As many of you are probably aware, to sell soft toys in the UK they need to have been CE Tested. CE testing essentially is a check of the pattern and production methods. This ensures that the toy is safe for children to play with. What many people are unaware of, is that you do not need to pay someone to do the CE testing for you. It is easy for you to self-certify toys as CE compliant. This makes it a much more attainable goal for crafters to design, make and sell soft toys.
I bought a very helpful instruction pack from Conformance. It was very informative and gave all needed instruction. Once tested each toy and variation of which will have a Certificate. Investing in the pack, will allow you to CE test your crafts countless times.
Certified Materials
It is important that all the materials used are EN17 compliant. To put it very simply, the fabric, ribbon or thread has been tested and certified as safe and free from dangerous chemicals. You will need to collect all these certificates and add them to your technical file. Basically, all the information on the testing that has been carried out. Most fabric suppliers are happy to provide the certificates for purchased items.
Weighted tension CE testing
Not as technical as it sounds, I used items from around the house. You have to connect clamps to the different areas of the item being tested. To check the security of the sewing, a weight is hung from the extremity. For mine, I used a shopping bag and food tins from the kitchen.
Prod CE testing
To ensure that little fingers cannot get into the seams of your completed item, you do a prod test. You can do this with a wooden spoon. The spoon is then pushed into the seam with a certain amount of pressure, measured using kitchen scales.
Twist and pull CE Testing
Similar to the above test is the Twist and pull. This is to check that if a child were to twist the toy that no parts could be removed. Imagine if two children were arguing over the toy and were twisting and pulling it in separate directions. Therefore, you will need to do a twist and pull test on any parts that have been sewn-on, usually the head or limbs of a teddy.
Small parts CE testing
If your toy has any removable parts, you need to check if they are a choking hazard. The Conformance pack provides instruction on how to make a small container. If the parts are too big to fit, then it is not considered a chocking hazard. I didn’t have to undertake this test for my item’s CE Testing as none of the parts were removable.
Flammability CE testing
This is probably the hardest part of all the CE testing. Once you have finished your item, you need to set the poor thing on fire. This is the only part of my Craft business, that my husband has ever offered to help with! This test requires a bit of maths, as you need to time how long the item burns for, to then measure the spread of the burn.
Once you have carried out all these tests, you then need to wash your item and repeat the tests. This is to see if the toy were washed, that it would still be safe for a child to play with.
The Conformance pack was a great investment for me. Following its instruction, you will be confident in your finished item and the safety of giving it to a child. Please remember if you change the design of your item, you will need to retest it. For example if you give your toy longer ears, or add clothing or change the material which the item is made out of.
If you have conducted CE testing, feel free to share your story. I am in no way an expert in CE Testing. However I thought that it was important to raise awareness on CE self-certification. Hopefully making it more attainable for those wanting to craft.
