Labeling obligation according to Product Safety Act (ProdSG) § 6:

Due to the labeling obligation valid in Germany, it is mandatory that all products are provided with a complete address.

In order to comply with the product safety law, products are marked with the contact and address data of HIKITEC GmbH as standard, unless the customer provides other information in this regard. A deviation can only be carried out against calculation of the cost price.

Product Safety Act

Manufacturer, importer or distributor? And how is the labeling to be done?

In the following, we first present the new law and summarize the key points that must be observed in an understandable way. You will also learn how to implement the guidelines.

1. the new product safety law

On 01.12.2011 the new Product Safety Act (ProdSG) came into force. This contains various innovations to the old so-called Equipment and Product Safety Act.

These are in particular that in § 2 No. 2 ProdSG not only the display of goods, but also the demonstration and offering of products for the purpose of advertising or making them available on the market are covered by the protection of the law.

As a result, online trade in particular will also be covered by the ProdSG in the future. Accordingly, online platforms should henceforth also deal with the ProdSG. This applies in particular to suppliers of consumer products.

A new provision in this context is § 6 para. 1 No. 3 ProdSG, which in future requires that clear markings be affixed to consumer products to identify them. According to the literature on the new law, economic operators are advised to implement a clear system of identification and traceability of consumer products.

It is further advised to consider labeling even for non-consumer products, since in the event of a recall, only clear labeling can accurately identify which products need to be recalled. Otherwise, entire product groups may have to be recalled.

In the case of labeling, care must be taken to ensure that this is done in such a way that, above all, end customers also understand the labels – without any further intermediate steps. Symbols or graphic codes, especially barcodes or so-called QR codes, should therefore be avoided. A consecutive and thus individual production number on each product, on the other hand, seems appropriate. In addition to the marking identifying the consumer product, the name and contact address of the manufacturer or, if the manufacturer is not located in the European Economic Area, the name and contact address of the authorized representative or the importer must also be affixed.

I.e. the name and contact address of the manufacturer must be indicated on the consumer product if it is located in the European Economic Area. Otherwise, the name and contact address of the manufacturer’s authorized representative (registered office in the European Economic Area required). As an importer or, according to the wording of the law, as an importer, you must provide your name and contact address if you are importing goods from outside the European Economic Area and the manufacturer does not have at least one authorized representative in the European Economic Area whose address is printed on the product.

2. summary:

As a distributor of promotional products, you are required by § 6 ProdSG to affix markings on the consumer products to identify the consumer product and your name and contact address if the manufacturer is based outside the EU and has also not affixed a contact address of an authorized representative within the EU on the product.

Otherwise, the fact is that you should urge European manufacturers to put the name and contact address and the marking to identify the consumer product.

The marking of the consumer product should be done, for example, by a consecutive and thus individual production number (serial number), but not by incomprehensible graphic codes or other markings.

In exceptional cases, the labeling requirement may be waived if it would involve a disproportionate effort. However, there is no case law on this yet. However, in our opinion, this can only refer to cases where the attachment of the identification number etc. is basically not possible due to the nature of the product (e.g. particularly small).

In case of violation, there are fine and penalty provisions. Here there is a risk of a fine of up to € 100,000.00. Furthermore, there is another provision on fines that makes it possible to additionally levy a profit skimming.

The rest is that according to the same principles above, you or the manufacturer are obliged to place notices on the consumable product, if without the notices the use of the product is fraught with risks.

3. which products are affected by this?

This question can be answered quite briefly: ALL, provided that the advertising space and the proportionality of the cost of application. If you are not sure about the model you favor, our service team will be happy to assist you. We will be happy to advise you.

4. what is the best way to implement the new specifications?

Since many print motifs do not have the necessary information, it is still necessary to include it. However, this can also be done in a small and discreet way. We have worked out some implementation options for you using the example of a bag and hope that these can be helpful in the decision-making process.

In order to comply with the Product Safety Act (ProdSG §6), products are marked with the contact and address data of HIKITEC GmbH as standard, unless the customer provides other information in this regard.

If necessary, a deviation can only be carried out by charging the cost price.