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 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 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 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.

6 MIN READ · UPDATED 7 JUNE 2026

Direct answer

The Right to Repair Directive (EU 2024/1799, published 13 June 2024) makes repair the default for a defined list of consumer products. Manufacturers must:

Repair on request during and after the legal guarantee period for regulated categories
Provide spare parts, tools and repair information at a non-discriminatory price to consumers and independent repairers — including software for diagnostic and re-pairing operations
Issue a European Repair Information Form (Annex I, standardised across the EU 27) on request, with an indicative price, an estimated time, and the availability of a loan device
Extend the legal guarantee by 12 months on any product they repair (not just replace), under the amended Sale of Goods Directive (EU) 2019/771

Member states must transpose and apply the directive by 31 July 2026.

Who this affects right now

The initial scope draws from ecodesign category rules already in force:

Household washing machines and washer-dryers
Household dishwashers
Refrigerating appliances
Vacuum cleaners
Electronic displays
Welding equipment
Servers and data-storage products
Smartphones and tablets (from the new ecodesign smartphone regulation)
Anything ESPR adds via the work plan — textiles and several electronics categories are in the next wave

If you sell into the EU in any of these categories — directly, via Amazon EU, or through retail — the directive attaches to every unit placed on the market after the transposition date.

The European Repair Information Form (Annex I)

This is the single most ecommerce-visible deliverable. The form is standardised across the EU 27 and must include:

Product identification (model, type, serial where applicable)
The defect description as supplied by the consumer
The proposed repair operation
An indicative price (or maximum price) in EUR
An estimated completion time
Availability and conditions of a loan device
The validity period of the offer (minimum 30 days)
The repairer's identity and contact details

Issued on request, in writing, before any repair work begins. The consumer can compare offers — including from independent repairers — and is not locked to the manufacturer.

What changes for online sellers

A Repair Form workflow has to exist before the EU 27 transposition cut-off (31 July 2026)
Spare-parts pricing has to be non-discriminatory — same price to a consumer or an independent repairer as to your own service network
The 12-month warranty extension on repair has to be reflected in your terms and returns flow — repair, then guarantee resets +12 months
Marketplaces (Amazon EU especially) are expected to surface repair availability as an attribute by 2027 — same enforcement pattern as GPSR Article 19 and the EPR registration number

What Regonance does on Right to Repair

Detects whether your product sits in a regulated category
Generates the European Repair Information Form (Annex I, EU-standard layout) per product, with indicative price and SLA captured from your data
Tracks the 12-month warranty extension on repaired units and flags listings that still advertise the original guarantee window only
Flags spare-parts gaps — missing public price list, missing diagnostic software access, missing repair instructions

Frequently asked questions

When does Right to Repair start being enforced?+

Member states must transpose and apply the directive by 31 July 2026. National implementation laws are already moving in DE, FR, NL and BE — expect early enforcement to begin in those four markets on day one.

Does it cover all consumer products?+

No. Scope follows ecodesign categories — washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, vacuum cleaners, electronic displays, welding equipment, servers, smartphones and tablets are in scope today. ESPR will add categories (textiles, more electronics) through 2027–2030.

Do I have to repair indefinitely?+

You have to repair for the duration set by the relevant ecodesign regulation for that category — typically 7 to 10 years for spare-parts availability after the last unit is placed on the market. Smartphones and tablets sit at 7 years for parts.

What is the 12-month warranty extension?+

Where a defect is fixed by repair rather than replacement during the legal guarantee, the guarantee on that unit is extended by 12 months from the repair date. This amends Directive (EU) 2019/771 (Sale of Goods).

Do I have to offer the same spare-parts price to consumers and to independent repairers?+

Yes. Article 5 requires non-discriminatory pricing. You can charge a margin, but you cannot price independents out of the market. Diagnostic software and re-pairing tools fall under the same rule.

Where does the European Repair Information Form sit in the workflow?+

Before any repair work starts. The consumer or independent repairer requests it, you issue it in the standardised Annex I format with indicative price, estimated time and loan-device availability, and it is valid for a minimum of 30 days. Regonance generates this form per product.

Run a free compliance readiness scan

Upload product files or a listing URL and see exactly which fields are missing.

Start free scan

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