Instructions on EU Toy Compliance
Dear AliExpress sellers,
It is our top priority to ensure global consumers buy compliant and safe products on AliExpress. As a member of AliExpress, you must understand and abide by AliExpress product qualification and compliance policies and applicable laws and regulations in all markets. In this way, you may not only secure a long-standing success in international trade but also avoid engaging in any illegal activities that may incur penalties, cause your products to be banned, or even terminate your operation on AliExpress.
The EU defines a toy as any product or material designed or clearly intended for use in play by children of less than 14 years of age (“Any product or material designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play by children under 14 years of age"). Common types of toys include plush and cloth toys, plastic toys, electric toys, remote control toys, wooden toys and cosmetics toys.
Among the EU's technical regulations and directives on toy products, the most common is the Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EC) which applies to all types of toys. Also, there are a range of directives that regulate certain types of toys, including the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Directive (2014/30/EU), the Radio Equipment Directive (2014/53/EU), the Battery Directive (2006/66/EC), the RoHS 2.0 Directive (2011/65/EU) on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, the WEEE Directive (2012/19/EU) on waste electrical and electronic equipment, and the General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679/EU, GDPR).
In June 2019, the EU passed the Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products, which further tightened the regulation of CE-marked products and those subject to other qualification requirements.
Therefore, toys exported to the EU require the following qualifications:
1. Product labels must have the CE logo, provide at least one official language used in the EU, and contain warnings where necessary.
2. You should ask the manufacturer for proofs of compliance with EU regulations, such as a toy compliance statement (declaration of conformity, DoC) and test report or a CE certificate issued by a certification authority.
Sellers are duty-bound to ensure their products meet the laws and regulations of the target market. AliExpress plans to open the portal for submitting CE certificates in early October 2019. These certificates will be displayed on the product page upon approval. Products meeting the EU standards will improve the mindset of EU consumers. So please get prepared.
You may hire a third-party certification service provider to help you apply for the above-mentioned certificates. For your convenience, we list the contact information of some testing and certification authorities below. Please note that we are not recommending or endorsing these authorities by doing so. AliExpress is not in partnership with any of these authorities, and the contact information is all from public sources. You should contact them on your own and make a rational choice.
Bureau Veritas Certification
CE service contact: Lin Gen, 13588276675; Certification and audit service contacts: Kuai Shuangshuang (Kiki Kuai), 18116007815
Vkan Certification &Testing Co., Ltd
CE service contacts: Qiu Rui, 020-32293649, 18819143221
More public materials for your reference:
1. The Ministry of Commerce's Technical Guidelines for Exported Commodities - Toys Exported to the EU (2018):
http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/article/ckzn/upload/2018ckoumwj.pdf
2. CE marking requirements on manufacturers exporting to the EU:
http://www.mofcom.gov.cn/article/ckzn/upload/2018ckoumwj.pdf
The above information does not constitute any legal advice and shall not be deemed or represent the legal opinion or conclusion of the regulatory body. Further, we do not undertake or warrant that the information represents the latest laws and regulations. For specific information, please consult the competent authority, law firms, or third-party certification/testing/consulting companies in the target country or region.
AliExpress
August 15, 2019