Church Street traders abandon EU shipping efforts in the wake of latest regulations

A series of small businesses in Stoke Newington have given up on EU shipping, after new packaging regulations came into force in August.

The rules have added financial and administrative costs for business owners, who feel it’s now too complex to try and service EU customers.

Tim Watson, 72, who runs Church Street Books, has recently removed EU shipping options from his website after offering it for 25 years. “I swallowed the extra fee for a bit because it netted out with the shipping costs. But on the admin side, I don’t even want to go down the road of finding out what I’m required to do.”

The new rules, which fall under Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) demand that businesses use “recyclable, minimally wasteful and clearly labelled” packaging, among other requirements, according to the UK government website.

The regulation is being phased in between 2025 and 2040, with the latest conditions having come into force on 12th August.

Local business owners are largely protected by the concentration of independent shops in the area; as of early 2025, only 10% of shops on Church Street were chains. Holly Watkins, who runs second-hand clothes shop One Scoop Store, said: “We’re in a bit of a bubble. A lot of people in Stokey aren’t even selling online, let alone shipping to Europe. We’re lucky in that.”

But for those who formerly had a European customer base, the continual introduction of new regulation is causing additional strain. Lei Wang, 55, the owner of homeware shop Rouge, said: “I wouldn’t do it anymore, but I haven’t turned it off on my website yet. If an order comes through I’d probably just contact the customer and cancel it. It’s just another thing that I have to deal with.”

Three members of the Stoke Newington Business Association still appear to offer EU shipping through online shops, but were unavailable for comment.