The General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) lays down essential rules on the safety of consumer products placed or made available on the market. Its objective is to improve the functioning of the internal market while providing for a high level of consumer protection.
The GPSR is already in force and will directly apply in all Member States as of 13 December 2024.
Not all the provisions of the GPSR apply to cosmetic products. Indeed, as cosmetic products are regulated under the Cosmetic Products Regulation 1223/2009 which imposes specific safety requirements, the GPSR applies only to those aspects and risks or categories of risks which are not covered by those requirements. In that respect, Article 19 of the GPSR, related to information to be provided in the case of online / distance sales, applies to cosmetic products and is complementary to the requirements of the Cosmetic Products Regulation and in particular of its Article 19 which establishes the on-pack labelling rules for cosmetics.
WHICH REGULATIONS APPLY TO COSMETIC PRODUCTS SOLD ONLINE?
In this case, both Cosmetic Products Regulation (CPR) and General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) apply.
- CPR: Economic operators selling cosmetic products online or through other means of distance sales, whether established within or outside the EU, and directly targeting EU consumers must follow all the relevant legal requirements of the CPR. the Cosmetic Product Regulation establishes clear rules to be compliant with by any cosmetic product made available on the market.
- GPSR: In addition to the requirements imposed by the CPR, economic operators willing to make cosmetic products available on the EU market via online / distance sales, have to comply with the obligations set out in Article 19 of the GPSR.
WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE INDACATED ACCORDING TO ARTICLE 19 OF GPSR?
Article 19 of the GPSR identifies four types of information, to be clearly and visibly indicated at online / distance points of sales.
a) Name, registered trade name or registered trademark of the manufacturer, as well as the postal and electronic address at which they can be contacted:
Manufacturer: for cosmetic products, the manufacturer is understood as the “responsible person”. According to the CPR, Article 4.3, “for a cosmetic product manufactured within the Community, and not subsequently exported and imported back into the Community, the manufacturer established within the Community shall be the responsible person”.
Postal address: according to the CPR, Art. 19.1.a, the postal address can be abbreviated in so far as it makes it possible to identify the ‘responsible person’ and their address. For consistency towards the consumer, as well as consistency of RP data, the abbreviation option allowed by the CPR should also apply to the information required under the GPSR, Art. 19.1(a).
Electronic address: this is understood as either an email address or a website address.
b) Where the manufacturer is not established in the Union, the name, postal and electronic address of the responsible person within the meaning of Article 16(1) of this Regulation or Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020:
Responsible person: the CPR requires that for imported cosmetic products, each importer shall be the ‘responsible person’ for the specific products that he/she places on the market.
Postal and electronic address: this is understood as either an email address or a website address.
c) Information allowing the identification of the product, including a picture of it, its type and any other product identifier:
Picture: a legible picture that identifies the product; for product ranges (e.g. a lipstick in several colours/shades) one picture should be sufficient if the various colours/shades are mentioned in the proximity of the picture, i.e. on the same webpage; similarly, in case of a product sold in different sizes, one picture should be sufficient if the various sizes are mentioned in the proximity of the picture, i.e. on the same webpage.
Type: this corresponds to the function of the cosmetic product, as required by the CPR (unless it is clear from its presentation). This information is not required if it is legible in the description or picture of the product sold.
Any other product identifier: other product identifiers that may be provided by companies (where relevant) are the product name including the trademark/brand, the product line/range and the specific name of the product as they appear on the product. This information is not required if it is legible in the picture of the product sold.
d) Any warning or safety information to be affixed to the product or to the packaging or included in an accompanying document in accordance with this Regulation or the applicable Union harmonisation legislation in a language which can be easily understood by consumers, as determined by the Member State in which the product is made available on the market:
Any warning or safety information: the CPR, Article 19.1(d), requires the labelling of “particular precautions to be observed in use”; where required by the CPR, these are listed in its Annexes III to VI; in addition to these, other precautionary statements and warnings recommended by the product’s safety assessor, as per Annex I, Part B.2 of the CPR, may be printed on the label under the responsibility of the responsible person. The information elements mentioned above correspond to the information required under the GPSR, Article 19.1(d). This information is not required if it is legible in the picture of the product sold.