If you ship physical products to buyers in the European Union, three separate sets of rules now apply to you, and they are genuinely separate. They come from different regulations, they are enforced by different bodies, and complying with one does nothing for the other two. Most of the confusion among sellers comes from treating them as one big blob called EU compliance.
The important part first: all three apply based on where your buyer is, not where you are. A shop in the US, the UK or anywhere else that sells one item to a customer in Germany is inside these rules.
What just changed: the packaging regulation
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation entered application on 12 August 2026. Most of its heavy obligations arrive later, but two things start now: restrictions on PFAS above strict limits in food-contact packaging, and harmonised definitions and markings so packaging producers can be identified and contacted.
- From 2028: a harmonised labelling system to make waste sorting consistent across member states.
- From 2030: the bulk of it, including limits on empty space in packaging, reuse targets, minimum recycled content in plastic packaging, and a requirement that packaging be recyclable.
For a small seller posting parcels, the near-term impact is modest and the direction of travel is not. Oversized boxes with a lot of void fill, and packaging you cannot identify the origin of, are both on the wrong side of where this is heading.
GPSR, in force since December 2024
The General Product Safety Regulation applies to consumer products sold into the EU, including handmade and vintage items. It is the one with the most immediate teeth for Etsy sellers, because Etsy enforces it directly through the Legal and Compliance section of Shop Manager and removes listings that do not comply.
- An EU Responsible Person: sellers based outside the EU need a legal entity inside the EU who can be contacted by market surveillance authorities and can produce safety documentation on request. This is where most non-EU sellers get stuck. Third-party services exist for this and are not free.
- Labelling: your name and contact details, or the Responsible Person's, plus a unique product identifier such as a model or batch number, any relevant safety warnings, and country of origin.
- Technical documentation: notes on materials, how the item is made, known risks and how you mitigate them. You do not submit this anywhere, you keep it and produce it if asked.
Digital products are generally outside this, since they are not physical goods. If you sell only printables and downloads to EU buyers, GPSR is largely not your problem. The moment you post a physical object, it is.
EPR, the one people forget entirely
Extended Producer Responsibility makes you responsible for the waste your products and packaging eventually become. It covers packaging, electricals, batteries, and textiles are being phased in. The critical detail that catches small sellers: this is national, not EU-wide. Each member state runs its own register with its own fees and reporting.
- There is no EU-wide minimum threshold. The working assumption should be that if you place an in-scope product on a national market, you register, often before the first unit ships.
- Germany requires registration in the LUCID packaging register before placing packaged goods on the market.
- France issues a unique identification number and runs schemes across several product categories.
- Non-EU sellers usually need an authorised representative in each member state.
- Marketplaces are increasingly required to check that sellers are registered, and are delisting those who cannot provide a number.
What to actually do about it
- Work out honestly whether you ship physical goods to EU buyers. If you do not, most of this does not apply and you can stop here.
- Open Shop Manager, go to Legal and Compliance, and see what Etsy is already asking you for. That tells you where you stand on GPSR today.
- If you sell physical products into the EU from outside it, price the cost of a Responsible Person into your margins rather than treating it as a surprise.
- Identify the specific countries you actually sell to. EPR is per country, so the answer for one member state tells you nothing about another.
- Look at your packaging with 2030 in mind. Smaller boxes, less void fill, materials you can identify and document.
One honest caveat: this is a summary written to help you know what to ask about, not legal advice. The rules are national in places, they are still being clarified, and the cost of getting them wrong ranges from delisted products to fines. If a meaningful share of your revenue comes from EU buyers, this is worth a conversation with someone qualified in the specific countries you sell into.
If you are selling from Bulgaria, there is a separate reporting obligation to NAP that we built a free tool for, since the Etsy statement does not come in the format the tax authority expects.
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