Europe also has significant changes in Toy Safety Regulations

While the US toy industry has been focusing on the numerous regulatory changes brought about by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), Europe has been busy with major changes to their own Toy Safety Directive (88/378/EEC), which had not been significantly updated for 20 years.

Unfortunately, the European changes do not correlate with the US CPSIA changes.  For companies that distribute toys globally, this is a challenge.  Many of the EU changes deal with chemical requirements which go far beyond US regulations.  Below is a summary of the highlights of these new chemical requirements.

·                    Heavy Metals Requirements (Migration of Elements)

o       Aluminium, Boron, Cobolt, Copper, Manganese, Nickel, Strontium, Tin, Organic Tin, and Zinc have been added to the previous list of 8 restricted heavy elements.  These elements are not included in the US toy safety standard, ASTM F963.

o       Acceptable levels are divided into 3 categories – dry, brittle, powder-like or pliable toy; liquid or sticky toy material; and scraped off toy material (surface coatings).

o       Acceptable levels are significantly different from current Europe and US limits.  Some are much higher and some are much lower than current limits.  US compliance will Not correlate to EU compliance.

·                    Allergic Fragrances is a new requirement, not included in US regulations.  There are a total of 55 fragrances that are not allowed for use in toys, or are restricted.

·                    All chemicals used in toys must be classified in accordance with the Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548/EEC).  Substances classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductive toxic (CMR) shall not be used in toys.

·                    Nitrosamines and nitrosable substances are prohibited for use in toys intended for children under 36 months and toys intended to be placed in the mouth.

·                    Cosmetic toys must comply with ‘real’ Cosmetics Directive (76/768/EEC).

The good news is that, unlike CPSIA which has very short implementation deadlines, the European directive provides for a transitional period of four years for the chemical requirements, and two years to implement all other changes.  The bad news is that these changes make reaching a harmonized toy safety standard globally that much more challenging.