Planning to sell toys, children’s furniture or other children’s products in the European Union? If so, then compliance with the Toy Safety Directive is required. In this guide, we list products covered by the Toy Safety Directive, and some exemptions.
Content Overview
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What is the Toy Safety Directive (EN 71)?
The Toy Safety Directive sets strict safety requirements for toys and certain types of children’s products. Most safety requirements fall within one of these classifications:
- Chemicals and heavy metals restrictions
- Mechanical/physical properties (e.g. sharp edges and weight)
- Flammability
The Toy Safety Directive also covers warning symbols. Further, all products covered by the directive must also carry the CE mark.
Note that the specific requirements are outlined in the various EN 71 standards. More than one EN 71 standard is often applicable to toys and other children’s products.
Wooden Toys
The Toy Safety Directive regulates toys sold inside the European Union market. In order to place wooden toys in the EU market, importers and manufacturers should be concerned about compliance with the directive, especially part 3 of EN 71, which stresses the issue of specification for migration of certain elements of the toys.
Wooden toy products are often found to contain toxic solvents, which generally come from the paint on the surface of the wooden toys, which often contain excessive formaldehyde and lead.
Other toxins for wooden toys include colorants, fire retardant, benzidine, VOC and PAHs. Such chemical substances could be particularly harmful to infants and children and lead to brain injury or reproductive-related diseases since they often lick toys with their mouths.
EN Standards
- EN 71-1: Mechanical and physical properties
- EN 71-3: Specification for migration of certain elements
Examples
- Hand-carved toys
- Plywood puzzles
- Wooden stacking games
- Wooden xylophone
- Building blocks
Plush Toys
EN 71-2 specifies flammability requirements and test methods for materials used in all toys, which includes plush toys. It requires that all toys should not burn or burn slowly when directly exposed to a flame or any other potential fire source, and the child should be able to drop the toy in case of ignition without burning themselves.
In addition, certain kinds of plush toys may also be subjected to EN 71-3, which regulates the migration of certain elements in toys. The reason is that the fillers in the flush toys might contain harmful substances such as formaldehyde, which could cause erythema, serious allergy or other skin-related diseases to children.
EN Standards
- EN 71-1: Mechanical and physical properties
- EN 71-2: Flammability
- EN 71-3: Specification for migration of certain elements
Examples
- Plush toys
- Soft-filled toys
- Stuffed toys
Educational Toys
Educational toys are designed for the purpose of stimulating learning behaviors and enhance the intellectual and emotional development of the children. Common educational toys include alphabet blocks, puzzles, musical instruments and also electronic products such as voice control robots and remote control robots.
Due to the wide-ranging types of educational toys in the market, each individual type of product is subject to different EN standards, the following are some of the possible EN 71 Standards for educational toys:
EN Standards
- EN 71-1: Mechanical and physical properties
- EN 71-2: Flammability
- EN 71-3: Specification for migration of certain elements
- EN 71-5: Chemical toys (sets) other than experimental sets
- EN 71-6: Graphical symbols for age warning labeling
- EN 71-7: Finger paints
Examples
- Drawing mat
- Alphabet building blocks
- Magnetic tiles
- STEM toy set
- Puzzles
- Microscope
- experimental facilities
- Musical instruments
Chemical Experimental Sets
EN standard 71-4 regulates the experimental sets for chemistry and related activities, aiming to reduce the risks and health hazards caused by chemical experimental sets to children during the use. This regulation specifies requirements for the maximum amount and concentration of certain substances and mixtures used in experimental sets for chemistry and related activities.
EN Standards
- EN 71-4: Experimental sets for chemistry and related activities
Examples
- Experimental set
- Chemistry set
- Crystal growing set
- Carbon dioxide generating experimental set
- Supplementary set
- Cosmetic kit
Children’s Finger Paints
EN standard 71-7 regulates the substances, materials and labeling requirements for finger paint products intended to be used by children. It also regulates the product’s container.
EN Standards
- EN 71-7: Finger paints
Examples
- Finger paints
- Tempera paint
- Doodling posters
Swing, Slides, and Trampolines
EN Standard 71-8 regulates children’s toys like swing, slides, ladders, see-saws, carousels, paddling pools in terms of the assembly, stability, static strength, maximum height of certain components, sharp corners and edges of the products, protruding parts and other specifications of the products.
EN Standards
- EN 71-8: Swings, slides and similar activity toys for indoor and outdoor family domestic use
- EN 71-14: Trampolines for domestic use
Examples
- Spider web swing
- Playground swing set
- Hammocks
- Flying saucer swing
- Skateboard tree swing
- Trampoline
- Rebounder
Electronics Toys
EN Standard 62115 regulates the safety of a wide range of electric toys from the perspective of general criteria: components, mechanical resistance, construction, radiation, power input, cords and wires, markings and many other aspects of the toys. It requires electric toys to be constructed in a way that will not pose any threat to users, including children under 14 years old.
Electric toys might also have to comply with other EN standards harmonized under the Toy Safety Directive, such as EN 71-1 and EN 71-6. The latter specifies the requirements for the graphic designs of labeling on children’s toys, in order to inform adults that such toys might be hazardous to children under the age of three.
EN Standards
- EN 71-1: Mechanical and physical properties
- EN 71-6: Graphical symbols for age warning labeling
- EN 62115 Electric toys safety standards
Examples
- Walkie-talkie
- Writing tablet
- Tamagotchi electronic game
Children’s Furniture with Play Features
Furniture that is intended to be used by children under the age of 14 years old and contains some play features or value should adhere to the Toy Safety Directive. Several EN standards might apply, such as parts 1, 2, 3, and 6.
EN Standards
- EN 71-1: Mechanical and physical properties
- EN 71-2: Flammability
- EN 71-3: Specification for migration of certain elements
- EN 71-6: Graphical symbols for age warning labeling
Examples
- Play tunnels
- Pumpkin carriage beds
- Treehouses
- Play tents
- Storage boxes
Products Exempted from the Toy Safety Directive
According to the directive, the following products are exempted:
- Public utilities like playground equipment, slot machines
- toy vehicles equipped with combustion engines
- toy steam engines
- slings and catapults
Additional Resources
2. List of EN 71 Lab Testing Companies
3. EN 71 Toy Safety Lab Testing: A Complete Guide
4. Amazon Toys & Children’s Products Requirements For Sellers: An Overview
