Information on the Safety Standard US Toy Importers should Follow

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) protects the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under its jurisdiction, including products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction.

What is the Toy Safety Standard in the USA?

Toys, or children’s products, are defined as products designed for use by children aged 12 or younger. Toys or children’s products sold in the USA are subjected to different levels of safety regulation, depending on the age of the children that they are aimed at or designed for. The younger the child, the stricter the rules. At the time of sourcing toy and children related products from China it is essential for all the US toy importers to maintain standards mentioned in the Children’s Product Certificate. Here is a rundown of CPSIA regulated toy product:

• Baby products 
• Dolls
• Children’s Jewellery
• Plush toys
• Plastic toys
• Children’s clothing
• ATVs
• Children’s Accessories
• Children’s furniture
• Toy vehicles

The Toy Association leads the multi-stakeholder committee that continually reviews the standard to ensure that it keeps pace with child development research, medical and toy-related incident data, risk assessment techniques, science, and manufacturing innovations. The standard was last revised in 2016. To meet the CPSIA regulations, there are a number of steps that you have to take before sourcing toy products from China such as:

• Children’s products sourced from China will have specific markings and tracking labels on their packaging.
• All children’s products must be tested by a CPSC approved laboratory (there are certain exceptions).
• The law also bans selling kids’ toys and products that contain more than 0.1 percent of certain phthalates, which are chemicals used to make soft and flexible vinyl.
• If your toys or children’s products are very small, or contain small parts-like marbles, ball bearings, balloons, beads and so on-they also need to be clearly marked with a warning label to show that they can pose a choking hazard, and the age of child that they are safe for.
• Before you can issue a Children’s Product Certificate, you need to have your product tested. The CPSIA regulates various aspects of children’s products, including substances, labeling, flammability, durability and physical proportions.

The CPSC promotes the development of voluntary safety standards and under certain circumstances has the authority to issue and enforce standards and ban unsafe products. In all its activities the CPSC strives to work closely with private consumer groups, industry, the media, and agencies of various state and local governments.