GPSR 2024: How the New EU Product Safety Regulation Affects Fragrance

The General Product Safety Regulation (EU) 2023/988 (GPSR) became applicable on December 13, 2024, replacing the 2001 General Product Safety Directive. As a regulation, it applies directly in all EU member states without national transposition. For businesses selling fragrance products, scented candles, reed diffusers, and essential oils to EU consumers, the GPSR introduces obligations affecting product design, documentation, online listings, and post-market surveillance.

Scope: Which Fragrance Products Are Covered?

The GPSR applies to all non-food consumer products placed on the EU market unless specific EU legislation provides equivalent safety provisions:

• Scented candles, reed diffusers, room sprays, wax melts - Covered by GPSR. These also fall under CLP for chemical labeling, but GPSR adds traceability, online marketplace, and recall obligations.
• Perfumes and scented cosmetics - Primarily governed by Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. GPSR applies only to risks not covered by cosmetics-specific provisions (Article 2(2)).
• Essential oils sold to consumers - Covered by GPSR. If sold as B2B raw materials, they fall under REACH/CLP but not GPSR.
• Products sold via online marketplaces - Explicitly within scope, including products shipped from outside the EU.

Obligations for Manufacturers (Article 5)

If you manufacture under your own brand or have products made under your name (private label), you are a “manufacturer” under GPSR Article 3(12):

1. Ensure products are safe under normal or reasonably foreseeable use (Article 5(1)).
2. Conduct and document an internal risk analysis. For candles, this includes burn testing, stability testing, and fragrance oil migration assessment.
3. Ensure traceability. Products must bear a type, batch, serial, or model number (Article 5(4)).
4. Affix your name, trade name, and postal address on the product or packaging (Article 5(5)). A website URL alone is insufficient.
5. Provide safety warnings in a language understood by consumers in the target member state (Article 5(6)).
6. Maintain technical documentation including risk analysis, test reports, and standards used.

Obligations for Importers (Article 7)

If you import from a non-EU country and place products on the EU market:

1. Verify the manufacturer has fulfilled their obligations (Article 7(2)) - check traceability markings, risk analysis, and safety warnings exist.
2. Affix your own name and EU address on the product or packaging (Article 7(3)).
3. Ensure technical documentation is available to authorities upon request (Article 7(7)).
4. Do not place products on the market if you believe they are unsafe (Article 7(5)).

Online Marketplace Requirements (Articles 19-22)

The GPSR introduces specific online sales obligations:

• Listings must display the manufacturer’s name and address, or the responsible person’s details if the manufacturer is outside the EU (Article 19(1)).
• Listings must include a clear product image and safety warnings (Article 19(2)).
• Marketplace operators must register in the EU Safety Gate portal.
• Online products must meet the same safety requirements as offline products.

For fragrance sellers on Amazon EU or Etsy, product listings must now include the EU-based responsible person’s contact details. Amazon has begun enforcing this and may suppress non-compliant listings.

Post-Market Surveillance and Recalls (Articles 35-37)

• Manufacturers and importers must investigate complaints and maintain a register of complaints, non-conforming products, and recalls (Article 5(9)).
• If a product is unsafe, take immediate corrective action and notify the national authority via Safety Gate (Article 35).
• Recall notices must effectively reach consumers (Article 36).
• Consumers are entitled to repair, replacement, or refund (Article 37).

Penalties

Penalty levels are set by member states but must be “effective, proportionate, and dissuasive” (Article 44). Authorities can order withdrawal, recall, or destruction at the operator’s expense.

Practical Impact on Fragrance Businesses

For contract manufacturers exporting to EU buyers: Every product must carry batch traceability markings, and you must provide importers with technical documentation for Article 7 compliance.

For EU importers and brand owners: Verify your non-EU supplier has conducted a risk analysis, products carry traceability markings, and you can produce documentation within 10 days of an authority request.

For online sellers: Update every listing with the responsible person’s EU address. Ensure images show safety warnings.

How Aromiso Supports GPSR Compliance

Aromiso provides EU customers with a GPSR documentation package for each product: internal risk analysis summaries, batch traceability records, test reports (burn tests for candles, stability tests for diffusers), and safety warning text in multiple EU languages. For private-label clients, we assist with label design to ensure traceability markings and responsible person details are correctly positioned.

Summary Checklist

• Confirm whether each SKU falls under GPSR, CLP, Cosmetics Regulation, or a combination
• Conduct and document an internal risk analysis for each product
• Ensure batch/lot traceability markings on every unit
• Appoint an EU-based responsible person if manufacturing outside the EU
• Update online listings with manufacturer/responsible person details
• Establish a complaint register and recall procedure
• Retain technical documentation for at least 10 years

The GPSR is the most significant update to EU consumer product safety law in over two decades. For fragrance businesses, the compliance burden is manageable if addressed systematically before your next shipment reaches an EU port.