What you should know before selling a handmade toy in Europe
TOYS RISK ANALYSIS AND COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT
Before placing a toy on the market, the manufacturer must carry out an analysis of the dangers that the toy may present in terms of chemical, physical, mechanical, electrical, flammability, radioactivity and hygiene. He must assess the potential exposure to these hazards.
The manufacturer must also submit his toy to a conformity assessment procedure. This is the process by which the manufacturer establishes that their toy meets regulatory safety requirements.
Depending on the nature of the toy, the manufacturer applies one of the following two procedures provided for by the regulations: Auto contrôle
Auto control
The self-checking procedure is used where the manufacturer has applied harmonized standards covering all safety aspects relevant to the toy. In this case, the manufacturer must ensure that the toy complies with these standards over time and put in place an internal production control procedure as mentioned in module A of Annex II of Decision 768/2008 / EC. Module A does not require the involvement of a third party body, but in fact manufacturers generally use an outside laboratory to perform the tests.
Third party control of the initial model associated with production control
The so-called “EC type examination” procedure (module B of Annex II to Decision 768/2008 / EC), combined with the “conformity to type based on internal production control” procedure (module C of Annex II to Decision 768/2008 / EC), is required in the following cases:
when harmonized standards covering all the safety requirements required for the toy do not exist, when the manufacturer has not applied or has only partially applied the harmonized standards, when one or more harmonized standards have been published with a restriction, or when the manufacturer considers that the nature, design, construction or purpose of the toy requires verification by a third party. In these cases, the manufacturer submits a copy of the toy to a notified body (an authorized conformity assessment body) for EC type examination.
The notified body examines the technical design of the toy and checks and certifies that it meets the safety requirements by issuing an EC type examination certificate. Then the manufacturer must ensure that the toys concerned comply with the "type" (model) described in the EC type examination certificate by setting up an internal production control procedure. Unlike type examination, production control does not require the intervention of a third party.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF TOYS
Which products are considered toys within the meaning of the regulations?
Decree No. 2010-166 of February 22, 2010 defines toys as “products that are designed to be used, exclusively or not, for play by children under the age of fourteen or intended for this purpose. ".
According to the types of toys, the guides of the European Commission provide assistance to economic operators in the classification of their products.
What requirements apply to toys intended for children under the age of three?
Toys should be safe for children who use them. Specific requirements are placed on toys that children under three years of age may be brought to handle. They concern the size of the elements and detachable parts, the use of certain chemicals, hygiene ...
Toys can be designed in such a way as to appeal to both children under 36 months and older children. They must then comply with the requirements applicable to toys intended for children under 36 months. The guide n ° 11 of the European Commission provides assistance to economic operators for the classification of their toys for more or less than 36 months. For example, it identifies the following criteria, which can be used for the classification of toys:
the psychology of children under 3, especially their need to "cuddle"; their attraction to what is "in their image": baby, small child, baby animal, etc. ; their mental development, in particular abstraction skills, level of knowledge, limited patience, etc. ; their lower physical abilities in terms of fluency, manual skill, etc.
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