I don't know what material to select
If you don’t know what material to select, always start by checking your Bill of Materials (BOM). This is the source of truth for what your packaging is made of. Work from the materials listed there and map each material to the closest matching material in IDEMAT.
If you’re unsure, or if you don’t have an up-to-date BOM, request it from your supplier — they can provide the exact materials used so you can select the correct matches.
I can't find a material in IDEMAT to map my materials to
IDEMAT covers most common packaging materials and for large categories such as paper & cardboard and plastics, a direct match is usually available. But not every brand name or new material on the market is available will be present in IDEMAT.
Here's what you can do:
Search using alternative names or synonyms
Many materials appear under generic names rather than brand or trade names. Try searching for a broader or alternative term.
Look for a suitable proxy material.
If your exact material is not available, choose a material with a similar origin or production process.
For example, many biobased materials made from agricultural waste — such as palm leaves or corn waste — can often be represented using a natural-waste proxy because their processes are comparable.
Ask your supplier for a specific EPD
If your material is not available in IDEMAT, ask your supplier for a full Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) or the underlying EPD data. You can submit this to us.
Can I submit new materials to IDEMAT?
Yes that's possible. Here's how:
Reach out to us via [email protected] or chat first and let us know what material you're missing. If it's truly not in IDEMAT and there is not a fitting proxy, it might be useful to request the data from your supplier.
Reach out to your supplier for a full Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) or the underlying EPD data. This is the minimum needed to create a new, accurate material dataset.
Pickler will submit the EPD to Sustainability Impact Metrics, who run IDEMAT. They will review whether the material is broadly relevant enough to include in their database. IDEMAT only adds materials that many users are likely to need.
If IDEMAT accepts the request, they will convert the EPD into their eco-costs format (cost: €1.000,-) and the material will then become available for you to use in Pickler.
Why can’t I select post-consumer (PCR) or post-industrial (PIR) recycled materials separately?
PCR and PIR are not shown as separate material options because their environmental impacts cannot be reliably distinguished in a consistent way. In practice, the way PCR and PIR are collected, sorted, and processed differs widely between regions, suppliers, and recycling systems, and these differences are not captured consistently in available data.
Although PCR and PIR come from different waste streams, the difference in environmental impact between them is usually small compared to the total impact of producing the material itself. Separating them would therefore require assumptions that are not well supported by consistent and verifiable data.
By using a single recycled-material dataset, results remain clear, comparable, and trustworthy, without adding unnecessary complexity or false precision.