One row is one packed item, one order quantity, one packed orientation and one pack. Product and pack axes must be finite positive millimetres. Allowances must be finite nonnegative values; zero is valid and blank is unknown. Incomplete or invalid inputs keep fit waiting. A smaller pack is not a proven impact saving.

Record the pack’s disposal route on the component sheet. Use the tax guide for taxpayer plastic weight. Plan a reusable mailer pilot if the next test is reuse.

What a right-size row can say

packed_orientation records how the product sits in the pack, for example folded flat. Each allowance is the total extra internal space on that corresponding axis, not a per-side figure. Required size on an axis is the product measurement plus that allowance.

Only a fully valid set receives fits or too_small. A missing axis together with an undersized present axis still stays waiting. Extra void can be noted. It is not an impact score.

Fill in the sample log

Download both files. Save a copy of the blank log and type into that copy.

The files are plain CSV. You type every cell. The spreadsheet does not calculate fit.

Columns: sample_id, product_family, order_quantity, packed_orientation, the three product, allowance and pack-internal millimetre fields, fit_status, protection_check, protection_note, void_note, comparable_with, row_status.

A completed sample also needs a packed-item identity, a positive whole-item order_quantity, a packed orientation, and a protection note. Valid millimetres without those cells stay waiting.

Zero on a product or pack axis is invalid. A negative allowance is invalid. protection_check is item_secure, item_moves or not_checked.

row_status is waiting while any required dimension or allowance is missing, nonnumeric, non-finite, zero on a product or pack axis, or negative on an allowance, while identity, quantity, orientation or the protection note is missing, or while protection is not_checked. It is recorded_fit only when the pack fits and the item is secure. It is recorded_failed when the inputs are fully valid and the pack is too small or the item moves. A recorded failed sample is useful evidence of failure. It is not approval to use that packaging.

comparable_with may name another sample only when the packed item, order quantity, packed orientation, allowances and protection-test method match, and both protection outcomes are checked and recorded. The outcomes may differ. Record the shared method in protection_note. Matching only the product family and a status word is not a comparable pair. There is no gram column.

Protection and the minimum adequate pack

As shown on legislation.gov.uk on 12 October 2026, Schedule 1 paragraph 1(1) of the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2015 limits volume and weight to the minimum adequate amount for safety, hygiene and acceptance. That page marks the paragraph UK and warns that revised legislation may not be fully up to date. This worksheet does not establish essential-requirements compliance. A too-small pack that fails protection is not adequate.

Worked example: fictional Millbridge Outfitters parcels

The example is fictional. All samples use one folded jumper, order quantity 1, packed orientation folded_flat. The shared protection test is a gentle shake of the sealed pack. Required height is 40 mm plus a 20 mm allowance, which is 60 mm.

Sample What was written Status
MO-A Pack 320 × 240 × 70 mm. Item secure. Required height 60 mm. Fits. Recorded fit.
MO-B Pack height 50 mm, below 60. Same item, quantity, orientation, allowances and shake test as MO-A. Item moved. Recorded failed. Different outcome. Not approval to use that pack.
MO-C Pack height blank. Protection not checked. Waiting.
MO-D Allowance height −5 mm. Invalid allowance. Waiting.
MO-E Width 180 mm and height missing. Incomplete set. Waiting, not too small.

Limits

This worksheet does not establish essential-requirements compliance or an EPR return. Obligated-producer checks use tonnes and turnover on the GOV.UK EPR page. Those fields stay off this sheet. A comparable pair that is smaller is not a lifecycle result.

Your next action

Record the pack’s disposal route on the component sheet. Plan a reusable mailer pilot if the next test is reuse.

Sources