Introduction

The General Product Safety Regulation came into force in December 2024.

The regulation is designed to protect the health and safety of consumers when they come into contact with products, including textiles.

Beirholm is of the interpretation that the regulation applies to its textiles although these are mainly sold to our laundry partners (B2B) who lease them (service) to hotels, restaurants, hospitals, care homes etc.

The reasoning for our interpretation is to be found in the official text of the regulation:

Page 2: Products which are designed exclusively for professional use, but which have subsequently migrated to the consumer market, should be subject to this Regulation because they could pose risks to the health and safety of consumers when used under reasonably foreseeable conditions.

Page 4: Services should not be covered by this Regulation. However, in order to protect the health and safety of consumers, products that are supplied or made available to consumers in the context of the provision of services, including products to which consumers are directly exposed during the provision of a service, should fall within the scope of this Regulation.

Page 19: For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions apply: (1) ‘product’ means any item, whether or not it is interconnected to other items, supplied or made available, whether for consideration or not, including in the context of providing a service, which is intended for consumers or is likely, under reasonably foreseeable conditions, to be used by consumers even if not intended for them;

Legal Requirements

The EU General Product Safety Regulation sets out requirements for different roles (manufacturer, importer, distributor etc.).

Beirholm provides two collections of textiles: Beirholm's own collection (BVK) and its customer specific collection.

Beirholm's own collection of textiles is branded with the Beirholm logo. Therefore, Beirholm assumes the role of manufacturer and must ensure the following:

• that our textiles are safe to use for relevant customers and end-customers and their foreseeable use
• perform an internal risk assessment of each product category and mitigate identified risks
• ensure product traceability (in case of product recall)
• establish a complaint handling process and product recall process

Moreover, Beirholm must ensure that products are labelled with the following information:

• Company name and contact information
• Product identification

...to enable customers and end-customers to contact Beirholm in case of product safety risks and identify also identify the products at risk.

Beirholm has performed internal risk assessments of all product categories and ensured that they are safe to use. We have also established a complaint and recall handling process. Finally, we have decided to implement the new Beirholm Smart Label in our entire collection of textiles. The Smart Label complies with upcoming Digital Product Passport regulation and General Product Safety Regulation.

For more information on our Smart Label and how it complies with EU regulation, contact us here.

Product risk assessments

You can access the Product Risk Assessment for each product on the product's detail page (behind log-in).

​Complaint Handling and Product Recall process

If you suspect or experience any risks related to the use of our textiles you can contact us here.

If your inquiry concerns Product Safety, select this topic in the contact form. All inquiries are registered and processed via our email system.

Product Recall Process

If risks or accidents related to product use are identified, we initiate the following steps:

1. Customer Identification: Customers who purchased the product within the relevant period are identified via our ERP or eCommerce system.
2. Recall Notification: Customers are contacted by email using the EU standard recall form (found here: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/13989-Product-safety-recall-notices-template-_en)
3. We initiate reporting to Safety Business Gateway and the relevant safety authorities in the incident-relevant countries: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/safety-business-gateway/screen/home

All this is handled by Beirholm when our laundry partners purchase textiles from our collection of textiles. If laundry partners insist on having textiles branded with their name or logo, the manufacturer's responsibility shifts to them. They then have to perform the activities described above to ensure that the product's and the company's processes comply with the Product Safety Regulation. Of course, we are ready to assist with advice and risk assessments. Just reach out to us here for guidance.

You can trust that Beirholm's textiles are safe to use and a good investment for your laundry operations. Choosing the Beirholm Collection of Textiles makes it easy for you to comply since Beirholm has got it all covered.