Éco-organisme.

France does not let a producer settle its extended producer responsibility obligation with the state. Producers join an approved éco-organisme, Refashion for clothing, household linen and footwear, declare the volumes they placed on the French market, pay the eco-fee and receive a Unique Identification Number that serves as proof of compliance. The duty follows the sale rather than the address: Refashion’s scope page puts online sellers and marketplaces in scope “even if based abroad”, and since 1 January 2022 a marketplace must hold its third-party sellers’ UIN or declare their volumes on their behalf. That is the line a foreign print-on-demand seller trips over. Shipping shirts into France from Poland or the United States creates a French producer obligation, the marketplace will ask for the UIN before it stops declaring on your behalf, and Refashion cites Article L541-9-5 of the Environment Code for an administrative fine of up to €7,500 per product unit where the obligation is not met.