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The EU bans PFAS in children's toys. When will toys become safe?
Toys will become much safer in a few years, says researcher.
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The EU, along with Norway through the EEA agreement, has one of the world's strictest regulations for toys and safety.
Even so, dangerous toys still regularly end up in children's bedrooms, partly because so many people shop online.
Toys worth 6.5 billion euros were imported into the EU in 2023, according to a press release from the European Parliament. 80 per cent of them came from China.
Just two weeks ago, the Norwegian Consumer Council warned that it's not safe to buy toys from either Temu or Shein, especially not for very young children. Several of the toys had small parts that came loose and could pose a choking hazard to children.
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The EU has an alert system for when dangerous consumer products are detected. The largest category last year was cosmetics, which accounted for 36 per cent of the alerts. Toys came in second place, with 15 per cent of the alerts. Half of the alerts about toys concerned dangerous chemicals.
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The regulations are now becoming even stricter.
Bans several dangerous substances
In an updated Toy Safety Directive that was adopted in November, the EU decided to:
- Prohibit more chemicals, including all PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, and the most dangerous bisphenols.
- Require manufacturers to assess all possible hazards – chemical, physical, mechanical, and electrical. The toys must be tested for fire risk, hygiene, and radioactivity – measured against children's sensitivity. Digital toys must also be assessed for risks to children's mental health.
- All toys must have a visible digital passport to show compliance with the new safety regulations. These passports are intended to make it easier to monitor the market and control imported goods.
The rules will apply to all toys sold in the EU, regardless of where they are produced.
Researcher: Great that PFAS as a group is banned
"This the first time I'm aware that the EU is regulating all PFAS as a group," says Dorte Herzke at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH).
She is an analytical chemist and an expert on environmental toxins and plastic pollution.
PFAS is a group of thousands of harmful chemicals that are called forever chemicals. Once they enter the environment or our bodies, they remain there for a long time.
'The use in toys, components of toys or micro-structurally distinct parts of toys, of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is prohibited,' the document negotiated this summer and adopted in November states.
"This is great," says Herzke. "Perhaps this regulation can serve as a model for other products that may also contain PFAS."
The Norwegian government is among the countries supporting a proposal to ban all PFAS for all uses.
Designed to be updated continuously
The most dangerous bisphenols will also be banned from use in toys.
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In 2023, the EU's food safety authority significantly reduced the acceptable daily intake level for bisphenols. The substance disrupts hormones and can affect the nervous system and reproductive health.
According to a NIPH report from 2023, Norwegian children had higher levels of Bisphenol A and PFAS in their blood than what is considered safe.
"Bisphenol A is proposed for a total ban. It will now be tested by measuring whether bisphenols leach out of the toys, rather than measuring the amount within the toys themselves. This is a more accurate and sensitive way of measuring it and represents a stricter approach than before," says Herzke.
Bisphenol B will be banned using wording similar to that used for PFAS. A group of more than 30 bisphenols that are currently being tested may also be included in the regulation.
"From now on, new limit values for chemicals can be updated continuously as new knowledge emerges, without the need for formal and time-consuming changes to the legislation," says Herzke.
Much better than what we have today
Toy makeup is also covered by the new regulation.
"This could lead to play cosmetics containing fewer environmental toxins than regular cosmetics. That's quite remarkable," says Herzke.
The new regulation is far better than what we have today, according to the expert.
"The new regulation is much more comprehensive than before. The EU has also managed to create a more flexible and dynamic framework that can be adjusted more quickly as new knowledge emerges," says Herzke.
"What's unfortunate is that it won't take effect for nearly five years. And it does not include micro- and nanoplastics. But it does apply to all toys, with no age limits. So Christmas shopping in 2030 will be much safer," she says.
Disappointing to have to wait 4.5 years
Elin Volder Rutle is the head of sustainability at the Norwegian Consumer Council. She also highlights that it's positive to have even stricter requirements for which chemicals can be used in toy production.
"We are pleased that the EU has listened to consumer organisations now that they're tightening the regulations so that toys will become safer," says Rutle.
Earlier this year, a study conducted by the climate and environmental research institute NILU showed that ordinary Norwegian children's bedrooms contained several potentially harmful chemicals (link in Norwegian).
The Norwegian Consumer Council has pointed out that internet-connected toys can threaten children's safety and privacy. They have also warned against international online shopping.
"We have repeatedly warned consumers about buying toys from international online marketplaces like Temu and Shein, because repeated tests show that they fail to meet basic safety requirements and often contain unwanted chemicals," says Rutle.
She is pleased that the new regulations place clearer responsibility on these platforms to ensure that the products they sell are not harmful to health or dangerous in other ways.
"At the same time, we're very disappointed that it will take a full 4.5 years before the rules take effect. It's incomprehensible that we have to wait until 2030 before the toys in stores are free from harmful chemicals and other health risks," says Rutle.
Necessary to ensure a smooth transition
The new rules are an update of the Toy Safety Directive that was first introduced in 2009. They will enter into force as soon as they are officially published. But countries will be given 4.5 years to implement the new changes.
"Four and a half years may seem like a long time at first, but this period is necessary to ensure a smooth transition," Marion Walsmann tells Science Norway.
Walsmann is a German member of the European Parliament and is responsible for the work on the new regulations.
"Toys that meet the requirements of the current directive are not per se unsafe," she says.
She adds that the technical specifications for the digital product passports that companies now must create have not yet been finalised.
"This is a process that takes time. The same applies to new limit values, for example for chemicals," says Walsmann. "Retailers must have the opportunity to sell off goods that have already been produced and purchased so that they do not have to be destroyed, especially for reasons of sustainability."
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Translated by Alette Bjordal Gjellesvik
Read the Norwegian version of this article on forskning.no
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