T-shirts
Print-on-demand shirts are the highest-volume Etsy category and the single most enforced for trademark, copyright, and listing-quality issues. Each policy below covers what triggers takedowns specifically on shirt listings.
MerchGuard / Niche guides
Compliance by product niche.
Each niche has its own enforcement patterns. These pages cover the policy categories most likely to trigger takedowns for the specific product type.
Mugs
Mugs and drinkware sit in Nice Class 21 and concentrate three distinct enforcement surfaces: trademark from character/franchise/sport-team holders, food-contact safety regulation (FDA 21 CFR Part 109, California Prop 65 lead/cadmium thresholds), and substrate-claim listing-quality risks (porcelain vs stoneware vs earthenware vitrification, sublimation-print dishwasher fade). Each policy below covers what triggers takedowns specifically on mug listings.
Stickers
Stickers sit in Nice Class 16 (paper goods) but draw enforcement from sports leagues, character-IP holders, and consumer brands that file Class 16 defensively. The format also concentrates copyright sourcing risk (Pinterest grabs, traced characters, museum public-domain confusion), prohibited-items gradients (weapons, drugs, hate symbols, real-person depictions), and listing-quality overclaims (vinyl, waterproof, weatherproof). Each policy below covers what triggers takedowns specifically on sticker listings.
Posters
Posters concentrate the hardest IP enforcement (movie, sports, and band wordmarks in Nice Class 16), the trickiest copyright questions (stock licensing tiers, public-domain reproductions, AI style mimicry), and the highest-volume listing-quality disputes (museum-quality, archival, and dimension claims). Each policy below covers what triggers takedowns specifically on poster listings.
Hoodies
Hoodies share Nice Class 25 (apparel) with shirts but add hoodie-specific enforcement vectors: CLC college-licensing audits, blank-relabeling trade-dress risk (Champion, Carhartt, Bella+Canvas), GSM and Made-in-USA substantiation under FTC 16 CFR Part 323, and CPSC drawstring rules for children's outerwear. Each policy below covers what triggers takedowns specifically on hoodie listings.
Tote bags
Tote bags fall under Nice Class 18 (often filed jointly with Class 25), with brand-specific trade-dress enforcement (Trader Joe's reusable patterns, museum tote programs), GOTS/OEKO-TEX/Bluesign substantiation requirements for organic and eco claims under FTC Green Guides §260.13, and the assembled-vs-handmade distinction that tightens production-partner disclosure. Each policy below covers what triggers takedowns specifically on tote-bag listings.
Phone cases
Phone cases live in Nice Class 9 (electronic device accessories), the trademark class Apple, Samsung, Google, the luxury fashion houses, and the major character franchises all hold deep portfolios in. The category also concentrates aggressive copyright enforcement (stock-photo licensing, traced anime art, AI style mimicry), prohibited-content edges (gun-printed cases, cannabis imagery, celebrity likenesses, EMF medical claims), device-fit listing-quality risks (iPhone 15 vs 15 Pro vs Pro Max, MagSafe certification, MIL-STD-810 substantiation), and the textbook production-partner-disclosure scenario when Casetify, Society6, Redbubble, or Printful manufactures and ships. Each policy below covers what triggers takedowns specifically on phone-case listings.
Jewelry
Jewelry is the most heavily regulated of the eight niches. CPSIA (16 CFR Part 1303) sets hard lead and cadmium limits for children's jewelry, FTC Jewelry Guides (16 CFR Part 23) define every karat / sterling / vermeil / gold-filled term, California Prop 65 and the EU Nickel Directive (94/27/EC) govern adult jewelry safety, and Nice Class 14 trademark portfolios from Pandora, Tiffany, Cartier, and the Disney charm program drive frequent takedowns. Each policy below covers what triggers takedowns specifically on jewelry listings.