Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste. It has applied directly in all EU member states since 12 August 2026 and replaces Packaging Directive 94/62/EC. It governs packaging across its entire life cycle: substances, recyclability, recycled content, reuse, packaging minimisation, labelling and extended producer responsibility.
The decisive difference from the previous directive lies in its legal form. A directive has to be transposed into national law by each member state, which led to 27 different interpretations. A regulation applies directly: the same requirement applies word for word in Berlin, Barcelona and Bucharest. National rules such as the German Packaging Act are being adapted, but this does not change the direct applicability of the regulation itself.
The PPWR has applied since 12 August 2026. It entered into force on 11 February 2025 and became applicable after an 18-month transition period. The individual requirements take effect in stages:
Several of these dates are lower limits rather than binding calendar dates. The design-for-recycling criteria, for example, apply from 1 January 2030 or 24 months after the corresponding delegated act enters into force, whichever is later. For companies this means the requirements are settled; the exact start date of individual details may still shift.
Responsibility for product conformity lies with the manufacturer within the meaning of the PPWR. That is not necessarily the company that physically produces the packaging. Anyone who has packaging or a packaged product designed or made under their own name or brand is generally the manufacturer themselves.
In its PPWR guidance the European Commission makes clear that for sales and grouped packaging the manufacturer is regularly the party carrying out the final processing steps and filling the product. That is often also the brand owner. Within a supply chain there is generally only one manufacturer within the meaning of the PPWR.
This manufacturer bears the legal responsibility for the conformity of the packaging. Under Article 16, suppliers must provide the necessary information and documents. Responsibility for assessing conformity nevertheless remains with the manufacturer. An exception applies to microenterprises: if a microenterprise has packaging made under its own brand and the packaging supplier is located in the same Member State, the supplier is generally regarded as the manufacturer.
The EU declaration of conformity under Article 39 is the manufacturer's formal statement that a packaging meets the requirements of the PPWR applicable to it. The template is set out in Annex VIII. The underlying evidence is documented in the technical documentation under Annex VII. The declaration is drawn up by the manufacturer and may rely on information and evidence from suppliers. The legal responsibility remains with the manufacturer.
What matters is which requirements are already applicable at the relevant point in time. The basic requirement under Article 6(1) that packaging must be recyclable has applied since 12 August 2026. Until the harmonised design-for-recycling criteria under Article 6(4) are available, however, the Commission does not yet require a conformity assessment under Article 38 and Annex VII for recyclability. The minimum recycled content targets under Article 7 likewise apply only at a later date.
An EU declaration of conformity should therefore not certify blanket compliance with all requirements of Articles 5 to 12, but reflect correctly the requirements actually applicable at that time.
Since 12 August 2026, food-contact packaging may not be placed on the market if it reaches or exceeds any of the following limits:
Total fluorine content is not the same as PFAS content. If total fluorine exceeds 50 mg/kg, it must be possible to demonstrate on request which share of the measured fluorine is attributable to PFAS and which to non-PFAS.
What counts is the food-contact packaging at the time it is placed on the market. The guidance expressly notes that sales and grouped packaging is regularly placed on the market only after filling, when final processing steps such as sealing can affect conformity.
Under the current PPWR guidance, a total fluorine analysis can be sufficient as a first testing step. The European Commission recommends a stepwise testing approach as long as no harmonised EU test method for PFAS in food-contact packaging is available.
If total fluorine content is below 50 mg/kg, or 50 ppm, the sample can be regarded as compliant within this approach recommended by the Commission. According to the data currently available to the Commission, samples that passed this first step also passed the subsequent steps.
If total fluorine content is above 50 mg/kg, further investigation is required, in particular to distinguish between organic and inorganic fluorine and, where relevant, to assess the other PFAS limits.
The guidance is an aid to interpretation, and no harmonised EU test method exists to date. The testing approach behind flustix PFAS-FREE deliberately goes beyond this regulatory minimum and is correspondingly more robust as evidence.
From 1 January 2030, minimum shares of post-consumer recyclate apply to plastic packaging: 30% for contact-sensitive packaging with PET as the main component, 10% for contact-sensitive packaging made of other plastics, 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles and 35% for all other plastic packaging. From 2040 the figures rise to 50%, 25%, 65% and 65%. The calculation is an average per manufacturing plant and year.
Exemptions include plastic components accounting for less than 5% of the total weight of the packaging unit, compostable plastic packaging and certain packaging for medicinal products, medical devices and dangerous goods. The Commission reviews the list of exemptions by 1 January 2028.
PCR stands for post-consumer recyclate, that is material from waste that has already been with the end consumer. PIR stands for post-industrial recyclate, that is material from production waste that never reached the consumer. Only PCR counts towards the minimum recycled content quotas of the PPWR under Article 7.
This has practical consequences: many suppliers report both together as “recycled content”. Packaging with 30% PIR and 10% PCR does not meet a 30 percent quota, but sits at 10%. Evidence that does not distinguish between PCR and PIR cannot be used for Article 7. The flustix RECYCLED trustmark therefore states the recyclate type explicitly.
The performance grades classify the recyclability of packaging: grade A from 95%, grade B from 80%, grade C from 70%. From 1 January 2030, packaging that does not reach the grade C threshold may no longer be placed on the market. From 1 January 2038, grade C is dropped and only A and B remain permissible.
From 2035 a second dimension is added: the packaging must additionally be recycled at scale. flustix RECYCLABLE assesses recyclability on the basis of the minimum standard under Section 21(3) of the German Packaging Act, DIN EN 13430, ISO 15270 and the PPWR criteria, and states the result as a performance level.
Yes. Producers’ financial contributions under extended producer responsibility are modulated in line with the recyclability performance grades. Easily recyclable packaging is therefore treated more favourably than packaging that is hard to recycle. The Commission sets the precise framework by legal act.
For planning this means the performance grade becomes a cost issue before it becomes a market access issue. Packaging development runs in cycles of three to five years, so the material decision for 2030 is being taken today.
There is no such thing as PPWR certification. The regulation provides for a declaration of conformity by the producer based on its technical documentation, not for certification by a third party.
Independent certifications do however supply robust building blocks for that documentation, for example on recycled content, recyclability, PFAS-free status or plastic content. Anyone holding such evidence bases their declaration on verified data rather than on self-disclosure.
A supplier declaration can form part of the technical documentation and can be an important basis for demonstrating conformity. Article 16 expressly obliges suppliers to make available to the manufacturer the information and documents needed to demonstrate conformity. The European Commission confirms that the manufacturer's EU declaration of conformity may be based on this supplier information.
What matters is therefore not merely whether information comes from a supplier declaration, but whether it robustly and sufficiently substantiates the requirement in question. Responsibility for that assessment, and for the conformity of the packaging, remains with the manufacturer.
Independent testing or certification can reliably underpin that evidence, particularly where product characteristics are to be demonstrated to customers, retailers, authorities or consumers. It is not a mandatory requirement of the PPWR, but it is considerably more robust than a self-declaration from the supply chain.
Yes. The requirements of the PPWR also apply to packaging and packaged products from third countries as soon as they are placed on the Union market. Which obligations fall on the company outside the EU itself, and which on an importer, distributor or other economic operator within the EU, depends on the specific route to market.
The distinction between product conformity and extended producer responsibility is particularly important. For EPR, the PPWR determines the responsible "producer" per Member State according to who first makes the packaging or packaged product available there. In direct sales to end users in another Member State, the foreign seller may itself be the producer for EPR purposes. In classic supply chains via an importer or distributor in the EU, responsibility may instead lie with that European economic operator.
For certain cross-border direct sales, Article 45(3) currently requires an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in the Member State concerned. Member States may also require such authorisation for producers from third countries.
The PPWR governs the packaging itself: substances, material use, recyclability, recycled content, packaging minimisation and labelling, among other things. The EmpCo Directive (EU) 2024/825, by contrast, governs in particular the conditions under which companies may communicate environmental and sustainability claims or sustainability labels to consumers. The new EmpCo rules apply from 27 September 2026.
The two frameworks therefore interlock: the PPWR defines requirements for the packaging and its demonstrable properties, while EmpCo sets limits on how those properties may be communicated to consumers. An independent certification can support both areas by robustly documenting a relevant product characteristic and at the same time providing an evidence base for environmental communication. More on this under Green Claims.
EmpCo is Directive (EU) 2024/825 on empowering consumers for the green transition. It amends the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the Consumer Rights Directive and targets greenwashing, opaque sustainability labels and planned obsolescence. The name stands for “Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition”.
Everything on green claims and EmpCo
Copy link to this questionThe new rules apply from 27 September 2026. Member states had to transpose the directive into national law by 27 March 2026. In Germany this was done by amending the Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG), promulgated in the Federal Law Gazette of 19 February 2026.
As things stand, the implementing act provides for no general transition or sell-off period. Packaging carrying impermissible claims should therefore be changed in good time, because prepress, approval and selling off existing stock all need lead time.
Prohibited above all are generic environmental claims without evidence of recognised excellent environmental performance, claims about the whole product that only apply to one aspect, and product-related climate neutrality claims based on offsetting emissions. Generic environmental claims include “environmentally friendly”, “green”, “ecological”, “climate friendly”, “biodegradable” and “bio-based”.
A product-related climate neutrality claim is prohibited if it is based on offsetting greenhouse gas emissions. It remains permissible only if the product is genuinely climate neutral across its entire life cycle. The same applies to wordings such as “CO2 neutral”, “CO2 positive” or “climate friendly”.
Yes, but only if they were established by public authorities or are based on a certification scheme. Displaying a label that meets neither condition is always impermissible towards consumers. Self-created logos and own labels without independent verification therefore become impermissible, even where the claim is factually correct.
A certification scheme must make its conditions, including its requirements, publicly available and meet four criteria:
All four must be met. The criteria are set out in Section 2(2)(6) UWG.
The duty to check sits with the company displaying the label. Anyone using a third-party label that does not meet the legal requirements is liable themselves. An assurance from the label owner is not enough; what counts is whether the underlying scheme actually meets the criteria and whether its conditions are publicly available.
No, unless they are based on a certification scheme or were established by public authorities. An in-house standard generally does not meet the requirements, because it is neither open to all companies on non-discriminatory terms nor monitored by independent third parties. Existing own labels have to be adapted by 27 September 2026 or may no longer be used towards consumers after that date.
Yes, possibly. The legal definition of an environmental claim expressly covers representations through images, graphic elements and symbols as well as labels, brand names, company names and product names. A graphic element suggesting a positive environmental effect can therefore fall under the same rules as a written claim.
No. An environmental claim counts as generic if its specification is not given clearly and prominently on the same medium. An explanation that is only reachable via a QR code on a website is not on the same medium and therefore does not cure an unspecific claim on the packaging.
For cross-border infringements of European consumer protection rules, member states must provide for maximum fines amounting to at least 4% of the company’s annual turnover in the member states concerned.
On top of that come the classic consequences of competition law: warning letters, cease-and-desist undertakings, interim injunctions and cost reimbursement, each forcing a rapid change of packaging and advertising material.
The new provisions address commercial practices towards consumers. In practice the rules reach deep into B2B relationships, because brand owners and retailers have to obtain evidence from their suppliers in order to communicate safely themselves. For suppliers, robust evidence therefore becomes a condition of staying listed.
A supplier declaration is self-disclosure and does not meet the requirements for a certification scheme. It can form part of internal documentation, but it does not shift liability. Responsibility for an environmental claim towards consumers stays with whoever makes the claim.
EmpCo prohibits certain practices and is already transposed law. The Green Claims Directive would additionally govern how explicit environmental claims have to be substantiated and verified in advance. It is not currently in force, but the Commission continues to pursue it as an ongoing initiative.
No, where the substance is already prohibited by law for that product category. Presenting legal requirements as a distinctive feature of your own offer is always impermissible.
The claim remains permissible if it goes beyond the legal requirement, for example through a wider test scope or a stricter limit, and that difference is stated.
Name a concrete, measurable property instead of a general effect, and point to the evidence. “Packaging with 85% certified post-consumer recyclate” holds; “environmentally friendly packaging” does not. The specification has to appear clearly and prominently on the same medium as the claim itself.
Examples: permitted and prohibited
Copy link to this questionWhat counts is the commercial practice towards consumers, not the date of printing. Since no general sell-off period is currently provided for, existing stock carrying critical claims should be planned for in good time and layouts changed early. The assessment in an individual case should be reviewed legally.
Enforcement does not run through a supervisory authority but through competition law. Competitors, consumer associations and qualified entities can issue warnings and bring actions. There is therefore no prior review, only a risk after the fact that can be limited by robust evidence.
Products, which are completely free of plastics or which have a plastic free packaging or content and which have passed the laboratory test successfully. The flustix RECYCLED trustmark certifies products, components and raw materials that contain recycled plastics or are made completely of them. flustix RECYCLED is issued on the basis of a certification program by our accredited certification partners. Here, an audit process forms the basis for a successful certification. These products are certified with flustix:
The four different flustix PLASTIC-FREE seals distinguish products that do not contain plastic in the entire product, in the packaging and/or product/contents, thus offering consumers security when purchasing. Contamination of the products due to environmental influences or during the manufacturing process, as well as residues that are sometimes technically unavoidable, cannot be completely ruled out. Consumer demand should encourage companies to use the valuable material plastic sustainably in the design and production of goods and/or to replace it with ecologically sensible alternatives – in order to avoid plastic waste worldwide.
The magenta-colored flustix RECYCLED seal can be used to label products, components and raw materials that are made entirely or partially from recyclates; more information can be found at flustix RECYCLED. The flustix RECYCLABLE seal, which is also magenta-colored, is suitable for recyclable packaging.
All over. The products certified by flustix are sold online and offline through all official sales channels. The flustix RECYCLED mark is also suitable in the B2B area. For example, suppliers of recycled plastic or semi-finished products with recycled material have their goods certified in order to make the origin and the type of recyclate (PCR / PIR / MIX) transparent to their customers.
The flustix initiative was founded in 2016 by Julia and Malte Biss in Berlin in the interests of environmental protection and aims to provide the end consumer with a clear orientation when shopping by clearly marking plastic-free products and / or low-plastic products. In its creation, the sustainability label flustix has received support in the form of discussions and discussions from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety and the Federal Environment Agency in the development of the basic concept. Further we receive continous support from our testing laboratory partner, the WESSLING GmbH. We are working closely with our independent and reputed partners in awarding the flustix trustmark, controlling compliance with all standards, and fighting abuse. We flustix founders, Julia and Malte Biss, are not yet plastic-free with our three children. This is almost impossible nowadays – that’s why we are aiming for a constructive environmental protection which, through innovative products, extends the plastic-free offer, and we can develop towards plastic freedom. We try to avoid plastic where possible and useful. The material plastic finds in many areas, such as research, medicine, safety and transport, quite meaningful and vital use and is now indispensable. With our initiative, we want to grow into a plastic-free future. Until then we promote a responsible use at state of the art. This is our approach to deal with the genius and everlasting material: plastic.
flustix verifies and certifies with its accredited partners in the basis of ECHAs definition (incl. ISO/TR 21960:2020 Plastics – Environmental aspects – State of knowledge and methodologies), which is so far the only internationally respected and followed definition of microplastic. It refers to solid, water-insoluble plastic particles which are smaller than five millimetres, based on the longest dimension of the plastic particle, as well as solid, water-insoluble plastic particles which are smaller than five millimetres, based on the diameter of the plastic particle fiber. For flustix this also includes so-called bioplastics, obtained from renewable resources. Following the ECHA definition, liquid and water-soluble plastics are not considered, because they are hardly detected analytically in a qualitatively or quantitatively binding manner according to the current state of technology and therefore a legally binding claim can’t be guaranteed yet. As soon as research on this topic has been optimized, flustix will also include these materials in its certification programs.
A flustix trustmark means that a particular property of that product has been independently tested and confirmed under a defined certification programme. Which property that is appears in the trustmark itself: plastic-free, plastic-reduced, microplastic-free, recyclable, PFAS-free or with a stated recycled content.
Every trustmark carries a licence number that lets you verify the certificate in the public database. A trustmark is not a general sustainability statement about the company, but evidence for exactly the property named on it.
Not every plastic ends up in the bin. On the beach we lose our flip-flops, in the park we forget the PET bottle or the candy packaging. Sooner or later, this garbage gets into our rivers and seas and is mistaken for food by birds or other animals. The problem: plastic does not rot. Larger plastic parts are a danger to marine life and birds, which are caught in the garbage and die, as you can see it on our doorstep on Helgoland with the basal boobies. Smaller pieces of plastic are confused by the animals with food until they starve to death with a full stomach. In addition, chemicals such as softeners and hardeners from the plastics. These are harmful to humans and animals. Incidentally, not even 45 percent of the plastic waste generated in Germany is recycled (2015 figures) and per capita consumption is still rising. The majority is still used for energy purposes – burned because it is more economical and / or the packaging consists of low-quality mixed plastics.
Packagings
Perhaps the most obvious use of plastic is single-use packaging. These include, among other things, deposit-free plastic bottles, chips or other bags, films and / or other disposable containers. Most of these consist of mixed plastics, which can hardly be recycled at all.
Plastic around and in food
Most foods are packed in plastic. Chemicals such as plasticizers and many other substances dissolve out of the package and enter, e.g. on oily and fatty foods over. Added to this is the microplastic, plastic particles smaller than five millimeters. These drift in the sea, are confounded by seafood and birds with food and eaten. The chemicals in the plastic go into the body of the animals and come back to us. With animals that are consumed as a whole (for example, mussels) or high-quality sea salts and even through drinking water, the plastic waste is now being absorbed directly by us, the human being.
Plastic in cosmetics
At least 500 tons of plastic pass through our German outlets unfiltered into our drinking water cycle every year. Shower gel, toothpaste, shampoos and scrubs mostly contain plastic (microplastic or liquid plastics). Often, the microparticles should enhance the cleaning effect of the products. But also as opacifiers, fillers or as a substitute for vegetable oils, plastics are used in cosmetics and make-up. Here are just a selection of products that use microplastic and liquid plastics:
– Cleaning products: scrubs, toothpaste, shower gel, shampoo, make-up remover
– Skin care products: body lotion, sunscreen, facial, hand and foot cream, shaving cream
– Make-up: lipstick, make-up, eye shadow, mascara
Plastic clothing – fleece, polyester and co.
Also, our clothing contains more and more plastics, including polyester, nylon and elastans. A fleece garment can lose up to 2,000 fibers in each wash, which can be discharged into the drinking water cycle or into the sea via the wastewater without being filtered. Scientists have detected polyester and acrylic fibers in the sand at 80 beaches on all continents. The closer the samples were taken to large cities, the higher was the burden of plastic waste.
The littering of our planet, because plastic lasts forever: if we do not collect it, it remains in nature and scatters. Even in the Antarctic, in the “still” eternal ice, just 30 years old plastic from Germany has just been detected. Most of the lost plastic waste ends up in the sea. Due to the ocean currents, five particularly large garbage strudels have formed worldwide, the so-called “garbage patches”. The biggest is the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” (four times the size of France). Scientists suspect several million tons of plastic alone in this one whirlpool. Whether in the sea or on land, plastic is increasingly becoming a health threat to humans and animals. Present and future generations are affected by premature puberty, chalk disease, malformations and – in newborns and other as yet incomplete research on diseases directly related to our current inflationary plastic consumption.
Last updated: August 2026
Editorial responsibility: Malte Biss, Managing Director of flustix GmbH
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