The Approach to Safety of Children’s Toys in United States and European Union: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Following the ‘Year of Recall’ in 2007 which saw greatest number of children’s toys product recalls from United States of America (US) and European Union (EU) markets, both regions instituted new legislations governing children’s products: the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA 2008) and EU 2009 Toy Safety Directive. This article analyses the approaches to safety of toys adopted in US and EU in light of the potential for cross-jurisdictional use of the framework. This qualitative research utilizes secondary data gained from scientific database analysis and library research, including documents and precedents on toys safety. These data were analyzed by using legal interpretation and comparative assessment. The study finds key features of each jurisdiction as well as notable similarities and differences in terms of regulations, safety standards used such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO 8124); The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM F963); and European Standards (EN 71). Further, two competing systems, each with its own reigning global governor namely, Third-Party Assessor (3PA) supported by the US and Supplier’s Declaration of Conformity System (SDOC) adopted by the EU, were assessed. When both systems were put into an evaluation, the extra third-party inspection for issuing certificate on the product based on 3PA enable to provide important protection to consumers over the SDOC system.