What does AGEC stand for?

AGEC is the French abbreviation for the Loi anti-gaspillage pour une économie circulaire — the anti-waste law for a circular economy. It is a French national law adopted in 2020.

Does the AGEC law affect sellers outside France?

Yes, if you place products on the French market. Obligations such as Triman labelling and EPR registration apply based on selling into France, not on where your business is established.

What is the link between AGEC and the Triman?

AGEC made the Triman logo, combined with the Info-tri sorting note, mandatory on most consumer products and packaging sold in France. The Triman is the consumer-facing label that AGEC introduced or expanded.

Does AGEC really ban destroying unsold goods?

AGEC restricts the destruction of unsold non-food goods, requiring producers and sellers to favour donation, reuse or recycling instead. The aim is to reduce waste rather than allow surplus stock to be sent for disposal.

Glossary

AGEC Law

Loi AGEC · Anti-Waste Circular Economy Law · Loi anti-gaspillage pour une économie circulaire

The AGEC law (Loi anti-gaspillage pour une économie circulaire) is France’s flagship anti-waste and circular-economy legislation, adopted in 2020 and phased in over several years. It expands recycling labelling (the Triman and Info-tri sorting note), broadens Extended Producer Responsibility, restricts the destruction of unsold goods, and tightens rules on environmental claims and single-use plastics.

Last updated: June 2026

Key facts

AGEC is a French national law, phased in progressively rather than starting all at once, with different obligations taking effect on different dates.
It made the Triman logo plus the Info-tri sorting note mandatory on most consumer products and packaging sold in France.
It widened Extended Producer Responsibility to new product categories, meaning more sellers must register and pay eco-contributions.
It restricts the destruction of unsold non-food goods and tightens rules on greenwashing and single-use plastic.

What the AGEC law sets out to do

The AGEC law was passed in France in 2020 with the goal of moving the country away from a throwaway economy toward a circular one, where products are reused, repaired and recycled rather than discarded. Rather than a single switch, it is a framework whose many measures phased in over several years, which is why its obligations have arrived gradually rather than on one date.

Its scope is wide. It covers consumer information and labelling, producer responsibility for end-of-life products, the fate of unsold stock, plastic reduction, repairability and the fight against misleading environmental marketing. For sellers, the practical effect is a set of concrete duties that touch labelling, registration and how you describe products.

Key obligations for sellers

The most visible AGEC obligation for marketplace sellers is environmental labelling. The law made the Triman logo, paired with the Info-tri sorting note, mandatory on most products and packaging placed on the French market, so consumers know how to sort each component for recycling.

AGEC also extended Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to additional categories, such as textiles, toys, sports and leisure goods, and DIY products, on a phased timetable. If your products fall into a covered category, you generally need to register with the relevant eco-organisation and pay eco-contributions that fund collection and recycling in France.

Two further strands matter commercially. The law restricts the destruction of unsold non-food goods, pushing sellers toward donation, reuse or recycling instead of disposal. And it tightens rules on environmental claims, limiting unsubstantiated terms and requiring evidence behind sustainability marketing — relevant to how you write product copy aimed at French buyers.

Example

A cross-border seller listing cotton t-shirts to French consumers is affected by AGEC on two fronts: the textile category falls under French EPR, so the seller should be registered with the relevant eco-organisation and paying eco-contributions; and the packaging and labelling must carry the Triman plus an Info-tri sorting note. If the listing also makes a vague "eco-friendly" claim, AGEC’s environmental-claims rules require that statement to be substantiated.

Why it matters for marketplace sellers

AGEC is the umbrella law behind several France-specific duties — Triman labelling, EPR registration and environmental-claims rules — that cross-border sellers must meet to sell compliantly into France.
Because obligations were phased in over time, it is worth checking whether your specific product category has become subject to EPR or labelling rules in a given year.
French marketplaces and platforms increasingly require proof of EPR registration before publishing listings, so AGEC compliance can directly gate your ability to sell.
AGEC’s rules on environmental claims affect how you can describe sustainability in listings aimed at French consumers — vague green claims can be non-compliant.