Policy Priorities
Detergents Regulation
Policy context
The Detergents Regulation 2026/405 is the core EU legislative framework governing the placing on the market and use of detergents and cleaning products. It ensures that products are safe, effective and compliant with environmental and health protection requirements across the European Union.
Following its recent revision, the Regulation is entering a new phase focused on implementation and development of secondary legislation. This phase is central to the European Commission’s broader objectives of:
- ensuring regulatory clarity and coherence,
- supporting simplification and harmonisation across the Single Market, and
- enabling the transition to more sustainable and digital product frameworks.
The implementation of the revised Detergents Regulation is closely linked to other EU initiatives, including:
- digitalisation of product information,
- circular economy and sustainability requirements, and
- efforts to improve consistency across EU product legislation.
The role of the cleaning and hygiene products industry
The cleaning and hygiene products industry is directly regulated under this framework and plays a key role in ensuring its effective implementation. As a sector that places large volumes of products on the EU market, it is particularly affected by:
- technical and scientific requirements,
- labelling and information rules, and
- the interaction between the Detergents Regulation and other EU legislation.
Ensuring that the Regulation is clear, consistent and workable in practice is therefore essential for both compliance and the smooth functioning of the Single Market.
Detergents Europe’s role
Detergents Europe has been a key stakeholder throughout the revision of the Detergents Regulation, providing technical, scientific and policy input during the legislative process and engaging with the European Commission, European Parliament and Member States.
Following the adoption of the revised Regulation, Detergents Europe continues to play an active role in the implementation phase by:
- contributing technical and scientific expertise to the European Commission,
- engaging with EU institutions and Member States on interpretation and implementation issues, and
- supporting the development of secondary legislation and implementing acts.
This includes work on key topics such as biodegradability, digital product information and emerging technical requirements.
Detergents Europe’s engagement aims to support a framework that remains:
- science-based and proportionate,
- coherent with other EU legislation, and
- practical to implement across the sector.
Priorities for the sector
The current phase of the Detergents Regulation focuses on:
- Ensuring clear and consistent implementation
Supporting a harmonised understanding of the Regulation across Member States and avoiding divergent interpretations - Developing secondary legislation
Contributing to the design of implementing measures that are scientifically robust and workable in practice - Integrating digital and sustainability requirements
Supporting the development of tools such as the Digital Product Passport and ensuring alignment with broader EU initiatives - Maintaining regulatory coherence
Ensuring consistency between the Detergents Regulation and other EU frameworks, including ecolabelling, packaging and digitalisation policies
These priorities reflect the central role of the Detergents Regulation in ensuring both product safety and Single Market functioning.