From 12 August 2026, new EU packaging rules known as PPWR have come into effect. Unfortunately, they mean that Rigu has had to temporarily stop accepting orders for delivery to the EU.

The aim of the rules is straightforward enough: reduce packaging waste, improve recycling and make businesses more responsible for the packaging they send to customers.

The difficulty is that they also create new registration, reporting and compliance requirements for businesses selling into EU countries. For a large company, that is another administrative cost to absorb. For a very small business sending a relatively small number of parcels to Europe, it can quickly become impractical.

So, for now, EU shipping from Rigu is paused while I work out whether there is a realistic and affordable way to comply, or if it’s possible for me to comply in a few individual countries.

It’s very frustrating that being a small ecommerce seller means you have to keep dealing with all these new obstacles. Last year it was GPSR, this year it’s PPWR, then you have to try and keep on top of what is happening with US tariffs. It would be nice if occasionally it got “easier”, but I can’t remember the last time that happened.