Deception. That word best captures the mood in the toy industry after the European Parliament approved the new safety regulation for the sector this Thursday. The draft failed to close the legal gap that allows non-EU products that do not meet safety rules to be sold on online platforms, a gap that many fear puts children at real risk. Toy makers also criticize several changes, arguing that some requirements are impractical to meet and that the net effect will be to shelter unscrupulous traders who market unsafe items.
Toy Industries of Europe (TIE), the sector’s trade association, has warned that manufacturers from outside the EU have found online marketplaces to be a convenient entry point for placing toys that do not comply with safety standards onto the community market. They urged authorities to step in, but the appeal appears to have fallen on deaf ears. The association has publicly spoken about a missed opportunity to close the gap that enables non-EU sellers to push unsafe toys in online markets. In a statement, they lamented that online marketplaces still lack clear legal responsibility for selling unsafe toys by third-country vendors.
Manufacturers point out that although some provisions could improve enforcement and compliance, significant concerns persist beyond the marketplaces themselves. Among the main issues is a ban on natural ingredients in toys, a measure that could bar seemingly safe items such as colored wax pastels and chalks. There is also contention over the prohibition of what some call safe stainless steel, a material widely used in outdoor toys like trampolines and go-karts. Critics argue that no alternate material matches the durability and safety provided by this steel for certain products.
Additionally, the transition period of thirty months will be handled by governments implementing a Digital Product Passport and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) developing the technical standards. This timing means manufacturers may not have a clear roadmap well in advance to design toys that fully comply with all new requirements.
The trade group had hoped for the removal of the market’s limited window to sell safe toys already on shelves once the new rules come into force. For many manufacturers, extending the period to twenty months is not enough. They warn that hundreds of thousands of safe toys may have to be located, withdrawn, and destroyed, a move they see as wasteful and detrimental to sustainability.
“Although the aim was to improve safety, the Parliament has effectively stepped back on child safety and toy security,” commented Catherine Van Reeth, the chief executive of TIE. “We hope the legislative process will consider how practical the proposals are and whether they genuinely add safety to toys. Our industry is committed to children’s safety and well-being across Europe. To achieve that, a sensible, enforceable set of rules is needed that does not unduly favor unscrupulous traders at the expense of responsible toy manufacturers.”
On the positive side, industry representatives welcomed promises related to the Digital Product Passport as a tool to simplify procedures. They also support a total ban on substances that act as endocrine disruptors to human health and note that toys already compliant with current directives pose no risk in this area. Nevertheless, a complete prohibition could bring additional clarity to all players involved. Other elements are viewed more favorably, including clearer and tighter rules on health and hearing standards and the expectation that market surveillance authorities will always contact the supplier of the toy to confirm compliance. This approach is seen as a way to enable rapid action if safety issues arise. The sector also emphasizes continued support for small and medium-sized enterprises to help them meet the new rule set.
In summary, the industry is cautiously optimistic about certain improvements while voicing strong concerns about others. The shared priority remains ensuring that children across Europe are kept safe from toys that do not meet robust safety criteria, and many in the sector believe that the path forward must be practical, enforceable, and transparent to both manufacturers and consumers.