BRC Global Standard for Consumer Products

The BRC Consumer Products Standard has been developed by the British Retail Consortium, the lead trade association representing retailers. It sets out requirements for manufacturers or assembly packing companies to meet in order to produce safe and legal products of consistent quality. It covers the majority of non-food consumer and household goods including everything from toys to greeting cards, DIY items to white goods, textiles, furniture and non-prescription pharmaceuticals and is applicable to manufacturers supplying into UK retailers, regardless of country of origin.

It has been developed to give added confidence to customers that relevant legislative and/or safety requirements have been met and that the products they buy are safe to use.

All organisations wishing to gain certification against this standard now need to comply with Issue 3 which was published in 2010. The latest version has been produced in partnership with the Retail Industry Leaders Association based in Washington, USA (RILA) and is aimed at the UK and North American markets.

How can certification benefit my organisation?

Certification to this Standard helps in satisfying the legal requirements to demonstrate 'due diligence' as required by the European General Safety Directive 2001/95/EC. It also supports consistency of production for sector specific product requirements such as the Low Voltage Directive and Toy Safety Directive and helps manufacturers meet Good manufacturing practice requirements.

All products are grouped into three categories depending on the level of risk they pose to the consumer, each with its own defined audit requirements.

LRQA is well placed to provide certification to this Standard. We were one of only two certification bodies to be awarded accreditation by UKAS in March 2008 and currently the only to have accreditation for all four BRC Standards. Our assessors have years of experience in the food and manufacturing sectors enabling us to provide a pragmatic, quality service.

Need to know more?

Call 0800 783 2179 or complete our enquiry form for further information on our services.

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