Etsy Sellers Can Now Use Factories for Handmade Goods

Etsy Inc., an online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods, will let its sellers use outside manufacturers and hire as many employees as they need, loosening rules amid confusion over requirements.

The change will allow sellers that cultivated their businesses on Etsy to keep expanding on the site, Chief Executive Officer Chad Dickerson said in an interview. It will also permit moves that were previously forbidden, like employing people in another location or producing goods in a factory.