EUDR Explained: The EU Deforestation Regulation for Packaging

What is the EUDR?

The EU Deforestation Regulation is a European Union law that bans placing products linked to deforestation on the EU market. Adopted in June 2023 as Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, it responds to global forest loss of roughly 10 million hectares a year, concentrated in regions such as the Amazon, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia, and to the role of global supply chains in that loss.

Scope note for North American buyers: the EUDR is an EU regulation. It does not apply to products sold in the United States or Canada. It matters to you only if your company, or your EU importer, places products on the EU market or exports them from it.

Which products and companies are covered?

The EUDR covers seven commodities considered at high risk of deforestation, and products derived from them.

Obligations fall mainly on operators, the companies that first place a covered product on the EU market or export it, with lighter duties for traders who sell it on. The rules apply to every covered product on the EU market, whatever its country of origin. Whether a given packaging item is in scope depends on how it is placed on the market: paper and wood products sold as products in their own right are covered, while packaging used only to protect another product is treated differently, so confirm your case against the official EU guidance.

What does "deforestation-free" require?

A product is deforestation-free under the EUDR if it does not come from land deforested or degraded after December 31, 2020, and it must also comply with the laws of the country of production, including land-use rights, environmental rules, labor rights and the rights of indigenous peoples.

• Due diligence — the operator collects product and supply-chain information, assesses the risk of non-compliance and takes mitigation measures.
• Geolocation — operators must identify the plots of land where the commodity was grown or harvested, with geographic coordinates.
• Country benchmarking — the European Commission classifies countries as low, standard or high risk. The minimum share of checks by EU authorities is set at 1% for low-risk countries, 3% for standard risk and 9% for high risk.
• Enforcement — each EU member state designates competent authorities, which carry out document checks, physical inspections and audits of traceability systems.

EUDR timeline

The EUDR timeline has already been postponed, so plan from the official dates in force when you ship.

The EU has amended the EUDR timeline more than once; check the current application dates on the European Commission's EUDR pages before you plan shipments.

How FSC chain of custody and supplier traceability help

Direct Eco Green holds FSC certification under license code FSC C204557 and can supply paper and board packaging with the FSC Mix or FSC Recycled label. FSC chain of custody documents that certified material was tracked from certified sources through each owner in the supply chain, which makes the operator's information gathering and risk assessment easier.

FSC certification does not by itself replace the operator's EUDR due diligence statement or geolocation data. Treat it as strong supporting evidence, combined with supplier documents on the origin of the fiber or wood.

What Direct Eco Green provides to brands exporting to the EU

Direct Eco Green manufactures through selected, audited partner factories in Vietnam, China, India, Turkey, Bulgaria and Spain and supports buyers with regulatory documentation. For EU-bound paper, board and wood packaging, you can ask us for:

• FSC-certified paper and board under license C204557, with the FSC claim stated on the documents.
• Identification of the producing factory and its country of production.
• The supplier documentation on the origin of the fiber or wood that the factory can provide. Availability is confirmed per reference in your quote.
• One consolidated shipment, so the documents for several items arrive together.

For your US and Canadian sales, the relevant rules remain the state PFAS laws, compostability certification (ASTM D6400 or ASTM D6868) and the FTC Green Guides. Browse our luxury packaging and food packaging ranges, or ask about EUDR documentation.