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Services Carry More Compliance Than You Think

Ask a small agency owner about compliance and they'll point at the privacy policy in the footer and move on. Ask their biggest client's procurement team, and the list is longer: GDPR record, data processing agreement, security questionnaire, insurance certificate, accessibility statement, maybe NIS2 alignment if they touch critical infrastructure, maybe ISO 27001 if they handle data.

Selling a service means complying as a company, not as a product. And most service businesses are missing half the list.

The Trust Hex: A Trust Center for Everything

The trust center was invented by SaaS companies. Someone at a security startup realised that buyers kept asking for the same SOC 2 report, the same penetration test, the same data processing details — and that publishing them on one page ended the email chain before it started. The idea spread until every serious software company had one.

What never happened is the same idea reaching everyone else. A furniture maker still emails certificates. A service agency still answers the same onboarding questionnaire every quarter. The trust-center lesson stayed stuck in software, and it didn't need to.

Getting Supplier Data (And Keeping It Current)

Every compliance system has the same silent failure: the data was true when you collected it, and now it isn't. Your dyehouse changed its finish. Your co-packer reformulated the soap. Your battery supplier swapped the cell chemistry. Nothing told you, so your declaration still claims the old reality — until a customs officer or an auditor finds the difference first.

The fix isn't asking more politely. It's changing who maintains the data.

Publishing Your First Compliance Page

Most people assume publishing a compliance document means exporting a PDF and emailing it. There's a better output: a live page with a permanent URL and a QR code that shows the current version of your declaration to anyone who scans it. The publishing part takes under half an hour. This is the walkthrough, including the parts that honestly take longer.

Which Regulations Apply to My Product?

The first week of a new market usually goes to research. Someone opens a spreadsheet, types "what certificates do I need to sell kettles in Germany", and wades through government sites, lab blogs and forum threads. A week later they have forty tabs open, two conflicting answers, and no decision.

There's a shorter way. It takes about ten minutes, and it works for every market, every product. This post is the method.

Amazon Rules: US vs. EU vs. UK Requirements

Selling on Amazon's US marketplace requires CPCs, FCC IDs, and Prop 65 warnings. Selling on Amazon's EU marketplaces (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, and others) requires CE Declarations of Conformity, REACH SVHC communication, and WEEE registration. Selling on Amazon's UK marketplace requires UKCA Declarations of Conformity, UK REACH compliance, and UK-specific WEEE registration. Three marketplaces, three sets of compliance documentation, one Seller Central account — and Amazon's enforcement systems in each marketplace operate independently.

This guide compares Amazon compliance requirements across the US, EU, and UK marketplaces and shows how to manage multi-marketplace compliance without losing listings to documentation requests.

Not sure what each Amazon marketplace requires for your product category? Use the Sustalium Global Compliance Map — select your product type and compare the US, EU, and UK frameworks that Amazon enforces in each marketplace.

Cosmetics Regulation: US, EU, and UK Compared

Cosmetics regulation in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom operates on three different legal frameworks — and a cosmetic product sold in all three markets needs three different safety assessments, three different product notifications, and potentially three different labels. The US system under MoCRA emphasizes manufacturer self-declaration of safety. The EU system requires a formal Cosmetic Product Safety Report by a qualified safety assessor. The UK system, post-Brexit, mirrors the EU structure but with separate notification, separate responsible person requirements, and the UK's own scientific advisory function.

This guide compares cosmetics compliance across all three markets and shows how to build multi-market compliance from the same toxicological data and the same product formulation.

Not sure which cosmetics regulations apply in which market? Use the Sustalium Global Compliance Map — select Cosmetics and switch between the US, EU, and UK to see MoCRA, CPSR, and UK notification requirements side by side.

Electronics: FCC vs. CE vs. UKCA Compared

Electronics is the product category with the most regulatory diversity across the three major Western markets. The US requires FCC and UL. The EU requires CE Marking under the EMC Directive, the Low Voltage Directive (or Radio Equipment Directive for wireless devices), and RoHS substance restrictions. The UK requires UKCA marking which, for electronics, uses the same technical standards as the EU but requires separate conformity assessment and documentation. And an FCC test report is not valid for CE Marking. A CE Declaration of Conformity is not valid for UKCA.

This guide compares electronics compliance across the US, EU, and UK, and explains how to build multi-market compliance from a single test program and a single set of product data.

Not sure which EMC, safety, and substance regulations apply where? Use the Sustalium Global Compliance Map select Electronics and toggle between markets to see FCC, CE, and UKCA requirements side by side.

Toy Safety: US ASTM vs. EU EN 71 vs. UK Standards

A toy sold in all three major Western markets must comply with ASTM F963 in the United States, EN 71 in the European Union, and the UK's designated standards (currently BS EN 71) in Great Britain. Three different testing standards, three separate certificates, and different chemical limits in each market. The most expensive compliance mistake in the toy industry is designing and manufacturing for one market and then discovering — after inventory is produced — that the product cannot legally be sold in the other two.

This guide compares toy compliance across the US, EU, and UK and explains how to build multi-market compliance from a single test program.

Not sure which toy safety standards apply in each market? Use the Sustalium Global Compliance Map — select Toys and compare the US, EU, and UK frameworks at a glance.

Clothing Rules by Market: US, EU, and UK Compared

A clothing brand that sells in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom must navigate three separate regulatory frameworks for what is fundamentally the same product. The US requires a flammability certificate and FTC labeling. The EU requires REACH SVHC communication and GPSR compliance. The UK — since Brexit — requires its own UKCA marking and separate chemical compliance documentation. None of these frameworks accept the others' certificates.

This guide compares apparel compliance across all three markets and explains how to manage it without tripling your regulatory overhead.

Not sure which apparel regulations apply in which market? Use the Sustalium Global Compliance Map — select Apparel and switch between the US, EU, and UK to see every framework side by side.