EU’s new rules to protect children from harmful chemicals in toys

The European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee on Tuesday (13 February) adopted new rules to ensure safety and protect children from harmful chemicals present in toys.

The decision at the committee level in the Parliament follows the European Commission’s July proposal, which aimed to reduce the number of unsafe toys sold in the EU – with special emphasis on the online market – by ensuring a level playing field between toys manufactured in the EU and imported ones. 

EU institutions are now paying special attention to harmful chemicals that can be found in many children’s toys and pose a threat to their health and development. 

“The health of our children is paramount. There is no place in a child’s room for unsafe toys. The updated text protects children more effectively from harmful chemicals in toys, reduces administrative burdens and bolsters the detection of unsafe toys, especially from outside the EU,” said Marion Walsmann, German Popular MEP and rapporteur of the file in the Parliament in a press release. 

The new rules maintain the prohibition of substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction while introducing new bans on endocrine-disrupting chemicals among others. 

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals is an umbrella term that covers hundreds of different chemicals that can influence hormone action in the body such as bisphenols, phthalates and perfluoroalkyls, among others. 

According to the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), studies have suggested that endocrine disruptors may be responsible for declining sperm counts, increased numbers of male children born with genital malformations, and rising cases of certain types of cancer that are known to be sensitive to hormones. 

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Children are especially vulnerable

These chemicals are widely found in the environment, leaving people open to constant exposure. They can be either non-persistent, which means that the body naturally eliminates them and persistent, which accumulates in the body. 

However, experts warn that both are dangerous as everyone is constantly exposed to them through daily products such as plastics, cosmetic products, food packaging and even toys. 

Endocrine disruptors can have a particularly harmful effect on children. Normally, exposure is in low doses, but there are some periods of life where it represents a higher hazard such as during fetal development and infancy. 

“It’s all about hormones, and it’s at quite low concentrations in the body. If you are exposed to hundreds of chemicals that interfere with these fine-tuned, very low levels, that may have a long-lasting effect on the development of the child,” Anders Juul, paediatrician specialist in endocrinology, explained in Euractiv’s health podcast. 

A recent study conducted by a Danish consumer organisation analysed 121 children’s products, including toys, blankets and drinking bottles and found that more than 60% of them contained or released at least one, but in many cases two or more, bisphenols.

“Toys greatly contribute to children’s development, but we cannot accept that toys placed on the EU market put them at risk,” said socialist MEP Brando Benifei in a press release after the vote.

The European Consumer Organization BEUC also welcomes the Parliament’s decision and considers it “the right move enshrining the precautionary principle in toy safety legislation”.

“The deal isn’t done yet and we urge MEPs to be ambitious when they vote in plenary to better tackle smart toys, mental health, and dangerous chemicals”, Florence Punzano, senior safety policy officer at BEUC told Euractiv.

EU Commission to backtrack on harmful chemicals ban

The EU executive is about to cut back its plans of banning toxic chemicals as first promised in the chemicals strategy after industry pressure, a leaked document seen by EURACTIV suggests. 

EU’s slow-going efforts

This is not the first time the EU’s tried to address harmful chemicals in the environment. In October 2020, the Commission adopted its new chemicals strategy geared towards a toxin-free environment as part of the European Green Deal.

The strategy included a ban on using the most harmful chemicals for consumers, such as those in toys, cosmetics, detergents, food contact materials and textiles, through revising the 2007 EU chemical safety law REACH, which was initially due to be presented by the end of 2022, later delayed to the fourth quarter of 2023 and still to see the light. 

According to the European Environmental Bureau (EBB), Commissioners decided to delay it following pressure from the German chemicals industry. Campaigners worried in February that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen would seek to please her political base in Germany with a softball approach to chemicals regulation.

The concerns were backed by a leaked document seen by Euractiv in July suggesting that the Commission could be about to cave to industry pressure over its initial plans to ban certain toxic chemicals under its chemicals strategy.

According to this document, an impact assessment by the Commission dated January 2023, the EU is slashing its ambition to between 1% and 50% of chemicals, a significant decrease from the previous strategy.

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]

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