Recently, the Toy Industry Association of Europe (TIE) randomly purchased 19 toy products for sale from an offshore e-commerce platform for testing, the results of the study, however, found that 18 of the 19 toys did not comply with the toy safety standards EN 71-1 and/or EN 71-3, and therefore pose a significant risk to children, who may be exposed to hazards such as cuts, blockages, choking, strangulation, punctures and chemical hazards when playing with them. None of these toys comply with EU regulations, which means they should not be sold in the EU.

Product safety of toys and children's products is an issue that runs through every stage of production, but to ensure their quality has always troubled European and American importers. In order to maintain the safety of infants and children as a criterion, the European and American baby products and toys product safety standards have gradually become more stringent, such as since the ASTM F963 in 2009 from the voluntary standards to mandatory regulations, the number of toy recalls plummeted. Therefore, it is crucial for exporters, suppliers and manufacturers to familiarise themselves with the product regulations of their target markets.

For toy products, EQO can provide the following testing and certification services:

• American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM): ASTM F963

• European Standards Institute (EN): EN71, EN62115

• British Standards Institution (BS): BS EN71

• National Standard of the People's Republic of China (GB): GB 6675, GB 19865

• Other International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO): ISO 8124

• Australian Standard for Toy Safety (AS/NZS): AS/NZS ISO 8124

• Canadian Toy Safety Standard (SOR): SOR/2011

• Toys that do not comply with the relevant standards may cause the following hazards: mechanical and physical injuries (e.g., cuts, blockages, suffocation, strangulation, puncture, etc.), chemical injuries (e.g., illegal addition of banned substances, content of certain elements exceeding the national standards, etc.), injuries resulting from the age of applicability of toys that are not in line with their actual use, and injuries caused by accidental play with non-toy products.
  

Selection Guide

• Carefully check the product's packaging for instructions, implementation standards, applicable age and producer information.

• Plastic toys, metal toys, electric toys, projectile toys and doll toys need to be checked for the CCC certification mark.

• Don't buy toys with small parts that can be swallowed or inhaled, and toys with points or sharp edges.

• Don't buy products for infants and young children with fancy decorations, as the decorations may come loose, break, or break, forming tiny objects that can be swallowed by children;

• When choosing plush toys, pull the nose, eyes, buttons and other small parts of the toy to see if they are easy to fall off, to avoid the hazards of children accidentally swallowing small parts during play.

Recommendation of eqo

In the face of increasingly severe product testing in foreign markets, it is recommended that the relevant toy manufacturers and exporters, in the product design phase, need to pay special attention to small parts of the product compliance and chemical substances exceeded the standard, while the need to be in strict accordance with the EU toy safety regulations 2009/48/EC and REACH regulations for product quality management, pay attention to the chemical substances control and safety, and timely adjustment of the production process to ensure that the product quality to ensure that the product can successfully enter the market and avoid the risks faced after the market. The quality of the product to ensure that the product can enter the market smoothly, as well as to avoid the risks faced after entering the market.

About EQO Testing Baby Products Testing and Certification Services

With the most complete CCC (child safety seats, strollers, toys) mandatory product certification designated laboratory for children's products, EQO  has the world's leading testing and certification laboratories and technical teams for baby products, focusing on the field of consumer product safety. We are able to help corresponding enterprises to understand the unqualified situation of exported toys and the focus of foreign market regulation, to avoid risks and help products enter the target market smoothly.