Why are dangerous toys still on sale?

malcolm r says: 12 March 2019
Independent testing will solve nothing.

But surely it would address Wave’s main point: self-certification of adherence to standards? It seems to me there are a number of loopholes in the various methodologies for dealing with new products and random testing of newly released items would at least present an obstacle at source.

I’ve always believed prosecuting shops is the wrong approach, primarily because it directly penalises the seller as opposed to the producer or importer. Shops could react by refusing to stock new products, which could lead to an even faster decline in the high street, stifle innovation and isolate the UK in the international marketplace.

I do believe random testing of imported and newly created products is probably going to achieve the most, in fact.

It’s difficult to see any logic in making the retailer or responsible for the safety of products, unless they have knowingly bought unsafe products or continued to sell them after a problem has been identified.

Tom has told us that there is still a problem with toy slimes containing more than the permitted amount of boron. If the retailer is selling slime that has been identified as non-compliant with standards then they they deserve to be prosecuted, but if no problem has been demonstrated they are blameless providing that they remove the product from sale promptly.

Manufacturers should, as part of their quality control, be testing (in house or otherwise) the amount of boron in batches of slimes, and there are various ways that this can be done.

I support Ian’s suggestions but would throw in another issue that I have raised before. Manufacturers often use different parts in their products. Anyone who has ever maintained their car will be familiar that the same model can use parts from different manufacturers, including safety components such as brakes. There have been many cases of manufacturers recalling a product but only a certain range of serial numbers. One reason for this is use of different components in manufacture. I recently dismantled a pair of emergency lights that are the same model, look identical and were manufactured at the same time, but the internal components are very different.

Random testing is something I totally support. It needs to be targeted and prompted by “intelligence” – knowledge of suppliers and sellers, information from consumers, other countries experience, reputation or not of manufacturers. and so on. This would be one of the remits of a properly funded Trading Standards to police the system.

What I had assumed was being proposed was that every product that is put on sale in the UK that has to meet a standard should have a sample independently tested against the standard. Given the number of products and the laboratory facilities and expert staff required that is, I believe, quite impractical.

Nor will it, I believe, solve the problem. If a manufacturer is determined to flout the regulations they can simply alter the product from that independently tested.

Most manufacturers are responsible and would not want any product they make to be found seriously defective, unsafe or dangerous. Most manufacturers have specialist development and test laboratories designed around their products, with expert and knowledgeable staff, to ensure their designs meet the appropriate standards and, through quality testing, continue to so do. They are not in business to cheat the system. It is the delinquent manufacturers who will do that.

Why prosecute the retailers and distributors? It is they who go out into the producer market to select products for sale and it is they who profit financially from the sale of those products . They are responsible for checking the the products they choose are acceptable and meet the regulations required. In the case of CE marking there is an extensive documented trail of testing that must be available for a product to be marketed in the EU, not simply a “declaration”. All of this can be falsified of course with the aid of corrupt organisations, so importers/resellers must be vigilant. Trading with dodgy suppliers to make money without checking the provenance of a product is both irresponsible and may be criminal. Make this not financially worthwhile and my guess is those who rake care to market good products will prosper and many of those who are less careful with either change their ways or find some other activity.

Shops can deal with products that are known to be from reputable sources. That is what consumers want to be kept safe. No need to buy dodgy slime or flammable party clothes from iffy suppliers.

“I’ve always believed prosecuting shops is the wrong approach, primarily because it directly penalises the seller as opposed to the producer or importer“. As with “faulty” goods the consumers contract is with the retailer and they have responsibility in law to deal with the problem. I agree that shops may not be the best target for prosecution; it is the importers/distributors with whom they deal who should be held responsible for quality of the goods they choose to source and to handle. Having said that, major shops will source directly from manufacturers or overseas distributors themselves and also take on that responsibility. Small shops may also choose to trade with dodgy distributors, or import direct, and also need to assume that responsibility.

Then there is the question of people like Amazon who, at the least, allow their market place to be used without, seemingly, their due diligence in monitoring the provenance of what is sold and from which they profit.

If selling unsafe products were properly penalised I believe those in the chain would be more careful. There are plenty of products out there that are safe for them to sell.

The consumer deserves protection from dangerous or potentially harmful goods irrespective of where they choose to shop. Relying on Trading Standards or another body to identify dodgy products is not good enough.

Trading Standards is the UK’s nominated organisation to look after product safety.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ce-marking#ce-marking-enforcement
We need a central organisation of this type who proactively police the system, react to consumer complaints, have the money and facilities to investigate and to bring prosecutions when appropriate. We cannot prosecute people outside our jurisdiction, which limits our ability to deal with delinquent manufacturers, hence we must attack the careless, delinquent or otherwise deficient people who bring unsafe products into the UK and distribute them without being careful about their quality or source. CE products have, by EU regulation, to have very comprehensive documentation to support the manufacturer’s assertion of compliance.

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/ce-marking/importers-distributors_en briefly summarises their role, including
“Importers
When importing from non-EU countries, importers must check that products fulfil all EU safety, health and environmental protection requirements before placing them on the market.“.
That seems to place the responsibility upon them. The importer may be a major retailer as well as a distributor.

Derek wrote: “But also, in previous discussions about slime, I think we also learnt that you can make a great slime without needing any boron at all…” I suspect that the reason for including borax (a chemical compound containing boron) in commercial slimes is that it has antimicrobial properties, allowing the slime to be stored for long periods without growing potentially harmful bacteria and moulds. It’s easy to use cornflour rather than borax in home-made slime but that would soon grow bugs.

I understand the point that the risk is related to the amount of boron in slime, but the maximum amount permissible is well established and I don’t have much sympathy for any manufacturer that fails to comply with this.

My understanding is that that the boron compounds are needed to activate the slime, if its bulk material is made from something like PVA glue:

thebestideasforkids.com/how-to-make-slime-with-contact-solution/

My friends’ kids found that boron loaded contact lens cleaning solution was needed and worked well there and they did not experience any obvious health impacts.

But the very best and longest lived slime was from (apparently) boron free kits like these ones Smyths sell:

smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/boredom-busters-/slime/so-slime-diy-slime-factory-blue/p/166274

NB – other slime retailers are available…

…and I doubt that there has been any specific research on toy slimes from which a “well established” and clearly defined “maximum permissible amount” has been derived for its boron content. That would be a bit like asking how many cigarettes I could safely smoke each day, always assuming that I wanted to. I certainly cannot see toy vendors wanting their slimes to come with MSDS’s (materials safety data sheets), as I would expect to find in a UK workplace.

I have not seen published research on toy slimes and do not know the background to the maximum permitted amount of boron. Manufacturers are required to make MSDS/SDS available to distributors etc but they are not generally supplied to the public. This is somewhere in the current directive, available via this link: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/toys/safety_en

One of the problems with setting limits for materials in contact with the skin is that people respond differently. Washing hands thoroughly after contact with slimes would be a sensible precaution, but I don’t know if this advice is provided.

Where safety limits are set, they should be set so as to protect everyone who might be exposed to the hazard in question.

Absolutely. That can depend on many factors including frequency of contact and in some cases concentration of the potential irritant. A well known washing up liquid was marketed for years as ‘kind to your hands’. I knew someone who developed contact dermatitis in the factory producing it. The packaging does not refer to the importance of rinsing hands after use, which is a sensible precaution when using any detergent-based cleaner.