The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and its members have introduced two voluntary codes of practice on flammability testing, as part of a bid to improve the safety of children’s fancy dress costumes.
In recent years the existing Toy Safety Standard for the flammability of children’s dressing-up costumes – which are defined in European Law as a ‘toys’ – has faced criticism, resulting in what the BRC calls the need for a more robust flammability test.
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Working together with UK laboratories, the BRC has now developed a flammability test it says can be adopted quickly and ensures that products sold are safer.
Endorsed by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), The National Fire Chiefs Council, Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service, and the Children’s Burns Trust, the new test standard for flammability has been reinforced with the more stringent requirement of a maximum burn rate of 10mm/minute – an improvement of 300% over the existing 30mm/minute standard.
“We have led the way in developing guidance and tools to help all companies, not just our members, test products to a standard above current regulations to give their customers the reassurances they rightly demand,” says David Bolton, head of product safety at the BRC.
“First introduced in 2016, we continue to review and refine it to ensure it is robust and add to a company’s own due diligence process. We have also been working with BSI to encourage Europe to adopt our standard.”
However, while Bolton adds the new test is a valuable tool for all companies, the BRC recommends the UK Government and EU authorities revisit the legislation to ensure all products on the market are effectively regulated to reflect the hazards presented by today’s style of costumes, including the fabrics and finishes used.
The two BRC voluntary Codes of Practice are:
- Method of Test for the Flammability Safety of Children’s Dress-Up
- Additional Flammability Labelling of Children’s Dress-Up
“Retailers have considered the potential risk and vulnerability of children and rightly made the voluntary decision to go beyond the current testing standard to ensure the dress-up products they sell are safer,” adds Paul Fuller CBE QFSM, chief fire officer, Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
