Let’s get into a list of toy safety tips that will help you get into the right mindset to build safety into your toys from the start of the process and avoid anything as drastic as a safety recall.
Inventors and designers of kids’ toys who are planning to bring new products to market need to keep a keen eye on product safety. There have been numerous high-profile safety recalls of toys over the year, like this one in 2010 where 10 million Fisher-Price toys were recalled due to dangerous parts and choking hazards. Fisher-Price may be large enough to take the hit on a recall like this, but would your business fare so well?
The Risky Business of Play
It’s not just kids who play, you know, we all do it, because it offers us a safe place to rehearse and learn in preparation for the risky business of living a full and rewarding life. And of course, as kids have the most to learn, they practice the hardest!
If you take some time to watch them in full swing, there’s one thing you will notice: their joy soars as they instinctively bring risk and jeopardy to the serious business of having fun. Frankly often to the detriment of their parent’s nerves, kids will do anything to push the boundaries; they just love it. It’s instinctual and vital to their growing experience.
So as a toy designer you will often be caught in a tricky place between the cool idea that you just know will send those little thrill-seekers wild, and what you fear will end you up in the law courts! If you add into the fact that the legal definition of ‘safe’ extends well beyond your basic play pattern, delving into materials, finishes, finger entrapment, choking hazards, and more, it can all feel a little overwhelming and deflating.
6 Toy Safety Tips For New Toy Developers
What is ‘safe’ when it comes to toys? Don’t worry help is at hand with these toy safety tips which will help you bake safety into the toy long before it gets to production.
1. Be aware of the relevant toy safety standards
Each region in the world has its own set of standards to guide you and help you navigate your way through this maze. If you want to import your toy, then compliance with these standards is required by law. There are two ways to do this self-certifying i.e. checking your design complies with the legal requirements and/or use the services of a professional laboratory to do the work for you.
But whichever option you pick, the first thing you will probably want to do as a design professional is to buy a copy of the toy safety standard that covers your market, and have a quick read. As a basic understanding of the stuff that’s going to be relevant to your idea will almost certainly save you costly errors and redesigns, so it will be time well invested.
Be warned though, the standards can be daunting in their sheer size. The European Toy Safety Directive, EN71-3:2019 which outlines the requirements and test methods to assure safe levels of toxic heavy metals, for example, generously runs to 14 volumes containing several hundred pages, so anything other than a skim read will probably fry your creative brain and leave you wondering how it’s possible to design anything new and innovative under the shadow of such a hefty book of rules.
For more information on what testing laboratories can assist with and product compliance, listen to our podcast episode focused on compliance testing:
2. Engage with testing labs
My advice here is this, at the very least engage with one of the many safety test labs that are out there and get an idea of how much using their services is going to cost. I have worked on many toy developments over the years, and have always used the professional services of a test lab. Even if you have the patience to work through the document, it’s always great to have an expert on the end of the phone that you can discuss your idea with. Often as we shall see later, compliance is both a science and an art…
3. Certify for safety before you go into pre-production
Get the product in front of an expert early and don’t wait until you are in Pilot Production before seeking advice and getting certified. Often a testing lab will be happy to offer an opinion really early from a sketch or rendering, and getting a solid ‘no’, might sting at the time, but it might save you real pain later down the development path.
4. Understand what concessions might be available from a lab
It may also be reassuring to know that whilst the nature of Safety Legislation is to be clear and unambiguous in the definition of ‘safe’, the tests are often designed to cover a broad range of applications. So there can never be a perfect test and in some circumstances, there may be wriggle room for you to argue your case with the expert that, whilst you do not comply with the standard, you are still safe.
Perhaps your design or its application has mitigating factors that could be judged by the lab as reasonable? In my experience, it is not uncommon to have concessions applied to your certification, and the key here is to build a good working relationship. Despite stereotypes, the best quality managers I have worked with understand that a world without risk is rather dull and grey, and that the art to great toy design is to balance these sometimes opposing needs – yes, fun quality managers really do exist!
5. Being certified to a toy safety standards doesn’t always guarantee 100% safety
It’s worth remembering that passing a standard with flying colours does not always guarantee that your product is safe, though of course in the event of legal proceedings, compliance to the industry safety standard will go a long way to demonstrate your due diligence in development. For a myriad of reasons, you may even take a view to exceed legal requirements. I guess the point here is that whilst ‘safe’ is often black and white, it can also be subjective and open to interpretation.
6. Assure that your manufacturing partner understands and can deliver on your product safety requirements
Once you are confident in your toy’s compliance, the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle is the measures you put in place to ensure that your manufacturing partner understands the requirements of your design. Choose your factory carefully, using one that has prior experience of manufacturing toys for other clients is often a good starting point. A bonus is that they will likely be familiar with many of the regulatory requirements and, therefore, may be able to hold your hand through the approval process.
Have your say…
Have I missed any toy safety tips that you can add based on your experiences? Let us know in the comments, please.
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Contributed by Andy Bartlett, a UK-based new product development expert with a deep experience in toys. Several of our clients have worked with Andy with good results.
Product Design Manager at Worlds Apart for 14 years.
Designed products for Disney, LEGO, Hasbro and Mattel including Scruff-a-luvs and GoGlow.
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