How to add packaging types and components under PPWR?

This article covers adding packaging types to your products and structuring their components. If you haven't added your products yet, start with 📄 How to add products under PPWR?

How Coolset structures packaging

Coolset uses a two-level structure beneath each product:

Product → Packaging types → Components

• A packaging type is the complete packaging unit as a customer or end user would receive it — including any closure, label, or cap. For example: a shampoo bottle, a plastic wrap grouping multiple bottles, or a cardboard shipper box.

• A component is an individual material that makes up a packaging type. For example, a shampoo bottle consists of a bottle body (HDPE), a lid (polypropylene), and a label (plastic film).

Each packaging type you add will require its own Declaration of Conformity (DoC). Component data feeds directly into your conformity assessment, including PFAS and heavy metals checks.

Step 1: Add packaging types to a product

Go to PPWR > Products, click on a product, then click Manage.

A pop-up appears. Either select an existing packaging type or click Add new to create one.

Fill in the packaging type details:

• Name: Use a clear, descriptive name (e.g. "Shampoo bottle 500ml" or "Cardboard shipper box").

Example — Shampoo Blonde Hair 500ml product, might have three packaging types:

Repeat this for all packaging types associated with the product. All five PPWR packaging categories, including transport packaging such as pallets, corrugated shippers, and pallet shrink wrap, require a DoC from 12 August 2026.

Step 2: Adding packaging types in bulk (CSV import)

If you have many packaging types, you can add them in bulk using the same CSV import as your products. Go to PPWR compliance and click > Import to download the template.

There is no separate template for packaging types. Instead, packaging types are created through the Packaging items column:

1. Add each packaging type as its own row in the template, just like a product, with its own SKU.

2. On the product row, enter the SKU codes of its packaging types in the Packaging items column. Separate multiple SKUs with a comma and a space.

3. On import, any row whose SKU is referenced in another row's Packaging items column is automatically converted to a packaging type and linked to that product. Rows that are not referenced anywhere are imported as products.

Example: Your template contains a row for "Shampoo Blonde Hair 500ml" (SKU SH-500) and a row for "Shampoo bottle" (SKU PKG-001). If you enter PKG-001 in the Packaging items column of the SH-500 row, the shampoo bottle is imported as a packaging type linked to the shampoo product.

You can also reference packaging types that already exist in the system, in that case they are linked to the product without being duplicated.

Bulk import creates and links the packaging types, but each packaging type still requires its packaging survey to be completed individually

See the Import guide for PPWR CSV uploads for the full column reference.

Step 3: Add components inside the packaging survey

Components are added inside the packaging survey for each packaging type — not under the Packaging types tab.

Click Complete questionnaire on a packaging type to open the survey. Work through the questionnaire and list each individual material that makes up the packaging unit.

Example — Shampoo bottle:

Complete the survey for each packaging type.

What if your supplier holds the technical details?

If you buy finished packaging from an external manufacturer, for example, a shampoo bottle sourced from a supplier in Vietnam, that supplier typically holds the technical specifications. If your brand name appears on the packaging or you influence the design specifications, you are the manufacturer under PPWR Article 21 and are responsible for issuing the DoC.

In this case, click Request Due Diligence at the top right of the product or packaging type page. This clears your answers and sends the questionnaire to your supplier so they can fill in the technical details directly.

You will still receive your own DoC survey to complete separately, since you remain the manufacturer responsible for signing the DoC.

Edge case: components from multiple suppliers

If each component of a packaging type comes from a different supplier, for example, a lid from one manufacturer, a bottle body from another, and a label from a third, add each component as its own packaging type rather than as a component inside the survey.

This allows Coolset to capture the correct manufacturer, technical specifications, and supplier data for each unit separately, and to generate the right DoC for each. You can then send targeted supplier data requests to each supplier.

In this edge case situation, you can combine the packaging types from different suppliers into a single DoC.

What to do next

Once your packaging types and components are in place, you are ready for Step 4: sending supplier data requests to collect the technical specifications and test reports needed for your conformity assessment.

Related articles:

• 📄 How to add products under PPWR?

• 📄 Understanding packaging categories, types, and components in PPWR

• 📄 How to send a supplier request for PPWR

FAQ

1. Where do I add components, under the packaging tab or in the survey? Components are added inside the packaging survey, not under the Packaging types tab. Open the packaging type, click Complete questionnaire, and add individual materials as you work through the form.

2. Does transport packaging need a DoC? Yes. All five PPWR packaging categories, including transport packaging, require a DoC from 12 August 2026. Pallets, corrugated shippers, and pallet shrink wrap are all in scope. This is one of the most commonly missed categories during scoping.

3. I clicked Request Due Diligence, will I still get to sign the DoC? Yes. Requesting due diligence sends the technical questionnaire to your supplier. You will still receive your own DoC survey to complete, since you remain the manufacturer responsible for issuing the Declaration of Conformity.

4. My packaging supplier says they will issue the DoC for me, is that correct? Only if they are the manufacturer under PPWR, generally determined by whether their brand or trademark appears on the packaging. If your brand is on it, you are the manufacturer under Article 21 and must issue the DoC yourself. Your supplier can provide the technical data and test reports that support your DoC, but the document itself is yours to sign.

5. I buy my bottle body, lid, and label from three different suppliers. How do I handle this? Add each as its own packaging type in the app rather than as components inside the survey. This allows Coolset to capture the correct manufacturer and specifications for each unit and lets you send targeted supplier requests to each one.

6. Do I need one DoC per SKU or per packaging type? One DoC per packaging type. If multiple SKUs use identical packaging, same materials, same design, same compliance outcome, they share one packaging type and one DoC.

7. Can I add packaging types in bulk instead of one by one? Yes, using the CSV import under PPWR compliance > Import. Add each packaging type as its own row in the template, then reference its SKU in the Packaging items column of the product row it belongs to. On import, referenced rows are automatically converted to packaging types and linked to the product. The packaging survey still needs to be completed per packaging type.

8. I imported my packaging via CSV but it shows up as a product. Why? A row is only converted to a packaging type if its SKU is referenced in the Packaging items column of another row. If the SKU is not referenced anywhere, the row is imported as a regular product. Check that the SKU in the Packaging items column exactly matches the SKU of the packaging type row, then re-import.