Safety of childcare articles and children’s clothing

Risks

Children are vulnerable consumers, therefore, the protection of their health and safety is of utmost importance. Examples of common risks are set out below, however, manufacturers must carry out an assessment of the product that covers all relevant risks that may be associated with it and take actions to mitigate these where possible.

Mechanical/physical risks:

• Small parts can cause choking in children under the age of 36 months.
• Long cords can cause strangulation if they exceed the permitted length.
• Sharp edges and points can cause cuts, bruising and other injuries.

Chemical risks:

• Dangerous chemicals can cause short- and long- term adverse health effects if they exceed allowed limits.

Thermal risks:

• Hot surfaces can cause burns.
• Poorly insulated or fixed wires or substandard components can short circuit and create arcs or overheating, leading to fire.
• Flammable materials can ignite quickly leading to burns

Hygiene risks:

• Microbiological or other contamination of materials from which the product is made can cause irritation and infections.

Specific examples of measures taken against dangerous childcare articles and children’s clothing offered for sale in the European Union are available on the Safety Gate website.

Legislation and standards

The term ‘childcare articles’ is used to refer to a wide range of product types from prams and pushchairs to soothers and drinking equipment.  The specific term ‘children’s clothing’ means clothing specifically intended to be worn by children under the age of 14 years.

The legal framework for clothing and childcare articles is the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) and the REACH regulation (the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals Regulation 2006). Protective clothing such as high visibility vests might be subjected to the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Regulation. According to the Textile Labelling and Fibre Composition Regulation, products have to be labelled or marked whenever they are made available on the market.

The key standard for children’s clothing is EN 14682 – ‘Safety of children’s clothing – Cords and drawstrings on children’s clothing – Specifications’ which relates to the safety of children’s clothing and is cited under the GPSD

For aspects where harmonised European standards do not exist, manufacturers can still use other European standards such as:

• EN 17394-2 – Textiles and Textile Products: Part 2 – Safety of children’s clothing – Security of attachment of buttons – Test method
• TS 17394-1 – Textiles and Textile Products: Part 1 – Safety of children’s clothing – Security of attachment of attached components to infants’ clothing – Specification
• TS 17394-3 – Textiles and Textile Products: Part 3: Safety of children’s clothing – Security of attachment of metal mechanically applied press fasteners – Test method
• TS 17394-4 – Textiles and Textile Products: Part 4: Safety of children’s clothing – Security of attachment of components except buttons and metal mechanically applied press fasteners – Test method
• EN 14878 – Textiles – Burning behavior of children’s nightwear – Specification
• EN 1103 – ‘Textiles – Fabrics for apparel – Detailed procedure to determine the burning behavior’ which relates to flammability.

There are various items included in the product category of childcare articles from pushchairs to soothers so there are a wide range of standards. Further information about these European standards can be found on the European Commission’s website.