The Toy Safety Directive

Purpose

The Directive is intended to provide a common standard for the safety of toys throughout the whole of the EEA. All toys which are sold within the EEA are required to meet the requirements of the Directive, and may be sold without subject to further local legal controls so long as they are legitimately CE marked.

Definition

A toy is defined as:

"any product or material designed or clearly intended for use in play by children of less than 14 years of age"

Annex I to the Directive gives a

This definition is not entirely straightforward. UK government guidance suggests that (at least) the following factors are considered in deciding whether or not a product falls within the scope of the Directive:

• not every item sold in a toy shop will necessarily be a toy within the meaning of the above definition;
• the packaging of an item may give an indication of the intended purpose of the item but should not on its own be taken as conclusive;
• it must not be assumed that all items intended for use by children will be toys;
• items (e.g. types of mobiles) which are intended for very young children and which the manufacturer considers could not be 'used in play' by them could be 'used in play' by their older brothers or sisters;
• the fact that a relevant national standard does not cover an item - or indeed that such a standard specifically states that it does not cover an item - does not necessarily mean that the item is not a toy for the purpose of the Regulations;
• an item may be a toy as well as having another function;
• there will be some products (e.g. toy steam engines) which might be regarded as toys but are specifically excluded from the definition of toy in the Regulations.
• any label or statement on, or with, an item indicating that it is not a toy, or is not intended for anyone under 14 years, would not necessarily be regarded as conclusive by enforcement authorities.

Application

The Directive applies to all toys whether they are new or second hand, and whether they are sold or given away. Manufacturers, importers, retailers, hirers and any other supplier may be held responsible for supplying toys which do not comply with the Directive's requirements. Someone in the chain of supply must take responsibility for CE marking the toys - most often this will be the manufacturer, but where the manufacturer is based outside the EU, their authorised representative or the importer of the goods will be held responsible.

Timescales

The Directive entered into force on 1 January 1990, and since that time all toys sold within the EEA have had to be CE marked.

Requirements

The primary requirement is that toys meet the essential safety requirements of the Directive. In order to do this, toys must either be manufactured in accordance with harmonised standards, or must be type tested by a notified body in order to demonstrate that they comply with the essential requirements of the Directive.

For products which are manufactured fully in accordance with the requirements of the harmonised standards, manufacturers may self-certify to the Directive without involving a notified body. However, many large retailers will require an independent report as a condition of supply, even though this is not a legal requirement.

Additionally, the directive requires that the manufacturer should put the CE logo on the product and maintain a file containing certain items of information about the toys.

Second hand toys (i.e. those which were first sold within the European Community before 1 January 1990) do not have to be CE marked, but they must meet the essential safety requirements.

Essential safety requirements

The essential safety requirements for toys are contained in Annex II of the Directive. These are concerned with issues such as labelling to provide traceability to the manufacturer, safety warnings, the construction of the toys to avoid hazards such as sharp edges, hot parts, risks of entrapment etc., and the avoidance of poisonous substances such as heavy metals.

Plastic bag warnings

Many toys are often packaged in plastic bags, yet there is little information available regarding the minimum specification of this packaging. After reserching the issue, Conformance have created the following informative web page on plastic bag warnings, which includes a downloadable specification sheet.

Useful Links

The BERR (formerly the DTi) publishes a useful free guide to the Directive which can be downloaded from the Standards & Technical Regulations web page.

Further advice

For further advice please contact us at Conformance where we will be pleased to discuss your needs.