As the world's largest producer and exporter of lighting products, my country holds a pivotal position in the EU lighting market. From January to October 2025, my country's lighting product exports to the EU reached US$8.3 billion, accounting for 20% of my country's total lighting product exports, remaining the largest export destination.
However, behind the stable export volume, quality and safety warnings have been continuously strengthened. According to incomplete statistics, in the first three quarters of 2025, the EU issued 161 quality notifications for Chinese lighting products through the Rapid Alert System for Non-Food Products (RAPEX), a significant increase of 31% year-on-year, and the proportion of these notifications against Chinese consumer products also rose to 11%. Today, we will analyze EU recalls to understand the local market's quality "red lines" for lighting products.
I. Safety and Environmental Issues Account for Over 90%
From the reasons for the notifications, safety and environmental protection remain the main obstacles to the export of Chinese lighting products to the EU, with safety issues being particularly alarming.
Safety issues accounted for 80% of the notifications, ranking first, a full 10 percentage points higher than the same period in 2024. The problems highlighted primarily focused on core aspects such as product structural design, wiring compliance, heat and fire resistance, and protection against electric shock—all critical indicators directly related to consumer safety. For example, some products, due to insufficient mechanical strength, easily expose live parts during use, posing a risk of electric shock; others have plugs with non-compliant sizes, which, with prolonged use, could damage sockets and cause fires. These issues repeatedly appeared in the reported cases.
While environmental issues decreased by 6 percentage points compared to the same period last year, ranking second at 17%, they remain a significant risk that cannot be ignored. The reports focused on excessive levels of heavy metals. For instance, the highest detected lead concentration in solder reached 82.2%, far exceeding EU standards. This not only causes environmental pollution but may also harm human health through the food chain. Some products were also found to contain excessive levels of cadmium and short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs). SCCPs, due to their bioaccumulation and carcinogenic risks, are a key focus of EU regulation.
II. Eastern Europe Remains a "Hard-Hit Area," Southern Europe Sees Significant Increase in Notifications
From the perspective of the geographical distribution of notifications within the EU, a new characteristic emerges: "Eastern Europe stands out, Northern Europe rises." Eastern European countries such as Hungary remain the "main force" in notifications, accounting for 47% of the total, although this is a 20 percentage point decrease compared to the same period in 2024, it still accounts for nearly half. Hungary had the highest number of notifications among EU countries in the first three quarters of this year, accounting for approximately 20% of my country's total notifications for lighting products, a year-on-year decrease of 4%. Slovakia, an emerging major notification country, saw a year-on-year increase of 633% in notifications, accounting for 14% of the total, making it a market requiring close attention. The prominent quality issues in Eastern Europe are closely related to the characteristics of local market demand. Affected by the overall economic downturn in Europe, Eastern Europe is more sensitive to product prices. In addition, with the peak season for purchasing festive items such as string lights at the end of the year, some low-priced and low-quality products have flooded the market, directly pushing up the frequency of notifications.
It is worth noting that the number of notifications in Southern and Northern Europe increased significantly year-on-year: Southern Europe's share jumped from 1% last year to 19%, an increase of 18 percentage points; Northern Europe followed closely with 18%, with Sweden's notifications being particularly outstanding, increasing by over 300% year-on-year, accounting for 16% of the total notifications. The core reason for the surge in notifications in Northern Europe is that local consumers are paying increasing attention to environmental attributes year by year, while some exported products have failed to meet their stringent environmental requirements.
III. String Lights Remain the Most Notified
From the perspective of specific products, string lights remain the lighting products most frequently notified. Nearly 100 notifications were issued in the first three quarters, an increase of 32% year-on-year, accounting for 61% of the total notifications for lighting products in my country, ranking first in notifications for many consecutive years. In-depth analysis shows that the quality problems of string lights stem from the struggle between cost control and compliance requirements.
According to EU standards, string lights must use rubber tubing to ensure insulation and heat resistance, but this significantly increases production costs. In the fierce export competition, some companies, in an effort to cut costs, choose to use substandard materials, directly leading to a series of quality problems: insufficient insulation, inadequate mechanical strength, and substandard cable diameters are frequent safety hazards. Meanwhile, environmental issues such as excessive lead concentration in solder (up to 82.2%) and excessive phthalate levels in plastic materials persist despite repeated bans. Furthermore, some products have design flaws, such as cuttable light strings lacking safety protection components and outdoor products lacking moisture protection, further amplifying usage risks.
The EU, as one of the markets with the strictest quality regulations for lighting products globally, provides not only a "barometer" of market feedback but also a "compass" for Chinese companies to improve product quality. Faced with continuously increasing pressure from notifications, companies need to abandon the "low-price competition" mentality and strengthen control over the entire chain from material procurement and production processes to finished product testing, focusing on overcoming the two core weaknesses of safety design and environmentally friendly materials. At the same time, they must closely monitor the differences in regulatory focuses among different EU countries and develop differentiated compliance strategies for the price-sensitive markets of Eastern Europe and the environmentally oriented markets of Northern Europe. Only by building a solid foundation on quality can we gain a foothold in the global high-end lighting market and achieve long-term development of export trade.