Press Releases
SEPTEMBER 5TH 2007 - UPDATE
BTHA statement on toys from China
The safety of children is the toy industry's top priority. Stringent safety standards exist that ban the use of lead in toys. The use of leaded pigments has for many years been legislated against.
China manufactured toys have always been at the forefront of quality, value and until very recently safety. China supplies at least 80% of the world's toys as well as being the manufacturing base for most consumer products. Its infrastructure is highly developed and very efficient. Its problems should therefore be kept in perspective, in particular the recent safety issues relating to toys. China is very responsive to change and will strive to make the changes to ensure higher levels of diligence. Manufacturers importing toys from China will be demanding higher levels of diligence.
In general toy manufacturers impose stringent controls on toy factories and their sub-contractors. Regular reviews of quality control methods take place, paints for example are screened, tested and often retested before use. Inspections regularly take place to ensure compliance with Quality and Ethical manufacturing standards. Most toy manufacturers have products tested by Independent certified laboratories; this is part of established practise that has been in place for many years.
However, as well publicised cases recently demonstrated, even the best systems can break down. There is always a possibility, in any system, of human error - but a system also has to be robust enough to find the cause and remedy the problem swiftly. This has certainly been the case in the recent cases. Voluntary recalls should not be feared by the consumer, it is a positive sign of industry self regulation working on the rare occasions when even the most rigorous systems break down.
Steps have been taken to address toy manufacturers in China who lack detailed knowledge of toy safety regulations. It is expected that the "Road map to safer toys" initiative signed between the EU and China in 2006 will improve awareness of EU toy safety regulations amongst Chinese manufacturers.
Furthermore China has now been given access to information from the
EU's Rapid Alert System so as to deal with producers hit by RAPEX alerts. Despite rapid growth in exports from China, China's proportion of RAPEX notifications of toys has in fact dropped, which shows that China has an improving safety record.
The UK and EU as a whole have effective systems in place when defective or unsafe products reach the market place. Recall of products is part of this system.
Every effort will be made to ensure safety is the industries number one priority.
Contact details for more information:
Natasha Crookes
Director of Communication
British Toy & Hobby Association
T: 020 7701 7127
E: natasha@btha.co.uk