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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

What is REACH SVHC? The 0.1% w/w per-article threshold and Article 33 communication duty, in plain English

REACH — Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 — requires anyone supplying an article in the EU that contains a Substance of Very High Concern above 0.1% w/w per article to (a) communicate sufficient information up the B2B chain under Article 33(1), (b) respond to consumer requests within 45 days under Article 33(2), and (c) notify the ECHA SCIP database. The Candidate List is updated by ECHA roughly each January and June — every update can pull new substances into your existing products.

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.

What is the EU Right to Repair Directive? Plain-English overview of (EU) 2024/1799

The Right to Repair Directive — (EU) 2024/1799 — forces manufacturers of regulated product categories (washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, vacuum cleaners, smartphones, tablets and the categories ESPR expands to) to repair on request, offer spare parts and tools at a non-discriminatory price, and provide an indicative repair price up front using the standardised European Repair Information Form (Annex I). Repaired products get a 12-month warranty extension. Member states must apply the directive by 31 July 2026.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Common GPSR mistakes online sellers make

After a year of GPSR enforcement, the same gaps appear over and over in marketplace suppressions and national-authority findings. Here are the seven most common — and what a clean fix looks like.

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.

What is CE marking? The EU self-declaration that lets you place a product on the market

CE marking is the manufacturer's declaration that a product meets every applicable EU product directive — Toy Safety, LVD, EMC, RED, PPE or Machinery, in most ecommerce cases. It is self-declared (Module A) for non-Annex-IV products, but you must hold a technical file and a signed EU Declaration of Conformity (EN ISO/IEC 17050-1) for ten years. Amazon EU has intensified DoC requests since August 2025 and delists ASINs that cannot produce one.

6 MIN READ · UPDATED 7 JUNE 2026

Direct answer

CE marking is the manufacturer's declaration that a product complies with every EU product directive that applies to it. For most ecommerce categories — toys, mains-powered electronics, radio equipment, PPE Cat. I, non-Annex-IV machinery — the manufacturer self-declares under conformity assessment Module A: no notified body is involved. You must still hold:

a technical file (drawings, risk assessment, test reports, applicable harmonised standards) — retained 10 years
a EU Declaration of Conformity (EN ISO/IEC 17050-1 format, signed) — retained 10 years
the CE mark affixed visibly, legibly and indelibly to the product (or its packaging / accompanying documents where the product is too small)

The six directives most ecommerce sellers touch

Directive	Covers	Citation
Toy Safety	Anything designed/intended for play by children under 14	2009/48/EC
LVD	Mains-powered electrical equipment 50–1000 V AC / 75–1500 V DC	2014/35/EU
EMC	Anything that emits or is susceptible to electromagnetic disturbance	2014/30/EU
RED	Anything with a radio transmitter (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RFID, Zigbee, Z-Wave)	2014/53/EU
PPE Cat. I	Minimal-risk personal protective equipment (gardening gloves, sunglasses)	(EU) 2016/425
Machinery (non-Annex IV)	Most consumer machinery — moving parts, motors, pumps	2006/42/EC → (EU) 2023/1230 from 20 Jan 2027

Multiple directives stack — a Bluetooth speaker is LVD + EMC + RED + RoHS.

What the EU Declaration of Conformity must contain

Under EN ISO/IEC 17050-1, every DoC must name:

The product (model, type, batch or serial)
The manufacturer (and EU authorised representative where required)
A statement that the DoC is issued under the sole responsibility of the manufacturer
The object of the declaration (sufficient to identify the product)
Each EU directive the product conforms to, with its full citation
Each harmonised standard or technical specification used
Notified body details where a directive requires one (not Module A)
Place, date, name, function and signature

Missing fields = invalid DoC, regardless of whether the product is safe.

Amazon EU and the delisting risk

Since August 2025, Amazon EU has automated DoC and technical-file requests on covered ASINs. The failure mode is the same across categories: seller cannot produce a compliant DoC inside the SLA → ASIN delisted → reinstatement requires a fresh DoC that survives template review.

What Regonance does on CE

Routes each product to the directives that actually apply (TSD / LVD / EMC / RED / PPE / Machinery), based on category and characteristics
Returns a per-directive readiness assessment with typed findings (missing harmonised standard reference, unsigned DoC, address mismatch)
Generates a real EN ISO/IEC 17050-1 PDF Declaration of Conformity — not a placeholder
Versions the DoC append-only so authorities can see the document history
Flags out-of-scope (Annex-IV machinery, notified-body categories) and points to specialist conformity-assessment bodies instead of pretending to cover them

Frequently asked questions

Does the CE mark mean a regulator approved my product?+

No. CE is a manufacturer self-declaration under conformity assessment Module A for most ecommerce categories — no regulator review, no certificate, no approval. The mark says you have a technical file and DoC and accept liability for the claim. Authorities can test the product post-market and prosecute if the declaration is false.

How long do I have to keep the technical file and DoC?+

Ten years from the last unit placed on the EU market. Applies to every covered directive.

Can I CE-mark non-Annex-IV machinery myself?+

Yes — Directive 2006/42/EC (and (EU) 2023/1230 from 20 January 2027) lets you self-declare conformity for machinery outside Annex IV. Annex-IV products (saw benches, presses, lifts, etc.) require a notified body and Regonance flags them as out of scope.

What changes on 20 January 2027?+

The Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 fully replaces the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Technical files written today need an update path — digital instructions become acceptable, the safety component list is broader, and high-risk Annex-I products move into stricter assessment.

Why is Amazon EU asking for the DoC right now?+

Since August 2025 Seller Central runs automated DoC and technical-file requests on CE-covered ASINs. The pattern is consistent: 14-day SLA, template review on the response, delisting if it fails. We're seeing it most on toys, electronics with Bluetooth, and PPE Cat. I.

Does CE marking cover RoHS, REACH or WEEE?+

No. CE attests conformity with product-safety directives; RoHS, REACH/SVHC and WEEE are separate regimes with their own evidence trails. Regonance covers REACH/SVHC on Pro and Agency and surfaces WEEE EPR registration in the EPR module.

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AI-assisted informational guidance. Not legal advice. Consult qualified counsel for your specific situation.