On 1 December 2016, Switzerland revised Toys ordinance to be in line with the Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC.

The highlights of amendments are as below:

1. Revise some provisions as regards Annex 1 list of toys not considered as toys and Annex 2 physical and mechanical properties in the interest of clarity;

2. Include safety requirements for activity toys and functional toys

3. Add new definitions for chemical toys, aquatic toys, olfactory board games, cosmetic kits and gustative games;

4. Update the list of SN EN 71 standards harmonised with Swiss Toys ordinance;

5. Restrict the five substances in toys for children under 36 months or intended to be placed in the mouth to align with the EU Toy Safety Directive (EU toy directive adopts five new restrictions):

•  reaction mass of: 5-chloro-2- methyl-4-isothiazolin- 3-one [EC no. 247-500-7] and 2-methyl-2H -isothiazol-3-one [EC no. 220-239-6] (3:1)

• 5-Chloro-2-methyl-isothiazolin-3(2H)-one (CMI)

• 2-methylisothiazolin-3(2H)-one (MI)

• 1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one (BIT)

6. Restricts some chemicals in REACH Annex XVII including benzene, phthalates and PAHs.

Effective on 1 May, the new standard allows those toys compliant with the old version continue to be sold until 30 April 2017.

BACL Service:

BACL, headquartered in the United Sates, is a global comprehensive international third-party testing and certification service organization. With knowledge of the laws and regulations of various market, BACL can not only offer testing and certification services for finished products including textile and garment, shoes and toys, but also help companies to execute quality control over the whole industry chain from raw material to finished products.