Toys & Childcare | Monthly bulletin | January 2021

EUROPE

Standards updates

Please see below table summarising the most recent standards updates and upcoming dates of withdrawal (non-exhaustive):

CENELEC / CEN
Reference	Title	*Date of Withdrawal ()**	Supersedes
EN 71-4:2020	Safety of toys - Part 4: Experimental sets for chemistry and related activities	2021-12-31	EN 71-4:2013
Reference	Title	*Date of Withdrawal ()**	Supersedes
EN 1130:2019/AC:2020	Children's furniture - Cribs - Safety requirements and test methods	2020-12-23

(*) Date of withdrawal: latest date by which national standards conflic NMJ457ting with an EN (and HD for CENELEC) have to be withdrawn.

(**) Date of availability: date when the definitive text in the official language versions of an approved CEN/CENELEC publication is distributed by the Central Secretariat.

New update of Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs)

On 19 January 2021, the ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) has released the new Candidate List of SVHCs. With the addition of two new substances, the current list of SVHCs contains 211 substances.

The table shows the two new substances included:

Nº	Substance name	EC number	CAS number	Reason for inclusion
1	Bis(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)ether	205-594-7	143-24-8	Toxic for reproduction (Article 57 (c))
2	Dioctyltin dilaurate, stannane, dioctyl-, bis(coco acyloxy) derivs., and any other stannane, dioctyl-, bis(fatty acyloxy) derivs. wherein C12 is the predominant carbon number of the fatty acyloxy moiety	-	-	Toxic for reproduction (Article 57 (c))

Click here for getting the official news from ECHA’s website.

FRANCE

Ban on disposal of unsold children care products

On 28 December 2020, the French authorities published Decree n ° 2020-1724 prohibiting the disposal of unsold non-food items and various provisions to fight against waste.

Concerning producers, importers and distributors of manufactured products, the regulation defines the conditions of application of certain provisions under the law dated 10 February 2020 relating to the fight against waste and the circular economy.

In particular, it specifies the list of hygiene and childcare products that unsold products must be reused, preferably through donations. It also defines the cases in which the reuse and recycling of unsold products does not meet a sustainable development objective justifying their elimination.

Childcare products list covered by this new law are:

Any product intended to ensure or facilitate the sitting, washing, sleeping, transport, movement and physical protection of children under four years of age.
Baby bottles, bottle teats, pacifiers and teething rings.
Utensils necessary for feeding and preparing food for young children.

The Decree came into force the day after its publication. However, it includes deferred application dates for certain provisions. For hygiene and childcare products, it will come into force on 1 January 2022.

Ban of plastic toys in children’s menus.

Starting from 2022, restaurants in France will not be allowed to provide free plastic toys together with their children’s menus.

This requirement is found in Article 81 of Law n ° 2020-105 on the fight against waste and the circular economy, published on 10 February 2020.

Consolidated list of toy standards

On 9 December 2020, the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published a notice related to toys, which provides a consolidated list of designated standards for toy safety. It is in support of the toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 (as amended).

Click here to access the consolidated list.

U.S.

CPSC publications

On 19 January 2021, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published Revisions to Safety Standard for Infant Swings. Furthermore, on 8 January 2021, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) proposed to amend certain sections of Article 6 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations.

Flame Retardants Bill in Massachusetts

On 1 January 2021, the Governor of state of Massachusetts signed the Bill H.4900, which aims to protect children, families, and firefighters from harmful flame retardants by regulating flame retardants into different categories such as bedding, carpets and children’s products.

Effective since 31 December 2021, these type of products shall not contain the following chemicals substances or an analogue in an amount greater than or equal to 1000 ppm:

Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCPP) (CAS number: 13674–87–8);
Tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP) (CAS number: 115–96–8);
Antimony trioxide (CAS number 1309–64–4);
Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) (CAS number 25637–99–4);
Bis(2-Ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6- tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) (CAS number 26040–51–7);
2-EthylhexYl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB) (CAS number 183658– 27–7);
Chlorinated paraffins (CAS number 85535–84–8);
Tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) (CAS number 13674–84–5);
PentaBDE (CAS number 32534-81-9);
OctaBDE (CAS number 32536-52-0);
Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) (CAS number 79-94-7);

Amendment proposal of the California Code of Regulations

On 8 January 2021, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) published a notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to certain sections of Article 6 of Title 27 of the California Code of Regulations.

This rulemaking amendments include:

Section 25601, Safe Harbor Clear and Reasonable Warnings – Method and Content,
Section 25602, Consumer Product Exposure Warnings – Methods of Transmission,
Section 25603, Consumer Product Exposure Warnings – Content, and
Section 25607.1 Food Exposure Warnings – Methods of Transmission.

The aim is to facilitate businesses’ compliance with the Act by providing clarification to the guidance concerning the provision of safe harbor warnings under Proposition 65.

The comments are due to OEHHA by 8 March 2021.

Upholstered furniture flammability federal standard

On 21 December 2020, Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Bill H.R. 133) was passed and then signed into law by the US president a few days later.

The COVID-19 Regulatory Relief and Work from Home Safety Act is included in the law H.R.133- Title XXI. The law adopts the California upholstered furniture flammability standard ‘TB 117– 2013: Requirements, test procedure and apparatus for testing the smolder resistance of materials used in upholstered furniture’ as a federal standard in the United States.

This will come into force on 25 June 2021.

CANADA

Cyclical Enforcement Reports 2019-2020

On 20 January 2021, the Canadian government published results related to the Cyclical Enforcement Project 2019-2020.

The aim of this project is to verify industry compliance with the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) and its regulations in different types of consumer products. Below are the reports relating to childcare and toys:

Flammability requirements for children’s costumes

On 21 December 2020, Health Canada published a notice relating to flammability requirements for children’s costumes to remind manufacturers, agents and retailers on the Heath Canada’s policy regarding children’s costumes, particularly how the policy relates to the flammability requirements set out in regulations under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA).

AUSTRALIA

On 18 December 2020, the Australian Authorities published the following legislations relating to button/coin batteries and consumer products that contain these types of batteries:

Requirements such as warnings, symbols, recommendations, etc., are indicated in these legislations.

They shall be applicable from 22 June 2022.

INTERNATIONAL

Regulatory proposals notified to WTO

Please see below table summarising the most recent notifications made to the World Trade Organization (WTO) (non-exhaustive):

Notification number	Countries	Title
G/TBT/N/ISR/1181	Israel	SI 1548 part 2 - Children's furniture: Mattresses for perambulators and similar domestic articles
G/TBT/N/ISR/1181	Israel	SI 1548 part 3 - Children's furniture: Textile child care articles - Babies' cot bumpers - Safety requirements and test methods

PRODUCT RECALLS / ALERTS

Below you will find a monthly summary table of product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “RAPEX”) and in the US (Source “CPSC”).

Europe

RAPEX (European Commission Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products – Alerts reported by EU national authorities).

The following 12 alerts regarding Childcare articles, equipment and toys have been reported, from week 1 to week 3 of 2021.

Type of Risk	Number of alerts	Notes
Chemical	6	Plastic toy: It contains bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP). Does not comply with the REACH Regulation.
		Toy slime: It contains an excessive amount of 5-Chloro-2-methyl-isothiazolin-3(2H)-one (CMI) and 2-methylisothiazolin-3(2H)-one (MI). Does not comply with the requirements of the Toy Safety Directive.
		Ballons: The amount of N-nitrosatable substances released by the balloons is too high. Does not comply with EN 71-12.
Choking	5	Small parts. Does not comply with EN 71-1
		Soft toys: The fibrous stuffing material of the toy is easily accessible due to the weakness of certain seams. Does not comply with EN 71-1.
		Bow and arrow: The suction cup of the projectile can easily detach. If a child puts the projectile in the mouth, the suction cup can detach and obstruct the airways. Does not comply with EN 71-1.
		Children’s fancy-dress costume: It has two functional free cords at the level of the neck which are too long. Moreover, the zip puller of the costume can easily detach, releasing small parts. Does not comply with the requirements of Toy Safety Directive and EN 71-1.
Electric shock, Fire	1	Game Console: It has weak insulation potentially leading to live parts coming into contact and causing creepage currents. Does not comply with the requirements of the Low Voltage Directive and EN 62368-1.

From 1 January 2021 to 20 January of 2021, CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 1 recalls regarding Childcare and children’s productsrecalls: 1 recalls regarding Childcare and children’s products.

Type of Risk	Number of alerts	Notes
Choking	1	Toy Confetti Trumpets: small plastic pieces inside the toy trumpets can come loose and can be ingested by children.