Great insight from Samantha Taylor as always
I’m firmly of the opinion that small, independent businesses hold leverage to make, any industry, more circular. There is no doubt that big business, with their focus on shareholder returns at the expense of the planet, hinder the rate at which we adopt to the circular economy. Which is why I was shocked to see small businesses from the U.K. on Tik Tok this weekend inform their EU and Nothern Ireland customers that this is their last chance to order before the GSPR comes into force in 11 days. The GSPR is the General Safety Product Refulation. And you may not know much about it, especially if you’re in apparel, homewares, toys etc, because the regulations haven’t really changed. And they’re largely the same as the U.K. Even the traceability aspect is weak compared to what we’re expecting with ESPR (Eco Design for Sustainable Product Regulation). The major change is being able to track your product across its life span in case of safety recalls. And you need an EU representative. Which of course is not free. The average is around £300 per year. That may not seem like a lot, but it’s a problem for craft people. The good news is that the EU has set up a free portal for advice on this. With the guarentee they’ll answer you within 15 days. Which I found by Googling free product contact point EU. If you can’t find it, please DM me. The other administrative burden is the cost of proof as well as employing some on to to create a risk strategy. One artist who sells watercolours will no longer be selling to the EU, despite buying all her materials in the U.K., which should then adhere to safety laws. This regulation is a reaction to SHEIN and Temu who have been able to flout these laws to deadly outcome. In terms of goals it’s a regulation to support. But the implementation is really ass over face. #Regulation #RiskStrategy #SustainableFashion