Unveiling the New EU Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)

What Alterations Await the European Fashion Supply Chain with the New EU Product Safety Regulation (GPSR)?

This is the opening article of a series that focuses on the regulations and directives within the European strategy for sustainable and circular textiles. It is precisely these regulations and directives that are fundamentally reshaping the regulatory landscape of the fashion supply chain.

As of 13 December 2024, the new European General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR - Regulation 2023/988), approved in May 2023 (here is the application guide for the regulation published by Italian MIMIT) is in force, replacing the older 2001 directive (2001/95/EC). Its purpose is the ‘protection of consumers and their safety’.

The scope of the regulation

This regulation encompasses all consumer products that enter the European market, including brand - new products, second - hand products, repaired products, and refurbished products. Regardless of the means, even if a product is only made available to European consumers online, it will be brought under the jurisdiction of this regulation. Undoubtedly, this increases the responsibilities of e - commerce operators. When it comes to fashion products, their fire hazards, toxicological hazards, and mechanical hazards are all subject to scrutiny.

In this regard, the regulation is not a direct component of the European strategy for sustainability and circularity and does not discuss environmental impacts. It mainly focuses on the health risks triggered when products are directly used by consumers. However, toxicological risks mostly stem from hazardous chemicals, which are also the concerns of sustainability policies. These mainly include carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and allergens, which may cause damage to the nervous system, liver, kidneys, pituitary gland, nasopharynx, and reproductive system.

The fire risk mainly concerns light fabrics and decorations such as sequins.

Finally, mechanical risks are also considered for the children's clothing category, e.g. the presence of small detachable parts that can be swallowed. However, items that could be used by children, even if not designed for them, are also included.

What Changes for Companies?

The main requirements are:

The general safety requirement: products that do not comply with the regulation may no longer be placed on the market.

Due diligence and testing: all manufacturers are required to draw up technical documentation demonstrating the safety of products, based on a risk analysis carried out in-house by the manufacturer.

A Single Point of Contact within the company needs to be designated to take on the responsibility for product safety. This contact point is required to monitor the product safety situation and serve as a communication bridge between the authorities and consumers when problems arise or complaints are received. Information about this responsible person must be marked on the product label. Companies are also obliged to keep records of the complaints they receive. These requirements equally apply to all non - EU operators conducting sales in the EU market.

Registration with Safety Business Gateway (SBG): in the event of a product withdrawal from the market due to safety issues, companies must immediately notify authorities and consumers via a new dedicated portal that replaces the old EU RAPEX alert system.

Provide clear information on the safety and safe use of products and packaging.

Controls and Sanctions  

Based on the existing control systems, the supervisory authorities including Customs, CCIAA and AGCM will conduct inspections on all imported products to check their compliance with the regulation. Companies failing to comply may face product recalls and sanctions. These sanctions are currently being defined at the national level, and as stipulated by the regulation, they must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive”.

Finally, it is worth noting that although the regulation has come into effect, the “delegated acts,” namely the regulatory annexes that specify the requirements for each industry, are yet to be available.

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