Toys & Childcare Products

Your industry, our focus

By Mari Cruz Lorente, Eurofins Softlines & Leather – Toys & Hardlines

March 1, 2021

Toys & Childcare Products

Goods covered by national rules
General Product Safety
Toys
Childcare
Packaging for toys and childcare products

Goods covered by national rules

In general, the new UK legislations are European-retained legislations, with amendments corresponding to the UK's withdrawal from the EU (for example, references to EU institutions) and specific provisions for the GB market. These "retained" laws still apply until they are replaced by new UK legislation.

It’s essential to ensure that your goods meet UK rules, even if they were previously sold in an EU country.

If you have goods that were manufactured and ready to place on the market before 1^st January 2021, they can still be sold in Great Britain with a CE marking (if applicable) until 31^st December 2021

A brief summary with the main changes has been included below for different types of products.

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General Product Safety

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 and amendments set out the legal requirements for the safety of all types of consumer goods supplied in the Great Britain market.

From 1^st January 2021, the main changes are:

Presumption of conformity to the general safety requirements will be granted where a product conforms to the voluntary national standards of the UK.
The (BEIS) Secretary of State is the authority in charge of:
- Establishing and operating a database with information on market surveillance and product safety.
- Considering the appropriate voluntary national standards regarding the general safety requirements of the consumer products, and publishing these.

It is important to bear in mind that generally, consumer goods must also meet others legislation according to specific regulations, UK REACH and/or Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulations, among others, depending of the type of product.

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Toys

The Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 and amendments set out the legal requirements for the safety of toys supplied in the Great Britain market.

It is important to bear in mind that toys must also meet other legislations from UK REACH and Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulations, among others.

From 1^st January 2021, the main changes are:

Toys must be marked with following information:
- The name and address of the manufacturer, or if the manufacturer is outside of the UK, the name and address of the manufacturer and the importer into the UK
- Type, batch, serial or model number
- UKCA mark
Declaration of conformity and the technical documentation must be prepared in or translated into English, maintained for a period of 10 years, and made available to enforcement authorities on request.
UK-notified bodies automatically become UK-approved Bodies and can carry out conformity assessments.
UK-designed standards replace EU harmonised standards.
If the importer has placed the toy on the GB market before 31^st December 2022, the importer can set out the identification information (name, address, etc.) on the toy’s packaging or in a document accompanying the toy.

UKCA Marking

The UKCA (United Kingdom Conformity Assessed) mark is the new product marking requirement to certify that the product meets the UK Regulations and will replace CE marking and ‘reverse epsilon’ marking (aerosols) for the GB market (England, Wales and Scotland).

UKCA marking
	Characteristics - It has to be visibly, legibly and indelibly on the product. - Logo size: at least 5mm in height. - Logo proportions should remain constant. - If, due to characteristics of the product, is not possible to mark on product, it should be affixed to the packaging and to the accompanying documents.
Placing manufactured goods on the market in Great Britain
From 1^st January 2021	From 1^st January 2022	From 1^st January 2023
UKCA mark can be used (on a label, product or accompanying documents).	UKCA marking is required (in most cases). Until 1^st January 2023, there is the option to attach the UKCA mark on a label attached to the product or document accompanying the product.	UKCA mark must be permanently affixed directly to the product.
CE and UKCA mark can coexist until 1^st January 2022 (Transition period).*	CE mark will not be accepted for the UK market.	CE mark will not be accepted for the UK market.
*CE marking is only valid in Great Britain for areas where GB and EU rules remain the same. If the EU changes its rules and you CE mark your product on the basis of those new rules, you will not be able to use the CE marking to sell in Great Britain, even before 31^st December 2021.

UKNI Marking

The UKNI marking is a new conformity marking for products placed on the market in Northern Ireland which have undergone mandatory third-party conformity assessment by a body based in the UK.

The Northern Ireland Protocol came into force on 1^st January 2021. For as long as it is in force, Northern Ireland will align with relevant EU rules relating to placing manufactured goods on the market.

UKNI Marking
	Characteristics - It has to be visibly, legibly and indelibly on the product. - Logo size: at least 5mm in height. - Logo proportions should remain constant.
From 1^st January 2021
Placing qualifying Northern Ireland goods on the market in Great Britain (unfettered access)		Placing goods on the market in Northern Ireland
CE mark or CE/UKNI mark accepted for new & existing products.		CE mark accepted. Manufactured goods being placed on the market in NI using an EU conformity assessment body.
CE mark accepted if third-party assessment is made from EU-27 Notified Body.	UKNI mark accepted if third-party assessment is made from UK-approved Body.
Note: The UKNI marking is not recognised on the EU market. This means these goods must be manufactured to EU rules and cannot be assessed by a body based in the UK. For European market, the CE mark must appear without the UKNI mark. The CE/UKNI mark are not acceptable in the EU market.

The references to standards for toys in support of the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011

The references to standards listed in Annex I to this notice are published for the purposes of regulation 3A of S.I. 2011/1881 and accordingly are designated pursuant to that regulation in relation to England and Wales and Scotland.

Reference of standard
EN 71-1:2014+A1:2018	Safety of toys - Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties
EN 71-2:2011+A1:2014	Safety of toys - Part 2: Flammability
EN 71-3:2019	Safety of toys - Part 3: Migration of certain elements
EN 71-4:2013	Safety of toys - Part 4: Experimental sets for chemistry and related activities
EN 71-5:2015	Safety of toys - Part 5: Chemical toys (sets) other than experimental sets
EN 71-7:2014+A2:2018	Safety of toys - Part 7: Finger paints - Requirements and test methods Notice: For the allowed preservative climbazole (entry 22 in Table B.1 of Annex B to this standard) the presumption of conformity applies up to a maximum allowed concentration of 0,2 % (not: 0,5 %). This is based on the ‘ADDENDUM to the Opinion on Climbazole (P64) ref. SCCS/1506/13’ of the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) that was adopted after the publication of the standard by CEN.
EN 71-8:2018	Safety of toys - Part 8: Activity toys for domestic use
EN 71-12:2013	Safety of toys - Part 12: N-Nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances
EN 71-13:2014	Safety of toys - Part 13: Olfactory board games, cosmetic kits and gustative games
EN 71-14:2018	Safety of toys - Part 14: Trampolines for domestic use
EN 62115:2005	Electric toys - Safety EN 62115:2005/A2:2011 EN 62115:2005/A11:2012 EN 62115:2005/A12:2015 EN 62115:2005/A2:2011/AC:2011 EN 62115:2005/A11:2012/AC:2013

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Childcare

This category of consumer goods covers a wide variety of products designed for young children. A childcare article is any product designed or intended to safely facilitate sleep, seating, transportation relaxation, hygiene, the feeding or sucking.

All these products have specific legislations or standards that set out the legal requirements for the safety of these products in terms of labelling, performance, flammability, etc., which must be met in order to be sold in Great Britain market.

It is important to bear in mind that generally, childcare goods must also satisfy other legislation from UK REACH, General Product Safety Regulations, and Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulations, among others, depending of the type of product.

From 1^st January 2021, the main points and legislations are:

Childcare	UK Legislation	Requirements
Teats and Dummies	The N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable Substances in Elastomer or Rubber Teats and Dummies (Safety) Regulations 1995 apply.	For these types of product, the GB Regulation follows the same requirements as the European legislation. A teat or dummy should not allow any N-nitrosamine and N-nitrosatable substance to pass into the liquid in the following quantities – (i)0,01 mg in total of N-nitrosamines released/kg (of the parts of the teat or dummy made of elastomer or rubber); and (ii)0,1 mg in total of N-nitrosatable substances/kg (of the parts of the teat or dummy made of elastomer or rubber).
Nursery furniture	Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988	The nursery furniture items must satisfy the flammability requirements contained in the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 such as: Baby seats, bouncing cradles and baby rockers Baby car seats that are designed for home as well as car use Baby walking frames Cots and travel cots, carry-cots, carry-cribs, cribs and moses baskets Highchairs, chair harnesses and playpen (including mattresses for playpens) Prams and push-chairs Upholstery liners supplied with all of the items listed above. They must also carry permanent labels and display labels giving information about how they comply with the Regulations.
Children's tableware (cutlery, feeding and drinking utensils, thermos and similars)	General Product Safety Regulations 2005 and applicable food contact materials legislations.	The EU jurisdiction has been completely carried over by GB, retaining the European legislation Regulated food contact materials need to be authorised before they can be used and placed on the market in Great Britain (GB). The United Kingdom (UK) has issued a guidance on authorising food contact materials (FCMs), which outlines the procedure for authorising new FCMs to be placed on the market in Great Britain (GB). Food contact substances that were authorised by the European Commission (EC) before 1^st January 1 2021 and are on the positive lists under the Plastics Regulation and the Directive for Regenerated Cellulose Film will not need to be reauthorized by UK authorities to be placed on the market in GB The procedure for new authorisations for FCMs to be placed on the market in Northern Ireland will continue to follow EU rules.

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Packaging for toys and childcare products

The responsible person (packer/filler, importer, brand, trade mark or other distinctive mark) is obliged to ensure that all packaging complies with the essential requirements and heavy metal limits (Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Hexavalent Chromium), among other substances, and requirements of packaging legislation, UK REACH and Persistent Organic Pollutants Regulations, among others.

When placing goods on the market, the responsible person must also account for packaging waste. The aim is to reduce the amount of packaging waste that ends up in landfill.

The main requirements are:

Packaging volume and weight must be the minimum amount to maintain the necessary levels of safety, hygiene and conformity for the packed product and for the consumer.
Packaging must be manufactured so as to permit reuse or recovery in accordance with specific requirements.
Noxious or hazardous substances in packaging must be minimised in emissions, ash or leachate from incineration or landfill disposal.

The relevant Regulations are:

EU legislation

UK legislation

Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste