General Merchandise and Hard Goods

Managing compliance, market access and sustainability in the general merchandise and hardline goods industry

Retailers, private labels and manufacturers of general merchandise and hardline goods face challenges in assessing safety, quality and performance of a wide range of items, from household and kitchen utensils to candles, from eyewear to small appliances.

Requirements for each product category vary, and chemical regulations for consumer products are on the rise. Maintaining high-quality products that meet legislative requirements helps to reduce the probability of product recalls, increase customer satisfaction, and improve manufacturing efficiencies.

In addition, global companies have recognized an unprecedented sense of urgency to address climate and pollution crises. Sustainability is no longer a “nice to have” but has become a necessity driven by regulation, incentivizing policies and consumers.

UL Solutions can support you throughout your products’ life cycle, from the design phase to retail shelves. With extensive experience in physical and performance testing, quality assurance, chemical management services, including software and upstream and sustainability services, we offer end-to-end support for your business.

We are a global leader in the field of electrical and electronics testing and certification services as well as battery safety testing and certification.

The general merchandise and hardline product categories we serve

Our global team of experts understands the increasing complexities of launching general merchandise and hardline goods on the global market. To stay up to date, we are in daily contact with manufacturers, brands, retailers and industry associations.

Our professionals actively participate in working groups and technical committees for general merchandise and hard goods standards development and updates so we can anticipate new requirements and keep you one step ahead.

Learn more about how we can support your business in a multitude of product categories, including:

General merchandise and hardline goods testing and services

Our experts can support your business with comprehensive quality assurance services. We help you evaluates your products for compliance with global consumer products and chemical legislation and requirements defined by standards organizations such as UL Solutions, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers Association (BIFMA), British Standard (BS), Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN), European Standards (EN), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Italian National Unification (UNI).

We support the development of general merchandise and hardline goods testing protocols tailored to retailer-specific needs that extend beyond industry standards.

Moreover, UL Solutions offers innovative services and sustainability resources for products.

Communicate your sustainability efforts

Actively engaging in a sustainability journey can help you:

Companies must demonstrate compliance with global market requirements. Additionally, they must think about how to contribute to a more sustainable future, structure their brand sustainability strategy based on key goals, and set up processes for themselves and their entire supply chain that support their sustainability strategy.

We can support you as you work to reduce your environmental impact and demonstrate your commitment to sustainability. We can also assist you in launching high-quality general merchandise and hard goods in the global market and communicate the more sustainable advantages of your products in the global marketplace.