13 Ecodesign Criteria That Reduce EPR Fees
Ecodesign is where creativity meets compliance. By improving design choices across these design criteria, brands can save costs and unlock regulatory advantages while advancing sustainability goals.
Ecodesign links packaging innovation to cost savings under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws. For beauty brands, understanding how design choices influence EPR fees can turn sustainability into a competitive advantage and cost savings opportunity.
What Is Ecodesign Under EPR?
Ecodesign is a strategy of improving the design of products and packaging to minimize their negative environmental impact (for example, to make packaging easier to recycle, reuse, and recover). This strategy is also referred to as ecomodulation. When companies make these kinds of improvements, the fees they are assessed under EPR laws may be reduced.
Currently, seven US states (California, Colorado, Maine, Oregon, Minnesota, Washington, and Maryland) have enacted EPR laws, and more than a dozen others are developing similar policies. Across these state systems, 13 ecodesign criteria outline how smart packaging and product design choices can lower costs and reduce environmental impact.
What Are the 13 Ecodesign Criteria?
Packaging may be assessed against the following criteria with the aim of reducing EPR fees:
PCR (Post-Consumer Recycled Content): Use verified recycled materials instead of new ones to lower costs and support circular design.
Reuse: Design durable packaging that can be refilled or reused, extending product lifespan and reducing waste.
Lightweighting: Design packaging that uses less material without sacrificing quality to reduce transportation emissions and costs.
Recyclability: Choose materials and formats that can be easily collected and processed within existing recycling systems.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): Evaluate and optimize packaging across its full environmental footprint, from sourcing to disposal.
Recycling Rate: Design with materials that have high recovery rates to ensure packaging contributes effectively to circular systems.
Renewable Sourcing: Source inputs from responsibly managed, renewable resources like certified paper.
Composting: Use materials designed to safely decompose in composting infrastructure.
Toxins: Eliminate or minimize hazardous additives, inks, and coatings to ensure safe recycling and product handling.
Reduction: Eliminate unnecessary packaging elements and optimize design for minimal environmental impact.
Labeling: Use clear, standardized recycling or disposal instructions that reduce contamination and improve recovery.
Package-to-Product Ratio: Balance packaging volume and weight relative to product contents to reduce waste and shipping impact.
Material Choice: Prioritize mono-materials or widely recyclable options over complex, composite formats that hinder recovery.
Why Does This Matter for Beauty Brands?
Beauty packaging and product designs are often complex, layered, and highly visual, which can drive up EPR fees. Aligning packaging design choices with these 13 criteria may help beauty brands lower costs, improve circularity, and show genuine sustainability leadership. They also have the added bonus of aligning with many new global regulatory frameworks targeting sustainable packaging, ensuring brands have reduced friction as the grow and scale to new markets.
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To learn more about how Source Beauty can help your company design packaging strategies that maximize value and minimize costs, you can contact us here. And to stay updated on the latest in sustainability, packaging, and supply chains, join the Source Beauty Download for quarterly digests.
