Are children's Christmas costumes toys or clothes?

In October last year, children's Santa Claus garment exported to Spain by a certain economic and trade company in Hangzhou was detained by Spanish Customs. In addition to unqualified labels, this product does not comply with the relevant regulations of the EU toy safety standards: beards, tentacles, wigs, etc. made of hair or similar materials, protrude from the surface of the toy by 5 cm; in the burning test, the burning duration exceeds 2 seconds, exceeding the maximum of 50%.

This standard is a series of standards developed by the European Union for toy safety and consists of 11 parts. Among them, the second part stipulates the types of flammable materials prohibited for use in all toys and the burning performance requirements of toys for certain small fire sources, and specifies the burning performance requirements and test methods for the five types of toy materials. EU Customs uses EN 71 series standards as the basis for testing imported toys.

The company’s children’s Santa Claus garments were detained because they did not meet the requirements of the European Union’s EN 71-2 standard. The company had different opinions. The designers of the company believe that children's Santa costumes are mainly used during the holiday season and are decorative items for festivals and celebrations. They should not be tested in accordance with toy standards, but should refer to the standards for clothing products.

In order to clarify the fuzzy understanding of the classification of the product, Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Standardization "coping 110" experts inquired about the EU's new and old toy safety instructions. Through comparison, it is found that the opinions of the company are reasonable.

According to the relevant regulations, this product is not regarded as a toy product. Since children's Santa costumes (including wigs, beards, etc.) are mainly used for festival celebrations and are decorative items, they may not be classified as toy products.

However, according to the EU's revised toy definition, children's Santa Claus garments exported by the company (including wigs, beards) can also be classified as toy products. The reason is that while the costume is designed for festival celebrations, children under the age of 14 may also use the product for playing in everyday life.

The EU's revised toy definition expands the scope of toys and expresses the idea that, for products whose classification is not clear, for the protection of children's personal safety and health considerations, they should be tested according to more stringent standards.

Through the analysis of this case, enterprises have realized that comprehensive, accurate and in-depth knowledge of the content of foreign technical regulations has a crucial role in preventing the export of products from being blocked.

In order to effectively help enterprises understand the latest foreign technical regulations, standard information and market access requirements, and avoid technical barriers, the Provincial Institute of Standardization has established a technical trade measures rapid response and service center, and extends the "Response 110" system to the province. On July 28th, the technical barrier “Response 110” was established for the Hangzhou Lower City Workstation; on October 19, the Wenzhou Branch Center and the Yueqing Workstation were established, and in the near future, the company could provide timely, effective, and proactive solutions.