New EU GPSR regulation

On 13 December 2024, the European Union (EU) introduced a new set of safety regulations, which affect people selling consumer products to the EU and Northern Ireland. These rules do not apply to products being sold in the UK.

Known as the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), it applies to new, used, repaired or reconditioned products sold to these regions both physically and through digital sales channels from 13 December 2024. Products that were for sale prior to this date do not have to comply with the new rules.

Essentially, the GPSR aims to ensure that products are safe and traceable.

The information on the GPSR is not clear regarding how it applies to craft businesses, but the Crafts Council has produced a document outlining what it believes is known to date for craft sellers.

Two main features of the regulation include improved safety requirements and accessible information, as well as a named, EU-based ‘Responsible Person’ to support product safety compliance. In practice, this means that people selling to the EU and NI need to provide a comprehensive product safety information outline (preferably in a language relevant to the receiving country), plus appoint the Responsible Person. This person could be:

• The manufacturer
• An importer, if the manufacturer is not established in the EU
• An authorised representative mandated by the manufacturer
• A fulfilment service provider if the manufacturer, importer and authorised representative are not based in the EU.

GPSR puts greater responsibility on online marketplaces like eBay and Etsy, which may result in sellers having to supply details of safety information and nominated Responsible Person to them.

Greater clarity is required on how this new regulation affects craft businesses. Please read the Crafts Council’s summary here (link to download their pdf). You can also read the UK Government’s full guidance via this link.

Note: It is important to do your own research on GPSR before making any business decisions.

Photo by Alexey Larionov on Unsplash.