GPSR
GPSR is the EU General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988, requiring consumer products to be safe, traceable, and have an EU responsible person.
What is GPSR?
GPSR (General Product Safety Regulation) is the EU’s general product safety regulation, formally Regulation (EU) 2023/988. It became applicable on 13 December 2024 and replaced the earlier General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC. It covers virtually all non-food consumer products on the EU market and requires that products are safe, traceable, and backed by a responsible economic operator established in the EU.
Why does GPSR matter?
If you sell to consumers in the EU, every product needs a responsible person in the EU — the manufacturer, importer, or an authorised representative. Without one, the product cannot be sold. For online stores, Article 19 is the key clause: in distance sales the product listing must show the manufacturer’s name and contact details, an unambiguous product identifier, and any relevant safety warnings. If you fail to comply, market surveillance authorities can order the listing removed. This is a different regime from the environmental duties under producer responsibility and EPR, but it hits the same operators.
Common use cases
- Dropshipping and importing from third countries. You must ensure an EU responsible person exists before listing the product.
- Product pages in your store. Manufacturer details, batch/model numbers, and safety warnings must appear in the listing itself.
- Selling via marketplaces. Amazon, eBay, and others require GPSR data and will delist products with no responsible person.
- Private-label goods. Selling under your own brand makes you the manufacturer in the eyes of the law, with full liability.
Shopify perspective
Shopify has no built-in GPSR feature, so you handle it in the theme and product data. Store manufacturer details, safety warnings, and product identifiers in metafields, and surface them on the product page via theme.liquid or sections so they always travel with the listing. Keep technical documentation and risk assessments on file so you can produce them if an authority asks. Remember that GPSR is about product safety — your GDPR duties for customer data are a separate task.