GPSR (EU 2023/988)
Applies to all consumer products placed on the EU market since 13 December 2024. Each product must identify the manufacturer or an EU responsible person (name, address, email), carry a batch or type identification, and show warnings in the language of the country of sale. Online listings must show the same. For products imported from outside the EU, the importer becomes responsible — which is why many shops now prefer EU production.
EN71 and CE (toys)
Plush and anything a child under 14 could play with is a toy: EN71-1 (mechanical), EN71-2 (flammability) and EN71-3 (chemical migration) tests, CE marking, a declaration of conformity and, for small parts, a 0–3 warning. Magnets and pins are not toys but must carry small-part warnings under GPSR.
Food contact (EU 1935/2004, LFGB)
Mugs, glasses, plates and cups must be tested for food contact; decoration must stay outside the rim zone. LFGB is the German standard most suppliers test to; it satisfies the EU regulation.
REACH
Materials — plastics, enamel, plating, inks, textiles — must be within REACH limits for restricted substances (lead, cadmium, phthalates, azo dyes). A declaration per product type is what retailers and authorities ask for.
What to keep in the shop
- Supplier declarations and test reports per product type
- Batch references matching the labels
- Invoices showing the supplier's legal identity
Keep them for 10 years; an inspection will ask for them.
