On 14 June 2025, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on an update to the EU’s Regulation on Detergents and Surfactants. The revised rules aim to improve the environmental and health safety of everyday cleaning products while adapting to innovation and evolving consumer habits.
The new legislation simplifies how detergents, ranging from capsules to microbial products, are marketed across the EU, ensuring both flexibility and higher compliance. The agreement empowers the European Commission to tighten rules on biodegradability, particularly for water-soluble films encapsulating detergents, which have become a widespread source of microplastic pollution.
The revised regulation also mandates digital and clearer labelling, making key information, such as the presence of fragrance allergens, more transparent for consumers and accessible to poison centres and medical professionals. The changes seek to address concerns about the safety of imported products as well, requiring non-EU manufacturers to appoint authorised representatives to ensure compliance with EU standards.
The agreement notably maintains the EU’s ban on animal testing, as laid out in the REACH Regulation. Only products developed using non-animal testing methods will be permitted, with rare exceptions granted only under strict and essential conditions.
A future-focused clause tasks the Commission with assessing whether new limits on phosphorus content in detergents are feasible without compromising product performance or inadvertently increasing environmental impact, such as more intensive cleaning cycles or higher water temperatures.
As detergents remain chemicals with potential health and environmental risks, the updated regulation aligns safety, sustainability, and industry innovation. With an estimated market value of €41.2 billion and over 700 production sites across Europe, the sector stands to benefit from clearer, more streamlined rules.
The provisional agreement now awaits formal approval by both the Council and Parliament before it can be fully enacted.
