JA2010 - Children's Fancy Dress

The primary objective of the activity was to conduct a market surveillance exercise relating to the Children’s Fancy Dress (CFD) that are currently on the market in the participating member states with a view to assessing the extent to which these product conform to the various flammability and chemical safety requirements prescribed by the EU and CEN.
The following member states participated in the activity: Greece, Latvia (Leader), Portugal, Slovenia and the Netherlands.
Two main risks for CFD or toy disguise costumes for children were addressed in this project:

• Flammability - the probability of accidental contact with flames is significant and higher than for ordinary children’s clothes as they are likely to be used under circumstances where flames are present;
• Chemical risk - azo dyes, formaldehyde, phthalates.

The working group issued a Guide for economic operators concerning the safety requirements for carnival or disguise costumes. For a copy of this guide please click here.
Many CFDs are made from one or more fabrics each of which may produce a range of different chemical, physical and/or mechanical hazards. Unfortunately, the legislation and safety requirements relating to these hazards are fragmented amongst a number of items of legislation and/or safety standard. This information is often not easily accessible by economic operators.

This Guide aims to identify the relevant legislation, how it may be obtained and, where applicable, the relevant legislation and/or safety standards. Moreover, the Guide is not a legal document and contains advice on the methods used by test laboratories to quantify the amount of the substances present in the clothing article.

For more information, please contact info@prosafe.org.