title: “Europe’s Footwear Industry Demands E-Commerce Platforms Take Product Responsibility” seo_description: “Europe’s footwear industry, with 87 groups, urges the EU Product Act to make e-commerce platforms accountable for unsafe imported goods.” seo_tags: [“European footwear”, “CEC”, “e-commerce accountability”, “EU Product Act”, “footwear regulation”, “product compliance”] seo_slug: “european-footwear-ecommerce-accountability”

Europe’s Footwear Industry Demands E-Commerce Platforms Take Product Responsibility

Europe’s footwear industry has issued a blunt demand: make online marketplaces accountable for the safety and legality of what they sell. The European Confederation of the Footwear Industry (CEC), joined by 87 other organisations — industry bodies, consumer associations and environmental NGOs across the EU — has called for stronger product-compliance rules and greater e-commerce accountability.

The coalition warns that the explosive growth of online commerce has driven an unprecedented rise in direct imports from third countries, a significant share of which fail EU standards for health, safety and environmental protection. With shipment volumes soaring, customs authorities and market-surveillance agencies lack the resources to inspect packages effectively, weakening enforcement of community law.

The core problem, they argue, is a responsibility gap. Many products are sold without an economic operator established in the EU who can vouch for compliance or assume obligations under extended producer-responsibility schemes. Today, online marketplaces, social media and live-stream selling platforms are treated as mere intermediaries — and cannot be held liable when no identifiable EU operator exists.

To fix this, the signatories want the forthcoming European Product Act to require that every product sold in the EU, regardless of channel or origin, has a clearly identified economic operator based in the EU or European Economic Area. They propose that digital platforms facilitating sales by non-EU sellers verify, before listing, that a responsible operator exists. And crucially, they argue platforms themselves should be deemed the responsible economic operator when no other EU/EEA operator can be identified.

The stakes are high for footwear. Cheap, non-compliant imports undercut responsible EU manufacturers on price while dodging rules on chemicals, labelling and recycling. Closing the accountability gap would protect consumers, level the playing field for legitimate producers, and enforce European standards regardless of where a product ships from.

For the leather and footwear supply chain, the campaign is a reminder that the competitive battle is shifting from factories to fulfilment — and that regulation of the digital shelf may matter as much as regulation of the tannery.

Source: Revista del Calzado (revistadelcalzado.com)