The current European toy safety management is based on the EU Toy Safety Directive (or abbreviated as TSD), namely DIRECTIVE2009/48/EC-the most recent update was December 5, 2022-the revision at that time was to add limits and limits for aniline content to Appendix C of Annex II.

The new Toy Directive came into effect in 2009 (including a two-year transition period for chemical requirements, which came into effect in 2011), mainly to address new issues in toy safety caused by technological developments in the toy market since the implementation of the “old” Toy Safety Directive, namely 88/378/EEC (Directive 88/378/EEC)-especially in terms of toy noise and chemical substances and the risk of food suffocation caused by toys. At that time, market regulators also emphasized the need for a unified and coherent approach to deal with a very different market environment from when Directive 88/378/EEC came into effect in 1988, especially in terms of the implementation of laws and regulations and market supervision.

However, it has been 14 years since the “New” Toy Directive, and the market environment it faces today is very different from that in 2009. Due to the limitations of the “Directive” itself, the European Commission (EC)’s amendment to the Directive is limited to part of Annexes I, II, and V, and its entire framework and main content cannot be modified. So in order to address some shortcomings identified in practical application since the adoption of the Directive in 2009-particularly in ensuring that children should enjoy a high level of protection from the risks posed by dangerous chemicals and in the face of a booming online sales background. In the absence of effective supervision of such channels, the Committee represents the European Parliament (European Parliament (EP) and the Council of the European Union (the Council of the European Union) drafted and submitted a new proposal on July 28, 2023: COM(2023)462final, hoping to resolve these issues and abolish the new toy directive.

The proposal is currently in the “first reading” stage by the council and its internal bodies. According to the information provided by the State Customs Administration, the proposal is expected to take effect from 2024-2025 and will be implemented in 2027 or 2028.

Although this proposal is in the early internal review stage, and many revisions will not be ruled out in the future, we can respond in a timely manner to the direction of my future concerns through the new requirements in the proposal.

The main differences between the content involved in the proposal and the current Toy Directive are as follows:

1. Change management rules from directives to regulations/regulations

Although the entry into force of the Directive is binding on all member states to which it is issued, member states need to convert its content into domestic legislation through domestic procedures. Therefore, without violating the requirements of the Directive, member states have certain autonomy at the specific implementation level. This makes the EU’s single market’s vision of placing a “requirement” less thorough and uniform.

Regulations/laws are more direct, requiring all EU member states (even EEA members) to enforce them as law immediately after they take effect, rather than waiting for the “requirement” to be converted to their own language.

It can be seen from the above that the legal effect and enforcement of the instructions are lower than those of regulations/regulations. The European Union has also become stricter and more unified in toy regulation.

2. Slings and catapults that were originally exempted from the requirements of the Toy Directive for special reasons are no longer exempted

That is, slings and catapults must meet the relevant requirements of the new proposal, and other exemptions remain.

3. Economic operators have added fulfillment service providers

As defined in Point 11 of Article 2 of European Regulation (EU)2019/1020: In commercial activities, any natural or legal person in the supply chain provides at least the following two services as a service provider: warehousing, packaging, addressing and dispatching, and does not involve product ownership-excluding postal services.

4. Strengthen the protection of children from the risks of chemicals

The chemicals strategy for sustainability (CSS) calls for the extension of so-called universal approaches to hazardous chemicals (based on universal preventive bans) to ensure more consistent protection of consumers, vulnerable groups and the natural environment. That is, in order to better protect children from harmful chemicals, the proposed regulation will not only retain the current ban on the use of carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to reproduction (CMRs) in toys, but will also recommend banning the use of chemicals that affect the endocrine system (endocrine disruptors) and chemicals that are toxic to specific organs (including the immune, nervous or respiratory systems). Because these chemicals may interfere with children’s hormones, affecting their cognitive development and health.

5. Choose to use digital compliance information, that is, to replace the EU declaration of conformity with a Product Passport

Manufacturers must create product passports for toys, including relevant compliance information, before they are put on the market. The product passport will be connected to a unique product identifier via a data carrier and will meet the same technical requirements of the product passport contained in the ESPR. Future regulations will ensure that any toys submitted to customs will only be released for free circulation and enter the EU market if they have a corresponding product passport.

6. All warnings should start with “Warning”(this prefix needs to be translated into the language of the region where the toy is sold according to the requirements of the member country), or add a common pictogram, as shown below.