What does customer mean?
Customer is the ESPR actor term for a person or organization that purchases, hires, or receives a product for their own use.
customer
A regulatory term referring to a natural or legal person that purchases.
1 official sourcessingle_source
Official definitions by source
ESPR
Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for sustainable products
a natural or legal person that purchases, hires or receives a product for their own use whether or not acting for purposes which are outside their trade, business, craft or profession;
Reference: Article 2, point 35
Practical application
This term matters when product information, online sales, or circularity obligations depend on who receives and uses the product rather than who manufactured or placed it on the market.
Minespider commentary
For Minespider, customer is a downstream-use actor term for product data and digital product passport workflows.
Common confusions
- Assuming the everyday meaning of customer is enough without checking the official source definition.
- Using customer as a loose generic label rather than the narrower meaning used in the source text.
- Confusing customer with a neighboring legal actor or responsibility term without checking how the source allocates obligations.