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.

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 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.

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.

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.

8 MIN READ · UPDATED 7 JUNE 2026

Shopify is not a marketplace. That single fact reshapes every GPSR conversation about a Shopify store. Under GPSR Article 22, marketplaces (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, TikTok Shop, Cdiscount) have a verification duty over the third-party listings they host. Under Shopify, you are the legal seller, the operator of the storefront, and the party on whom Article 19 lands. The platform helps you run the shop; it does not run your compliance.

This guide is the practical, store-level version of our GPSR overview for the Shopify-specific case: what changes for an EU-shipping Shopify store in 2026, where the Article 19 block actually lives, how to handle Shopify Markets, and what the realistic per-SKU audit looks like.

What GPSR changes for a Shopify store

Three duties land on the merchant directly:

1. Article 19 — the listing block. Every product page sold into the EU 27 must show, before purchase: the manufacturer's name and contact details, the EU Responsible Person's name and contact details (if the manufacturer is non-EU), warnings and safety information in the language(s) required by the destination Member State, and sufficient product identification (model, type) for the consumer to match listing to product.

2. Article 9 — marking on the product. The same identification must appear on the product itself, or on its packaging, or on a document accompanying the product. This is a manufacturing / fulfilment change, not just a listing change.

3. Article 16 — the EU Responsible Person. If you are a non-EU brand (UK, US, anywhere outside the EU 27), you must designate an EU-established Responsible Person and put their details on every listing and product.

A Shopify Markets configuration that opens up EU checkout without these three in place is the modal compliance gap on the platform in 2026.

Where the Article 19 block lives in Shopify

Shopify's Online Store 2.0 themes do not have a built-in "GPSR compliance" section — every store solves it the same way:

Define a set of product metafields for the GPSR fields: manufacturer name, manufacturer address, manufacturer email, EU RP name, EU RP address, EU RP email, warnings, model identifier, applicable safety pictograms.
Add a section to the product template that renders those metafields below the product description (or in a dedicated "Compliance" tab that is visible by default, not collapsed). The block must be visible to the consumer before purchase — not buried behind a click.
Optionally render per-language and per-region versions using Shopify Markets translations, so the block appears in the Member State's required language.

The block typically reads:

Manufacturer: {brand} — {manufacturer address} — {manufacturer email} EU Responsible Person: {EU RP entity} — {EU RP address} — {EU RP email} Model: {SKU / model identifier} Warnings: {pictograms + warning text}

If you have many product types, the warning content varies per category — children's products, toys, electronics, cosmetics, clothing, accessories all carry different warnings under their applicable regimes. The metafield approach lets you keep one template and populate per-SKU.

Shopify Markets and per-region content

Shopify Markets lets you target different regions with different currencies, languages, and content. For GPSR, use it to:

Serve the EU 27 with the EU RP block — and the UK with the UK Responsible Person block.
Restrict markets where you do not yet have the EU RP designated or the EPR registrations in place (Germany, France, Italy at minimum if you are at any meaningful volume).
Translate the Article 19 block into the languages required by each Member State.

Do not enable EU checkout on a brand-new market without the EU RP designated, the Article 19 block live on every SKU sold into that market, and the EPR registrations active for the categories you sell.

EPR — the catalogue-level constraint Shopify will not catch

EPR is the per-country register/report/pay regime for packaging, WEEE, batteries, and (phasing in) textiles. Shopify does not check or enforce EPR registration. The merchant is responsible.

For most Shopify stores shipping into the EU at any volume:

Germany (LUCID / Stiftung Zentrale Stelle) — packaging registration required from the first parcel; LUCID number must be held and reported on.
France — separate Unique Identifier (UI) per stream (packaging, electronics, textiles, etc.), with PRO appointment mandatory.
Italy (CONAI + per-stream) — packaging registration via CONAI plus stream-specific additions.

A Shopify store at 1,000+ EU orders per month with no EPR registrations is one consumer-protection complaint away from a fine and a forced delisting under court order.

The per-SKU audit for a Shopify catalogue

Run this audit on every SKU sold into the EU 27:

Article 19 block present on the product page — visible before purchase, not behind a tab.
Manufacturer details correct — name, registered address, electronic contact.
EU RP details present (if non-EU manufacturer) — name, EU-established address, electronic contact.
Warnings appropriate to the product category — children's products and electronics carry the most specific obligations.
Model identifier present — so the consumer can match listing to product.
Language correct for destination Member State — at minimum the language(s) of the country where the buyer is.
Pictograms rendered — CE mark and category-specific safety pictograms as required.

For a store with hundreds of SKUs, automate this audit. Reading 500 product pages manually is not a sustainable compliance posture.

EmpCo, PPWR and DPP — what is coming for Shopify stores

GPSR is the headline 2024–2026 obligation, but three more regimes are landing:

EmpCo (Empowering Consumers Directive 2024/825) — enforcement from 27 September 2026. Audits the green claims on your product pages, your hero copy, your collection pages. Removes or substantiates "eco-friendly," offset-based "carbon neutral," and unrecognised sustainability labels. (See our EmpCo article.)
PPWR (Packaging Regulation 2025/40) — main application 12 August 2026. Captures packaging data per SKU and per parcel. (See our PPWR article.)
DPP (Digital Product Passport, under ESPR) — batteries 18 February 2027, textiles next. Per-SKU data carrier (QR or data-matrix) bound to a persistent unique identifier. (See our DPP article.)

The good news for Shopify stores: the data you capture for GPSR is the data you need for the other three. Bill of materials, supplier per component, manufacturer + EU RP, warnings, certifications — captured once, rendered four ways.

How Regonance helps

Regonance gives a Shopify store a structured per-SKU dataset that renders directly into the Article 19 block on every product page, populates the GPSR technical file ready for an authority request, surfaces the EU Responsible Person details consistently, audits your store-wide green claims against the EmpCo banned categories, and produces per-country EPR reporting packs and per-SKU DPP passports from the same source. The Shopify app (on the public Shopify App Store roadmap) lets the metafield population happen without leaving the admin. Available on Growth, Pro and Agency plans.

Glossary

Article 19. GPSR provision requiring manufacturer, EU RP, warnings, and sufficient product identification on the online listing before purchase.

Article 22. GPSR provision requiring online marketplaces — not Shopify storefronts — to verify and act on Article 19 compliance.

Shopify Markets. Shopify's multi-region selling feature for currencies, languages, tax, and per-market content.

Metafield. Shopify's structured custom-field mechanism used to capture GPSR data per product.

LUCID. The German packaging EPR register operated by Stiftung Zentrale Stelle.

Educational information, not legal advice. Shopify's product capabilities change frequently — validate the metafield and Markets configuration with a qualified advisor before relying on it for regulatory compliance.

Frequently asked questions

Does Shopify count as an online marketplace under GPSR Article 22?+

No. Shopify is an ecommerce platform that hosts your storefront — the legal seller in the GPSR sense is you, the merchant. Article 22 covers online marketplaces (Amazon, Etsy, eBay, TikTok Shop, Cdiscount, etc.) where multiple third-party sellers list under one consumer-facing brand. On Shopify, you are both the legal seller and the operator of the storefront, so the Article 19 listing-block duty sits entirely with you.

Does Shopify Markets handle GPSR compliance for me?+

No. Shopify Markets handles the commercial side of selling into multiple regions — currency, language, tax, shipping. It does not file your Article 19 block, designate your EU Responsible Person, register your EPR, or audit your green claims. A Shopify Markets configuration that simply enables EU checkout without the GPSR/EU RP/EPR work in place is the most common compliance gap on the platform in 2026.

Where does the Article 19 information actually go on a Shopify product page?+

There is no single 'compliance' field in Shopify Online Store 2.0 themes — the block typically lives in a metafield-driven section on the product page below the description, surfacing the manufacturer, the EU Responsible Person, warnings, model identifier, and any pictograms. The block must be visible to the consumer before purchase (i.e. above the fold of the product information, not buried behind a tab).

Do I need a different listing block for the EU 27 versus the UK?+

Yes. The EU 27 uses GPSR (Regulation 2023/988) — manufacturer + EU Responsible Person + warnings. The UK uses the older General Product Safety Regulations 2005 and is moving to the Product Regulation and Metrology Act framework — manufacturer + UK Responsible Person + warnings. The two RPs are typically different entities. Shopify Markets allows you to serve different metafield content per region; use it.

If my brand is EU-established, do I still need the EU Responsible Person block?+

If you are the EU-established manufacturer of the product, you are the named EU economic operator and you do not also need an EU RP — your own details satisfy Article 9 and Article 19. If you are an EU-established importer for a non-EU brand, you are the named EU economic operator. The EU RP requirement attaches when there is no EU manufacturer and no EU importer.

What happens to a Shopify store that ignores GPSR?+

Shopify itself will not delist you for GPSR alone the way Amazon will — but consumer protection authorities, the EU Safety Gate alert system, and direct customer complaints can result in fines, forced removal of listings under court order, and (for repeat or serious cases) Safety Gate notifications that travel across all 27 Member States simultaneously. The Representative Actions Directive also exposes Shopify sellers to class-action claims for non-compliant listings, particularly around EmpCo green claims.

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