BRCGS Consumer Products Certification| DQS

Important standard for high-quality, safe products

With a BRCGS Consumer Products certification, companies can prove the safety and quality of their production against a globally valid standard. The certificate is only issued for the production of non-food products and was developed by the British trade association BRC together with important trade companies.

Simplified access to global markets

Optimized production process

Increased customer confidence

Improved product safety and quality

BRCGS Consumer Products Certification - for improved product safety in the non-food sector

With the publication of the standard, BRCGS has created guidelines according to which the safety and quality of non-food products can be certified.The standard is intended to help continuously improve product safety through transparent risk and quality management.

The BRCGS Consumer Products Standard was originally developed by the British Retail Federation (BRC), an association of British retail chains. Following the acquisition of the BRC by LGC Assurance in 2016 and a rebranding process, the BRC Standards are now known as the BRCGS Standards.Accordingly, the focus of a BRCGS audit is primarily on analyzing potential risks for users and how these can be avoided.

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Which companies are eligible for BRCGS Consumer Products (CP) certification?

According to the BRCGS CP, all manufacturers of non-food products can be certified. These can be manufacturers of private label products as well as manufacturer brands or unbranded products. Both manufacturers of finished products and manufacturers of raw materials can seek certification. The only exceptions are manufacturers of raw materials for packaging. These can, for example, seek certification under the BRCGS Packaging Standard.

Certification is possible for consumer products, which are divided into two groups:

Personal care and household products: these include, for example, cosmetics and cleaning products. These products must meet higher hygiene requirements.
General merchandise: These include electronic goods and toys. Above all, these products must meet high safety and quality requirements.

BRCGS CP certification is not available for pharmaceuticals or dietary supplements. Certifiable products can be made of wood, textiles, glass, plastic, ceramics, and other natural or artificial materials.Depending on the material and intended use, products are divided into three risk classes according to BRCGS Consumer Products. Electronic items or cosmetics fall into the high risk class in terms of safety or hygiene, while clothing is classified in the medium risk class. Jewelry or stationery, on the other hand, are placed in the low risk class.

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What requirements must be met for BRCGS Consumer Products certification?

If companies want to be certified under BRCGS CP, they must demonstrate a high level of corporate responsibility in addition to structured quality and product risk management. Safety, legal compliance and quality are also audited.

Companies have the option of including individual aspects in the audits. In this way, the BRCGS CP certificate can be adapted to the individual circumstances and characteristics of products.

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BRCGS Consumer Products vs. ISO 9001

Companies can have their quality management generally certified according to ISO 9001. With BRCGS CP certification, there is an additional focus on product manufacturing. Elements such as HACCP are also included in the BRCGS Consumer Products standard.

Certification Procedure

The first step is to discuss your company, your management system and the goals of certification. In addition, the manufacturer must determine the product group for the manufactured products based on the BRCGS decision tree. The classification is verified by the certification body.
On this basis, you will promptly receive a detailed and transparent offer from us, tailored to your individual needs.

As soon as your company is ready, an audit date will be set together with you, and approved auditors with the required competence and experience in your industry will be selected. During the certification audit, our auditors assess, among other things, whether your management system meets the requirements of the standard and identify potential for improvement. In a final discussion, you will receive a detailed presentation of the results from your DQS auditor, including a description of the potential for improvement for your company. If necessary, action plans will be agreed upon.

The audit and its results are evaluated by the independent certification board of DQS, which decides on the issuance of the certificate. You will receive an audit report documenting the audit results. If there are any discrepancies, you will have the opportunity to correct them and take appropriate action at that time. If all applicable requirements are met, you will receive the certificate with a term of one year. Your certificate will be published in the BRCGS database.

After one year, your certificate expires. To ensure complete validity of your BRCGS Consumer Products certificate, we will schedule your next audit early.

How much does BRCGS Consumer Products certification cost?

The cost of BRCGS Consumer Products certification depends in particular on the risk group of your company and the complexity of your processes. We will be happy to make you an individual offer for your company without obligation.