Non-toxic toys – unfortunately not something you can take for granted

Surely no parent would voluntarily put a toy containing carcinogens in the hands of their child. Nevertheless, there is a risk that we will do so, especially if the item in question comes from an online marketplace.

The Swedish Chemicals Agency has conducted a study of electronic toys and plastic toys, and found that 40% of the toys contained excessively high levels of hazardous substances. These include, for example, substances that can be carcinogenic and/or endocrine disruptors, and for which the legal requirements are not met.

Read the Swedish Chemicals Agency’s press release about this issue here:
https://www.kemi.se/arkiv/nyhetsarkiv/nyheter/2022-06-29-40--av-billiga-leksaker-pa-natet-hade-hoga-halter-farliga-amnen (In Swedish)

Just as no parent wants to buy toys containing dangerous substances, there are probably few companies that want to put such products on the market. With one exception, all the audited companies have now withdrawn their dangerous products from the market. The problem is that the knowledge area of chemicals in products can be difficult to understand for those who are not chemists, and even for chemically knowledgeable companies it can be difficult to access information about chemical content through the supply chain.

When I think about the infinite number of products available on the market, not least via e-commerce and marketplaces, it sends a chill down my spine. We need to get better, both as producers/suppliers and as consumers, at bearing in mind that even products that are not perceived as “chemical” actually also contain chemicals.

The Swedish Centre for Chemical Substitution can help you get started!

If you are a producer or supplier and want to learn more about how you can ensure that your products do not contain harmful substances, the Swedish Centre for Chemical Substitution recommends our free training course. There we go step-by-step through how you can find out what your products contain, how to impose demands on your suppliers and how you can follow up to ensure that they comply with your requirements.

Published: 2022-07-01