Feeling a bit stuck on the new EU General Product Safety Regulation? Not sure what it all means? We know how you feel. You're already busy enough with Christmas, but now there's a bunch of EU product safety requirements you need to figure out - no doubt adding to the stress of the busy holiday period. So here at Tiny Box Company, we've tried to break down what you need to know and what it actually means for your small business.
Cup of tea ready? Great! Let's dive straight in...
First up, what is it? Well, the new General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) aims to better protect European Union (EU) consumers from dangerous non-food products sold offline or online, providing a 'safety net' for products or risks not regulated in other EU legislation. It's replacing the current General Product Safety Directive and the Food Imitating Product Directive, from 13th December 2024.
The GPSR covers all consumer goods placed on the EU and Northern Ireland (NI) markets, including CE marked goods. This also includes any secondhand products or products that are repaired, reconditioned, or recycled.
Article 2 however lists products that the regulation does not apply to: medicinal products for human or veterinary use; food; feed; living plants and animals, genetically modified organisms and microorganisms in contained use, and products or plants and animals relating to future reproduction; animal by-products and derived products; plant protection products; equipment on which consumers ride or travel, where it's directly operated by a service provider in a transport service; aircraft; and antiques.
GPSR essentially updates the requirements on the manufacturers, importers, and distributors of products, and introduces new obligations on providers of online marketplaces and fulfilment service providers. More on these a bit further down - but right now, what are the actual safety requirements?
General Product Safety Regulation
Under GPSR, economic operators (which we've defined just below ↓) should assess whether a product is safe to place on the EU and NI markets - it's basically asking you to think about all the eventualities of where the product will be used, and by who. Can it fall into the hands of children or the elderly? Have you considered every potential risk, and have you mitigated that risk? Have a think about the following aspects, mentioned in Article 6 of GPSR:
- Characteristics of the product (design, technical features, composition, packaging, instructions for assembly, installation, use, and maintenance).
- Effect of other products, where they might be used with your product, as well as your product’s effect on other products.
- Presentation of the product and labelling, including labelling on age suitability for children.
- Categories of consumers using the product, in particular vulnerable consumers.
- Appearance of the product if it's likely to lead consumers to use it in a different way to what it was designed for. In particular, think about non-food items that resemble food, and products not intended to be used by children but could appeal to children.
- Appropriate cybersecurity features, where required by the nature of the product.
- Evolving, learning and predictive functionalities, where required by the nature of the product.
For the purpose of the regulation, Article 7 says a product is presumed to be in conformity with the general safety requirement if it conforms to relevant European standards, or, in the absence of any relevant European standards, it conforms to national requirements.
Right, what's an economic operator?
Article 3 of the GPSR defines an economic operator as the manufacturer, the authorised representative, the importer, the distributor, the fulfilment service provider or any other natural (someone that resides in the EU) or legal (a company that's incorporated in the EU) person subject to obligations in relation to the manufacture of products, or making them available on the market in accordance with the GPSR.
Article 16 of the GPSR sets out that products can only be placed on or made available to the EU and NI markets if there is a 'responsible economic operator' in the EU or NI. More on what that means a bit further down - but right now, it's helpful to know who's who on the supply chain...
A few more definitions, under Article 3 of GPSR, for placing goods onto the EU or NI market:
Manufacturer - any natural or legal person who manufactures a product or has a product designed or manufactured, and markets that product under their name or trademark. If you're a manufacturer I'm afraid the biggest burden for product compliance under GPSR is on you - but the other players in the supply chain do also have a responsibility.
→ According to Article 13, a natural or legal person is deemed the manufacturer when they place a product on the market under their name or trademark. Also, a natural or legal person, other than the manufacturer, that substantially modifies the product, shall still be deemed the manufacturer, and in these cases are subject to the obligations of the manufacturer.
Importer - any natural or legal person in the EU or NI who places a product from a country that is not a member of the EU on the EU or NI market.
Distributor - any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes a product available on the market.
Fulfilment service provider - any natural or legal person in the EU or NI offering, in the course of commercial activity, at least two of the following services: warehousing, packaging, addressing, and dispatching, without owning the products involved, excluding postal, parcel, or freight services.
Authorised representative - any natural or legal person in the EU or NI who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on their behalf in relation to specified tasks with regard to their obligations under the regulation. You basically need an authorised representative if you don't have another economic operator, say in the form of an importer, established in the EU or NI.
Each of these players has roles to play to comply with GPSR - more on what your business needs to do, from technical documentation to traceability information, can be found in the regulation, and in the UK Government's detailed guidance here.
For instance, manufacturers will need to ensure a product can be identified by consumers in an easily visible and legible way. This includes a batch or serial number, or any other identifying element - which can be provided on the packaging or in accompanying documentation if it can't go on the product itself due to its size and nature. Where a product is not compliant, an importer or distributor may bring the product into compliance, for example by adding the necessary instructions or information without returning the product to the manufacturer.
Something else to note - info needs to be included in all languages consumers might read it in, so you'll need to do quite a bit of translation (there are 24 official languages in the EU).
Responsible economic operator
Article 16 of the GPSR sets out that products can only be placed on or made available to the EU or NI market if there is a responsible economic operator established in either the EU or NI to fulfil certain compliance tasks. Where there is no responsible economic operator established in the EU or NI already, the manufacturer placing the product on the market should take steps to ensure someone is in place to undertake those compliance tasks or the product cannot be placed on the market.
The responsible economic operator can be established in NI, to place products for sale on the EU market too. Once agreed, the contact details of the responsible economic operator must be provided on the product or on its packaging, the parcel, or an accompanying document. Find out more about what they need to do here.
What about online marketplaces?
A provider of an online marketplace is defined as a provider of intermediary services that uses an online interface to permit consumers to conclude distance product sales with traders. Their obligations are set out in the business guidance and include requirements to designate contact points, to have processes in place to comply with the GPSR, and to cooperate with market surveillance authorities. Find out more in the Government guidance here.
What about goods already on the market?
In accordance with Article 51 of GPSR, the regulation applies only to products placed on the market from 13th December 2024. The Government says no action needs to be taken for products that have already been placed on the market in the EU or NI before then and which comply with relevant pre-existing product safety legislation.
And does the GPSR really apply in Northern Ireland?
I'm afraid it does - Northern Ireland might be part of the UK, but if you're based in England, Scotland, or Wales and want to import there you'll have to comply with GPSR regulations. (NI businesses that comply with the GPSR don't need to make any additional changes to place products on the GB market.)
There we have it! It's a lot of info to take in but hopefully you can get your head around what you need to know as a small business. Find the full GPSR here, as well as a factsheet from the UK Government and some more detailed guidance here.
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