Selling Resin Crafts at UK Markets and Fairs: Safety and Labelling

Your resin products must be safe: the General Product Safety Regulations

Every consumer product sold in the UK must be safe under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. For resin crafts, this means the finished, cured item should not pose a risk to anyone using it as you have described. If a coaster chips and exposes sharp edges, or a keyring breaks into small pieces, that is a safety issue.

You must also describe your products accurately. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods must match their description, be of satisfactory quality, and be fit for purpose. If you call something “non-toxic” or “food safe,” you need to be able to back that up.

CLP labelling: when it applies and when it does not

The GB CLP Regulation (Classification, Labelling and Packaging) requires hazardous chemicals to be correctly labelled. This is the same regulation that applies to candle makers and wax melt sellers, but it works slightly differently for resin.

**Uncured resin is hazardous.** The liquid components of epoxy resin are classified as skin sensitisers, eye irritants, and in some formulations, harmful to aquatic life. Your resin supplier should provide Safety Data Sheets listing the exact hazard classifications for their product.

**Cured resin is generally not hazardous.** Once fully cured, the chemical reaction is complete. The finished product is an inert solid and does not require CLP labelling.

**If you sell resin kits or uncured resin in any form, CLP labelling applies.** The label must include hazard pictograms, signal words, hazard statements, precautionary statements, a product identifier, and your contact details as the supplier.

**Additives are worth checking too.** Alcohol inks are flammable. If you sell them alongside your resin products or include them in a kit, they may need their own CLP-compliant labelling. Mica powders are generally non-hazardous (cosmetic-grade mica is refined for skin contact), but always check the Safety Data Sheet for the specific pigments you use.

Children’s products: the Toy Safety Regulations 2011

This is where it gets serious. If a resin product is “designed or clearly intended for use in play by children under 14,” it is legally a toy. That means it must comply with the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, carry UKCA marking, and pass the relevant EN 71 safety tests.

For resin, the most relevant tests are: EN 71-1 (physical safety, including choking hazards for small parts), EN 71-3 (migration of chemicals from toy materials when sucked or mouthed), and EN 71-9 (organic chemical compounds). These tests exist because young children put things in their mouths, and the concern is whether harmful chemicals could leach from the resin into saliva.

Compliance testing is expensive, typically several hundred pounds per product. That is why most resin makers choose not to market their products at children. However, the legal test is whether the product is “clearly intended” for children’s play. A set of brightly coloured resin animals or play food would likely be considered a toy regardless of any disclaimer you add to your listing.

If you want to avoid toy regulations, be clear and honest in your product descriptions: “Decorative display item. Not a toy. Not suitable for children under 14.” And make sure the product genuinely is not designed for children; a disclaimer alone will not override a product that obviously is.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of toy safety compliance, see our guide on UKCA marking for handmade toys.

Food contact: most craft resin is not food safe

This is the question that comes up most often, and the honest answer is: most standard craft epoxy resin is not certified for food contact.

UK food contact materials law (the Materials and Articles in Contact with Food Regulations 2012, based on retained EU Regulation 1935/2004) requires that materials intended to touch food must not transfer harmful substances into that food. For plastics and resins, this means testing to specific migration limits.

Unless the manufacturer of your resin explicitly states it has been tested and certified for food contact, and you can document this, you should not sell resin items intended for direct food contact. This includes plates, bowls, cups, and chopping boards.

There is also a regulatory shift happening with BPA (bisphenol A), a chemical found in many epoxy resin formulations. The EU banned BPA in food contact materials from January 2025, and the UK’s Food Standards Agency has announced it will follow with its own ban, expected from mid-to-late 2026. This makes selling resin-coated food-contact items without a certified BPA-free, food-grade resin increasingly risky.

**What about coasters and serving trays?** These sit in a grey area. Food contact is brief and incidental rather than prolonged. The safest approach is either to use a certified food-contact resin, or to describe the item clearly as decorative. “Decorative coaster; not tested for prolonged food contact” is honest and protects you.

Keeping your records straight

Whatever you make from resin, good record-keeping protects you:

• 1. Keep your resin supplier’s Safety Data Sheets on file. These document exactly what is in your resin and what hazard classifications apply. If a customer or Trading Standards officer asks, you can show them.
• 2. If you use a resin certified for food contact, keep the certificate or test report. “The manufacturer’s website said it was food safe” is not documentation.
• 3. Write clear, accurate product descriptions. State what the item is made from, what it is suitable for, and what it is not suitable for.
• 4. If you sell online, include materials used, dimensions, care instructions, and any relevant warnings (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013).

A note on inclusions and additives

Resin crafts often include other materials: dried flowers, glitter, mica powder, alcohol ink, acrylic paint, wood, metal leaf. Each inclusion is part of the finished product, and the overall product still needs to be safe.

For most decorative items, this is straightforward: the cured resin encapsulates the inclusion. But if you are making anything that might be mouthed (children’s items) or touch food, every component matters, not just the resin itself. Cosmetic-grade mica powder is not the same as food-grade; craft glitter may contain microplastics; dried flowers may have been treated with chemicals. If the end use is sensitive, check every material.