Consumers attack toys overhaul

Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen is to give the manufacturing industry an easy ride in a forthcoming overhaul of key legislation intended to guarantee toy safety, the consumer lobby BEUC is warning.

The revision of the 1990 toy directive has been underway for the past six years, but has attracted more scrutiny in the wake of last year’s product safety scares, which saw toymaker Mattel issue three recalls of possibly tainted products made in China. The overhaul of the directive was included in an intensive two-month review of safety rules launched in September by Meglena Kuneva, the commissioner for consumer protection.

Laura Degallaix, policy adviser at BEUC, said that the new version of the toys directive, expected in the third week of January, would shy away from imposing bans on harmful chemicals used in the manufacture of toys and would leave the self-regulatory CE marking system untouched.

"It does not go far enough, in particular with chemicals in toys," she said. "There are various substances in toys that can end up on children’s skins or in the mouth. We have a problem with fragrances in toys that are not really needed but can cause health problems."

According to Degallaix, endocrine-disrupting products and carcinogenic substances would be subject to only partial restrictions under the revised directive, which came out of inter-service consultation this week (7 January).

Use of the CE marking system on toys, a central requirement of the directive intended to ensure conformity with EU safety standards, would remain a self-regulatory mechanism. The system was last year criticised for its lack of objectivity. "We would like to see mandatory third party certification," said Degallaix.

Anne Starkie-Alves, secretary-general of lobby Toy Industries of Europe, said that toy safety was an "absolute priority" among manufacturers. "What the toy industry would like to see is a better enforcement of toy safety standards," she said.

Commissioner Kuneva, said Starkie-Alves, had "made it clear that the problems are at the low end of the market, in particular with counterfeit goods, [with] people who pay no attention to safety standards, putting things on the market to make a fast buck."

A European Commission official described the revision as "a broad overhaul of all things that need to be changed, [looking at] issues such as dangerous substances and bringing in the fact that more and more toys are computer-based."

In parallel, the Commission has been working with industry, consumer organisations and retailers with the aim of issuing a code of conduct for toymakers in the second quarter of this year, possibly in April or May. An analysis of supply chains and safety checks is currently underway.

Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen is to give the manufacturing industry an easy ride in a forthcoming overhaul of key legislation intended to guarantee toy safety, the consumer lobby BEUC is warning.