Chemical substances in toys and childcare articles

REACH, a regulation that applies to all articles

The manufacture, importation and distribution of toys and childcare articles is regulated by various sector-specific regulations. In France, these include the toy decree, the childcare decree, CE marking and the regulation on materials in contact with foodstuffs. However, some articles are not covered by these regulations, such as teething rings and changing mats which are not included in the childcare decree. In contrast, the European REACH regulation applies to all articles (an article is an object with a special shape, surface or design which determines its function to a greater degree than does its chemical composition). Annex XVII of the REACH regulation prohibits (or limits) a certain number of substances in toys and childcare articles. It also requires the suppliers of these articles to inform any consumers who request this information about the presence of substances of high concern at over 0.1% (SVHC identified by the member states and the European Chemicals Agency, ECHA).
 

A more stringent target

Exposure to SVHCs can occur by air, absorption or skin contact and thus trigger adverse side effects on human health. They can potentially penetrate the organism when they have contaminated the environment (water/food...).
Due to the young age of the users, contact with some objects can sometimes be misdirected and/or repetitive: object put in the mouth, prolonged skin contact (comforters, childcare articles, etc.).
The Scan4Chem application - a way to keep yourself informed!

The Scan4Chem mobile app, deployed as part of the European LIFE AskREACH project, enables you to scan the barcodes of articles and question suppliers about the presence of SVHCs in everyday objects.

> Try the application:
On Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.uba.scan4chem