Considering the recent EU proposal for a Regulation on the Safety of Toys, the revision of the Toy Safety Directive, and – most importantly - the upcoming holidays, CEN and CENELEC reflect on the role of European Standards to ensure that all toys traded in the Single Market are safe.
CEN/TC 52 - Safety of toys develops standards which support the essential requirements of the Toy Safety Directive. Toy safety encompasses various standards, with manufacturers adhering to specific guidelines that vary across different types of toys. Standards like EN 71-2:2020 ‘Safety of toys - Part 2: Flammability’ address horizontal safety concerns, such as ensuring that toys exhibit suitable fire resistance.
Standards can also be specific to the type of toy: this is the case of EN 71-4:2020 ‘Safety of toys - Part 4: Experimental sets for chemistry and related activities’ or EN 71-14:2018 ‘Safety of toys - Part 14: Trampolines for domestic use’. Furthermore, CLC/TC 61 ‘Safety of household and similar electrical appliances’ deals separately with electrical aspects of toys, developing standards such as EN IEC 62115:2020 ‘Electric toys – Safety’.
Harmonized Standards are standards requested from one or more of the recognised European Standards Organisation (CEN, CENELEC, or ETSI) by the European Commission to provide manufacturers with presumption of conformity to legal requirements set out in legislation. Both the current Toy Safety Directive and the proposal for a Regulation on the Safety of Toys include the use of harmonized standards for presumption of conformity.
CEN and CENELEC have also contributed to the ongoing discussions on the new proposal. One such example was of Mr Christian Wetterberg, Chair of CEN Technical Committee on Safety of Toys, speaking at the hearing of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection on the topic of Toy Safety.
The landscape of toy safety standards is continually evolving to align with the latest knowledge, and reputable manufacturers play a pivotal role in this ongoing process. They contribute their real-world knowledge and experience in crafting safe toys to inform and influence policy makers and standardization bodies.
Parents and guardians can be confident that, no matter where they live in the European Single Market, the toys their children play with and will receive as presents are of high quality and safe - thanks to European Standards!
CEN and CENELEC are proud to make standards that make our toys and our holidays safer.
Stay tuned to learn more about the different roles standards play in the Single Market with our 30 Years of Standards Supporting the Single Market campaign, or join the conversation through the hashtag #SingleMarket30.
