General labelling requirements
1. Detergents and surfactants that are made available on the market in individual packaging or through refill shall be accompanied by a label.
2. An economic operator making a detergent or surfactant available on the market directly to an end-user through refill shall provide to the end-user the physical label and the data carrier referred to in Article 21(2), point (h), and shall ensure that the physical label and the data carrier are available for every packaging that is refilled with a detergent or surfactant.
3. The label of detergents and surfactants shall contain the information specified in Part A of Annex V.
4. In addition to the information referred to in paragraph 3, the label of consumer laundry detergents, consumer automatic dishwasher detergents and consumer detergents for surfaces shall contain dosage information in accordance with Part B of Annex V.
5. The information referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be in one or more languages which can be easily understood by end-users, as determined by the Member State concerned, and shall be legible, clear, understandable and intelligible. The label shall be accessible for inspection purposes where the detergent or surfactant is made available on the market.
Forms of labelling
1. The labelling information referred to in Parts A and B of Annex V shall be provided:
(a)
on a physical label; or
(b)
on a digital label and duplicated on a physical label.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, point (b):
(a)
the labelling information referred to in Part C of Annex V may be provided on a digital label only;
(b)
the labelling information referred to in Part A, points 1(a), (c) and (d), of Annex V may be provided on a physical label only.
Requirements for digital labelling
1. Where detergents and surfactants carry a digital label in accordance with Article 18, the following rules shall apply to that label:
(a)
all labelling information referred to in Part A of Annex V and, where applicable, Part B of that Annex, are provided together in one place and separated from other information;
(b)
the information on the digital label is searchable;
(c)
the information on the digital label is accessible to all users in the Union;
(d)
the information on the digital label is accessible via the data carrier referred to in Article 21(2), point (h);
(e)
the information on the digital label is presented in a way that also addresses the needs of vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, and supports, as relevant, the necessary adaptations to facilitate access to the information by those groups;
(f)
the digital label is accessible through digital technologies widely used and compatible with all major operating systems and browsers;
(g)
the digital label remains available for a period of 10 years from the date on which the detergent or surfactant is placed on the market, including in cases of insolvency, liquidation or cessation of activity in the Union of the economic operator that created it, or for a longer period as required under other Union law covering the information that it contains;
(h)
where the information on the digital label is accessible in more than one language, the choice of language is not to be conditioned by the geographical location from which it is accessed by the end-user.
2. Economic operators providing a digital label shall not track, analyse or use any usage information other than as absolutely necessary for the purposes of providing online the information on the digital label.
3. Economic operators making a detergent or surfactant available on the market to end-users shall provide the information present on the digital label by other means in the following cases:
(a)
upon oral or written request by the end-user; or
(b)
where the digital label is temporarily unavailable, including at the time of purchase.
Economic operators shall provide the information referred to in the first subparagraph independently of a purchase of a detergent or surfactant and free of charge.
Distance sales
Where detergents or surfactants are made available on the market through distance sales, the offer shall clearly and visibly indicate the label information referred to in Article 17, and a digital copy of the data carrier or the unique product identifier.
