As Internetrecht Rostock reports, there is a large number of staturory regulations that prescribe warning labels for certain products. An example is the Consumer Goods Ordinance (Bedarfsgegenständeverordnung, BedGgstV), which lists e.g., prohibited substances, prohibited processes or maximum quantities of certain chemical substances in certain products.
The BedGgstV governs e.g. the labelling of footwear products, in particular the material specification of upper material, lining and cover sole as well as outsole. In addition, the BedGgstV also contains information obligations or the commitment to provide warnings for certain products: “According to Section 9 of the Consumer Goods Ordinance (BdeGgstV), the articles listed in Annex 7 of the Ordinance may only be placed on the market if the warnings listed therein are indelible, clearly visible, easily legible and indicated in the German language,” the report continues.
For example, a missing warning notice for balloons may possibly be anti-competitive, as the warning notice “Zum Aufblasen eine Pumpe verwenden!” (“Use a pump to inflate!”) must be displayed on the packaging as well as on that of individual packages in the case of balloons. According to the law firm, it has received a written admonition in this regard.
The BedGgstV warning notice is an exclusively German regulation. Consequently, when selling balloons in Germany, special regulations must be observed that do not apply in other EU member states. trade-e-bility had already reported extensively on the problem of the different EU packaging labels in each country.
Labelling of packaging is only a single aspect
This topic by far does not only concern the labelling of packaging or products, but also compliant information in the online store and in the instructions for use, e.g., CLP labelling, ecodesign labelling, energy efficiency label, CE mark, WEEE labelling, manufacturer information, UN 38.3 Labelling of batteries or disposal labels (e.g., Triman, Mobius Loop, Tidyman, 97/129/EC, sorting indications). In this case, e.g., by means of an EU labelling inspection of your products, costly risks can be avoided. Investing in own auditing measures pays off, as the costs of non-compliance are usually many times higher.
Should you wish to register in Germany as a producer of WEEE, batteries, packaging, textiles or furniture, please do not hesitate to contact our Consulting Department via beratung@take-e-way.de or +49/40/750687-0.
For more in-depth advice on product labelling requirements, please contact us via beratung@trade-e-bility.de +49/40/75068730-0.
For more information on our international compliance services related to the placing on the market of electronic equipment, batteries/accumulators and packaged products or packaging, please click here: https://www.take-e-way.com/international-compliance/
