Knowledge hub
Common questions, direct answers.
Plain-English Q&A on the nine EU regulations Regonance covers — GPSR, DPP under ESPR, EmpCo, PPWR, EPR, CE marking, Right to Repair, REACH/SVHC and the EU Battery Regulation — plus the roles that sit alongside them. Each answer leads with the direct answer, then the EU citation.
Latest report
All reports →EU Product Compliance Gap Report — Q3 2026
92.5% of products scanned had at least one EU compliance gap. The top 10 missing fields, enforcement context, and what they cost.
By audience
3 / 3 tracks
For sellers and brands
Ecommerce sellers and DTC brands placing physical consumer products on the EU market — directly or via Amazon EU, Shopify, Etsy, Otto, Bol.com and other marketplaces.
- → What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)? The EU's per-country register/report/pay regime, in plain English
- → EU Responsible Person (EU RP): who needs one, what they actually do, and how to designate one
- → GPSR for Shopify sellers: the Article 19 block, the EU Responsible Person, and what changes for every EU-shipping store
- → What is a Digital Product Passport (DPP)? The EU's per-SKU data record, in plain English
- → What is GPSR? A plain-English overview
For agencies and consultancies
Compliance consultancies, fulfilment partners and digital agencies running EU regulation work across a portfolio of client brands.
- → What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)? The EU's per-country register/report/pay regime, in plain English
- → What is a Digital Product Passport (DPP)? The EU's per-SKU data record, in plain English
- → What is GPSR? A plain-English overview
- → What is REACH SVHC? The 0.1% w/w per-article threshold and Article 33 communication duty, in plain English
- → What is CE marking? The EU self-declaration that lets you place a product on the market
For non-EU sellers shipping into the EU
US, UK, CN and other non-EU sellers that need an EU Responsible Person, an Authorised Representative, and a per-country EPR footprint before the first parcel ships.
By regulation
13 modules
GPSR
View all →The EU General Product Safety Regulation — what it is, who it affects, and how to prepare.
What is GPSR? A plain-English overview
The EU General Product Safety Regulation has been enforceable since 13 December 2024. Here is what it actually changes for online sellers — the obligations, the dates, and the practical baseline.
Seller responsibilities under GPSR
GPSR assigns specific duties to manufacturers, importers, distributors and fulfilment providers. This guide maps the obligations to the role you actually play — and what 'documented' means when an authority asks.
Required product information under GPSR
GPSR Article 19 lists the information online sellers must surface before checkout — manufacturer details, Responsible Person, identifiers, warnings, safe-use instructions. Here is what each field really means in practice.
GPSR for online marketplaces
GPSR Article 22 layers product-safety duties on top of the Digital Services Act. Here is what online marketplaces must now do, and what sellers should expect from the platforms they list on.
PPWR (Packaging)
View all →Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40 — minimisation, recyclability, recycled content and labelling obligations.
What is PPWR? The EU's directly-applicable packaging law, in plain English
PPWR — Regulation (EU) 2025/40 — is the EU's new packaging law. Same text in all 27 member states. General application starts 12 August 2026, with tightening milestones through 2038. Here's what it actually does.
PPWR packaging requirements: the seven checks every EU seller must pass
PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) imposes seven concrete packaging requirements that phase in between 12 August 2026 and 2038. This guide walks each check with what is enforceable now versus what to capture for upcoming milestones.
PPWR for e-commerce sellers: the parcel, the marketplace, and what changes 12 August 2026
PPWR explicitly covers e-commerce packaging and names online marketplaces as responsible actors. From 12 August 2026, the shipping box, mailer and polybag are in scope — and listing-level enforcement is the sharpest stick. Here's the practical guide.
EU Packaging Regulation (PPWR): what changed on August 12 and what sellers must do now
On 12 August 2026, the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation — Regulation (EU) 2025/40, known as the PPWR — became directly applicable across all 27 EU Member States. It replaced the 1994 Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive that had governed packaging rules for three decades. If you sell packaged products into the EU, the rules have changed. There is no grace period for existing stock.
EmpCo (Green Claims)
View all →Empowering Consumers Directive (EU) 2024/825 — banned green claims, substantiation rules and what they mean for marketing copy.
What is EmpCo? The EU's anti-greenwashing law, in plain English
EmpCo — Directive (EU) 2024/825 — is the live EU law banning vague eco-claims, offset-based 'carbon neutral' product claims and unverified sustainability labels. Enforcement starts 27 September 2026. Here's what it actually does.
Banned green claims under EmpCo: the six practices to remove from your marketing
Under Directive (EU) 2024/825, six specific marketing practices are banned outright across the EU 27 from 27 September 2026 — no balancing test, no defence. Here are the six, with concrete before/after examples.
EmpCo for fashion and textile brands: the highest-risk sector, mapped to the six bans
Fashion is the most-scrutinised sector under EmpCo. Generic 'sustainable' collections, offset-based 'climate neutral' garments, and self-made eco-badges are squarely in the banned set. Here's the sector-specific playbook for 2026.
EU green claims rules: what changes on September 27, 2026
On 27 September 2026, the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive — Directive (EU) 2024/825, known as EmpCo — becomes enforceable across all EU Member States. From that date, environmental claims made to EU consumers are subject to strict new rules. There is no transition period. Claims that were acceptable on September 26 may be unlawful on September 27.
Product compliance & labelling
View all →Country of origin, "Made in" claims, textile labelling and care instructions — the cross-cutting labelling rules that apply alongside the nine EU mandates.
Country of origin labelling for EU products: when is it mandatory?
Country of origin is the second most common compliance gap across products scanned on Regonance — missing from 32.5% of all scanned products. This guide explains when origin labelling is legally mandatory in the EU, when marketplaces enforce it anyway, and what "country of origin" actually means in EU law.
"Made in" rules for the EU: what counts and what does not
There are no harmonised EU rules on when a product can carry a "Made in" claim. The rules come from customs law, national regulations, court rulings and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive — and they do not always agree. Here is what applies.
EU textile labelling requirements: fibre composition, care symbols, and what is changing under ESPR
Regulation (EU) 1007/2011 governs fibre composition disclosure for textiles sold in the EU, and the ESPR revision is expected to add digital labelling and Digital Product Passport duties. Here are the current rules and what to prepare now.
Care label requirements for products sold in the EU: the regulation-by-regulation guide
Care instructions are the third most common compliance gap across products scanned on Regonance — missing from 25% of scanned products. There is no single EU care-labelling mandate, but national law, GPSR, marketplace policy and ESPR make care labels effectively compulsory.
Industry guides
View all →Category-by-category compliance stacks for textiles, electronics, cosmetics, toys and furniture.
EU compliance for textile and apparel sellers: the full 2026 regulatory stack
Textiles and apparel are among the most regulated product categories in the EU — and the regulatory burden is increasing. A textile seller entering the EU market in 2026 faces obligations under at least six overlapping regulations, with more arriving through the ESPR framework. This guide maps the complete regulatory stack for textile products, explains what each regulation requires, and identifies where the obligations overlap.
EU compliance for electronics sellers: CE, WEEE, RoHS, batteries, and DPP
Electronics and electrical products carry the heaviest regulatory burden of any consumer product category in the EU. A single electronic product can fall under six or more EU regulations simultaneously — each with its own documentation, labelling, registration, and reporting requirements.
EU compliance for cosmetics sellers: what is different from GPSR
Cosmetics are a special case in EU product compliance. The Cosmetics Regulation (EC 1223/2009) is a standalone, comprehensive framework that predates GPSR and operates alongside it. Cosmetics sellers face a distinct set of requirements — including their own "Responsible Person" role that is different from the GPSR EU Responsible Person — and getting the two confused is one of the most common compliance mistakes in this category.
EU compliance for toy sellers: safety, CE marking, and the updated Toy Safety Regulation
Toys are one of the most strictly regulated product categories in the EU. The existing Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EC) sets comprehensive safety requirements, and the European Commission has adopted a new Toy Safety Regulation (published 2024) that will replace it with even stricter rules. If you sell toys in the EU — whether you manufacture them, import them, or resell them through marketplaces — you face a regulatory stack that combines product safety, chemical restrictions, CE marking, traceability, and marketplace enforcement.
Compliance essentials
View all →Strategic guides: deadline roadmaps, enforcement costs, and market access for non-EU brands.
EU product compliance roadmap 2026–2030: every deadline in one place
EU product compliance is not a single event. It is a rolling series of deadlines — some already enforced, some weeks away, some years out. Missing one can mean listing suppression, customs refusal, fines, or product recalls. This roadmap consolidates every major EU product compliance deadline from 2026 through 2030 in one reference document.
The cost of EU product non-compliance: fines, delistings, and recalls in 2025–2026
Non-compliance with EU product regulations is no longer a theoretical risk. In 2025 and 2026, enforcement has accelerated across every channel — marketplace automated checks, customs interceptions, market-surveillance authority actions, and Safety Gate alerts have all increased significantly. The cost of non-compliance is no longer limited to a fine you might someday receive. It is listing suppression today, customs refusal tomorrow, and a recall notice next week.
EU compliance for US and UK brands: the complete market access guide
If you are a US or UK brand selling consumer products to EU buyers, 2024–2026 has fundamentally changed your compliance obligations. The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), the Empowering Consumers Directive (EmpCo), and intensified marketplace enforcement mean that selling into the EU now requires structured compliance work that many non-EU brands have never done.
Digital Product Passports
View all →How DPPs will reshape product transparency and traceability across the EU.
What is a Digital Product Passport (DPP)? The EU's per-SKU data record, in plain English
The Digital Product Passport is the structured digital record the EU is rolling out under ESPR — batteries first (Feb 2027), textiles next, then most physical product categories through 2030. Here's what it actually contains, who has to issue one, and what to do this quarter.
DPP for textiles: what sellers should track now
The Digital Product Passport lands on textiles before most other categories. Here is what fashion and apparel sellers should be capturing in 2026 to be ready.
DPP and product traceability: the supply-chain data work the passport actually demands
The Digital Product Passport is a traceability instrument before it is a consumer-facing artefact. Here's the data chain — identifier, components, suppliers, substances, country of origin, evidence — that any DPP under ESPR or the Batteries Regulation will demand, and how to start capturing it now.
What is a Digital Product Passport and when does your product need one?
A Digital Product Passport (DPP) is a machine-readable digital record that consolidates essential information about a product's identity, composition, compliance, sustainability, and lifecycle. Mandated under the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) — Regulation (EU) 2024/1781 — the DPP is intended to make supply chains more transparent, support circular economy objectives, and give consumers, regulators, and recyclers structured access to product information.
EPR (Producer Responsibility)
View all →Extended Producer Responsibility — per-country, per-stream registration, reporting and fee obligations for packaging, WEEE and batteries.
What is Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)? The EU's per-country register/report/pay regime, in plain English
EPR makes the company placing a product on the market financially responsible for its post-consumer stage. It runs per-country and per-stream — packaging, WEEE, batteries, textiles — with marketplace delisting now the sharpest enforcement lever. Here's what it actually is.
EPR registration by country: the EU 27 register/report/pay map sellers actually need
EPR is implemented per member state — LUCID, ADEME, CONAI, Verpact and 24 others. Here's how the national registers work for packaging, WEEE, batteries and textiles, what PPWR Art. 44 changes from 12 August 2026, and where non-EU sellers need an Authorised Representative.
EPR for online sellers: how marketplaces enforce it, and what gets your listings delisted
For e-commerce sellers, the sharpest EPR risk in 2026 isn't national fines — it's marketplace delisting under the Digital Services Act. Here's how Amazon EU, Otto, Bol.com and others enforce EPR, what pay-on-behalf actually costs, and how to pre-empt suspension.
Ecommerce Compliance
View all →Marketplace-specific requirements for Amazon EU, Shopify, Etsy and beyond.
GPSR for Shopify sellers: the Article 19 block, the EU Responsible Person, and what changes for every EU-shipping store
Shopify is not a marketplace under GPSR Article 22 — which makes the seller, not the platform, responsible for Article 19 compliance on every listing. Here is the exact listing block, the EU Responsible Person requirement, the theme-template change, and the per-region catalogue audit every Shopify store needs to run for the EU 27.
GPSR on Amazon EU: the Manufacturer Contact attribute, the EU Responsible Person field, and how Seller Central enforces Article 22
Amazon is the EU's largest GPSR enforcer. The Manufacturer Contact and Responsible Person attributes in Seller Central are mandatory on covered listings since 13 December 2024, and Amazon delists non-compliant ASINs automatically. Here is what each field expects, the per-marketplace differences, and the audit every Amazon EU seller needs to run this quarter.
GPSR for Etsy sellers: handmade is not exempt, the Responsible Person field, and what changes for makers shipping into the EU
Etsy is a marketplace under GPSR Article 22, and 'handmade' carries no exemption from the General Product Safety Regulation. Since 13 December 2024, every Etsy listing shipped into the EU 27 must carry manufacturer, Responsible Person, and warnings — and Etsy delists listings missing them. Here is what an Etsy shop actually needs to do.
Ecommerce compliance readiness: the per-SKU, per-regime readiness framework for EU-shipping catalogues in 2026
EU compliance is not a single 'are we compliant?' verdict — it is a per-SKU, per-regime readiness state across GPSR, EU RP, EPR, PPWR, EmpCo and DPP. Here is the five-layer framework, the per-SKU score that drives prioritisation, and the catalogue-audit pattern that turns a regulatory backlog into a shippable engineering ticket list.
EU Responsible Person
View all →Why non-EU sellers need an EU-based contact and how the role works.
EU Responsible Person (EU RP): who needs one, what they actually do, and how to designate one
An EU Responsible Person is the EU-established economic operator that authorities can reach when a non-EU brand sells into the Union. Since 13 December 2024, every covered consumer product placed on the EU market must have one named on the listing, the product, or the packaging. Here is what the role does, who needs it, and what to put in place this quarter.
Non-EU seller obligations: the actual EU compliance stack for brands shipping into the Union from outside
If you sell physical consumer products into the EU from outside it, six regimes attach to every order: GPSR, EU Responsible Person, EPR, PPWR, EmpCo, and (from 2027 onwards) DPP. Here is the full obligation stack, the deadlines that are already live, and the operational checklist for 2026.
CE marking
View all →CE marking under the Toy Safety, LVD, EMC, RED, PPE and Machinery directives — what the mark actually attests and what the technical file and Declaration of Conformity must contain.
Right to Repair
View all →Directive (EU) 2024/1799 — European Repair Information Form, indicative repair prices, spare-parts obligation and the 12-month warranty extension on repair. Apply by 31 July 2026.
REACH / SVHC
View all →Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 — the 0.1% w/w per-article SVHC threshold, Article 33 B2B and consumer communications, SCIP notifications and Candidate-List rechecks.
Compliance guidance based on published EU regulatory texts. Not legal advice.