Understanding the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR): Impacts on Cosmetics Retail
Taking effect on December 13, the EU’s General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) establishes essential guidelines for ensuring the safety of consumer products sold or made available within the EU market. There are new ground rules set for online stores and marketplaces which can lead to warnings and severe fines for merchants if not followed. As many of our clients sell goods that are directly related to the conditions in the regulation, we decided to dig deeper, with a chapter explaining how this regulation is relevant to cosmetics retail in particular.
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What is the EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)?
The regulation is an important update of the two-decade General Product Safety Directive (GPSD). By transitioning from a directive to a Regulation status, the EU ensures uniform application across all Member States, eliminating discrepancies at national level and reinforcing consumer protection throughout the Union.
In simple words, this regulation tries to make sure that all consumer products available in the EU market, either sold by physical stores, online shops or marketplaces, including those incorporating new technologies, meet stringent safety standards. The regulation gives authorities strong legal tools to monitor and enforce compliance, thereby preventing unsafe products from reaching consumers.
At the same time, the regulation requests clear identification of products and their origins to facilitate swift action when safety issues arise. Manufacturers, importers and distributors now have clear obligations to ensure product safety throughout the supply chain.
General Requirements Applicable to All Products
As we explained above, the GPSR sets an obligation for all factors involved that all consumer products placed on the EU market must be safe under normal or reasonable conditions of use. The requirement includes product characteristics, packaging, instructions, and takes into account the categories of consumers at risk, particularly vulnerable groups like children and the elderly. In the absence of complete scientific certainty, products are still required to meet high safety standards.
The Introduction of Concepts like Traceability, Conformity, and Market Surveillance
For the first time, the new regulation includes these important requests for operators to ensure the traceability of products throughout the supply chain. They will be asked to maintain records of suppliers and distributors to facilitate swift action in case of safety issues. All this relevant documentation should be accessible to authorities upon request.
Manufacturers must conduct safety assessments and ensure that products comply with safety requirements before placing them on the market. The product’s composition, packaging, all have to be taken into consideration. Also, providing instructions for use is a compulsory requirement.
The regulation identifies certain products that pose higher risks to consumer health and safety. Certain plants and plant products that present significant pest risks, such as Momordica L. fruits and Ulmus L. wood are considered high risk. Additionally, the EU maintains a list of substances like chemicals that are carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic for reproduction, or possess persistent and bio-accumulative properties. These substances are subject to stringent controls.
Furthermore, hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and certain phthalates will be closely monitored.
At the same time, the GPSR gives authorities the power to monitor products, conduct inspections, and enforce compliance. They can order recalls, impose penalties, and coordinate with other Member States to ensure a consistent approach across the EU.
The Inclusion of eCommerce Platforms
Due to the growth of online sales, the need to create a safe environment in online retail was greater than ever. GPSR extends all the obligations to online shops and marketplaces, too. All these platforms are required to cooperate with market surveillance authorities, ensure that products sold online comply with safety requirements, and take prompt action when unsafe products are identified.
For marketplaces in particular, there are strong obligations to verify the identity of traders and the safety of all products offered on their platforms.
Therefore, as a general rule, products, regardless of their origin or sales channel, HAVE to meet the EU’s stringent safety standards.
Implications for the Cosmetics Industry
From December 13, our clients will be touched by the changes, some more than others. Cupio is a concluding example, because the impact on the cosmetics sector is relatively limited due to the pre-existing comprehensive framework established by the EU Cosmetic Products Regulation (CPR). The CPR already imposes stringent requirements on various aspects of cosmetic products, including safety assessments, labeling, claims, and notifications.
But it doesn’t mean that the requirements stop with the CPR. The GPSR introduces three additional obligations specifically for online sales of cosmetic products which need to be present on the individual product page, no matter if we are talking about the company’s own website or other marketplaces. First, all safety-related information, such as ingredients list, mandatory warnings and precautions, instructions for safe use, must be presented to consumers on the product packaging.
Then, because the objective of the regulation is to improve traceability for authorities, the product page must include the physical address and the electronic address of the EU Responsible Person (RP). The physical address can be shortened and limited to the abbreviated company name, zip code and the two-letter country code. For example, for Cupio, this could be CUP 307285 RO.
All these requirements are to easily identify and contact the EU RP, and to ensure the communication of safety-related issues will be facile.
It’s important to note that while the GPSR introduces certain obligations for online sales, it does not impact the core compliance areas already governed by the CPR. This means that existing obligations concerning the Product Information File (PIF), regulatory compliance, safety assessments, labeling content, cosmetic claims, and notifications to the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal (CPNP) remain unchanged.
Cosmetic companies should focus on ensuring that their online product listings comply with the new information display requirements to meet GPSR standards, while continuing to adhere to the established CPR regulations for all other aspects of product compliance.
How can technology help?
Technology can be used either to maintain supply chain transparency, or to organize and distribute detailed product data, including safety documentation and compliance records. One of the most complex product tracking software, Sourcemap, enables companies to monitor products from origin to consumer, with comprehensive tools for mapping and analyzing supply chains, facilitating effective tracking of products and their components. Additionally, there are various PIM systems that can assist businesses in managing consistent product information and automating compliance processes.
Technology can help, but merchants have to do everything in their power to ensure that they collaborate with suppliers who prioritize product safety and can demonstrate compliance with GPSR requirements and update supplier contracts to include provisions that mandate adherence to GPSR standards. Also, the marketing teams have to ensure that all product labels and marketing materials provide clear and accurate product information, including safety warnings and usage instructions.
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