It may be recycled, but is it safe?

Consumers naturally expect safe products from the brands they trust—especially those targeting children. When implementing sustainable materials and processes, toy brands must ensure that they’re not introducing products that may be dangerous for children. Toxic chemicals in toys are of particular concern, especially those made for kids under 3 because of their mouthing and rapid metabolic rate, high surface area to body weight ratio, and rapid physical development. The product safety risks of toys made with sustainability in mind include:

• Recycled materials, such as plastic, may contain toxic chemicals due to exposure during the recycling process.
• Toys made from recycled plastic may contain toxic chemicals such as flame-retardants (PBDEs, HBCDs) or POPs (persistent organic pollutants).
• Sustainable toys may also contain toxic materials like lead paint on wooden toys.
• Different mechanical properties may introduce risks: for example, a sustainable product may be more brittle and not pass all tests.
• It’s difficult to be sure where old materials came from, and they may contain unknown chemical sources.

Most toy safety testing relates to chemicals, and any substances found to be potentially damaging to human health are immediately banned from the industry. Regulation in this area is increasing and becoming more expensive and challenging to navigate. A third-party expert can help you determine which tests are required based on your BOM and materials and work with you to streamline the testing process. This will not only enable you to stay ahead of regulations and avoid costly risks but will, most importantly, put your customers’ health and wellbeing first. It will also give you visibility over your supply chain so you can anticipate and manage risks throughout the product life cycle.

Missteps can be costly, and they do happen. In 2022, 213 toy products were recalled in Europe because of chemical risks.

The kitchen utensils and cookware segment has long been highly regulated, with strict standards in place to ensure products don’t jeopardize the health and safety of consumers. Since kitchenware often comes into direct contact with food, one of the key risks centers on the potential presence of chemicals in these materials that could potentially migrate to the foods they touch. Consumers tend to trust that the products they purchase are safe, but how can they be certain – especially amid constant changes to materials and processes driven by the sustainability push?

Most countries around the world have strict regulations for products and materials that come into contact with food, and the rules vary based on the country and material. For instance, products sold in the EU and the US need to follow regulations such as the EC No. 1935/2004 (the EU) and the FDA 21 CFR (the US). Different countries in the EU have additional regulations, such as the LFGB Law in Germany and the DGCCRF recommendations in France.

These regulations typically cover the most common kitchenware materials, such as plastics, silicone and rubbers, metals and alloys, ceramics, wood, paper and board, and varnishing and end coating. The specific criteria depends not only on the type of material but its intended use. For example, a regulation may consider whether a container is plastic or ceramic and if it’s intended to be used for aqueous food such as water or coffee, acidic foods like juice, or alcoholic beverages like beer or wine, and if it’s designed for hot or cold.

It might seem surprising, but risks are still identified today in destination markets, even for well-known brands. Such events can not only damage the brand’s image but can also generate additional risks if the brand is subject to a fine or a product recall. Not even major brands are immune to product recalls, such as the global furniture and décor brand that had a mug recalled from the market that was found to be potentially migrating excessive levels of dibutyl phthalate (DBP).

The global consumer goods industry is increasingly implicated in the debate because it faces significant challenges of its own and because many of its consumers are leading the movement for change. According to the Capgemini Research Institute, 79% of consumers are changing purchase preference based on the social responsibility, inclusiveness or environmental impact of their purchases.

Most companies, regardless of their size, are realizing the importance of creating products that show their brand positioning as a company that cares for the causes close to their heart. From environmental issues to social justice, it comes down to simply making a difference.

Additionally, there is increasing pressure from countries and NGOs, with continuous initiatives to reinforce control and ensure more responsible practices. The European Commission, for instance, recently proposed an import ban on products manufactured using forced labor, a proposal that still requires discussion and agreement by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union before it is legislated, but that demonstrates the mechanisms under consideration to stop forced labor and modern slavery.

While the types of risks varied, the most notified included:

Although most brands and retailers are conscious of the importance of bringing safe and compliant products to the market, defining the applicable scope across numerous product categories requires expertise. On top of this, gathering all the necessary documentation from various supply chain stakeholders can be overwhelmingly time-consuming. This administrative burden also attracts its own risks and the need for technical review, as nearly one document in every three evaluated by our experts is found to be non-compliant. In many instances, it isn’t easy to handle this process internally because of issues such as:

• Complexity with keeping records up to date
• Multiplicity of suppliers with different maturity and contacts (to be competitive and ensure effective pricing, brands tend to diversify)
• Numerous documents requiring the right expertise, including knowing the applicable regulations to ask for the appropriate documents
• No dedicated team: Considered a dull, administrative task by brand engineers but cannot be completed by someone without technical knowledge
• Process too slow vs. rotation of collections too fast
• Significant time required
• No proper interface to coordinate document collection and review

How to make customer reviews work for your brand

One of the key benefits of reviews is that this feedback lets brands know whether a product is relevant to its audience and whether it’s better than its competitors’.

Although positive reviews can naturally benefit brands in enormous ways, negative product reviews can have drastic impacts. They can not only affect the sales of the product but can escalate to the point of harming the brand image as a whole.

That said, bad reviews also provide an opportunity to improve and show customers that the brand is actively listening and willing to bring improved products to the market that aligns with customers’ quality and safety expectations. Customer reviews can also help find niches in the market yet to be explored, based on what customers feel is missing in a product or would be nice to have.

Navigating the masses of online reviews and identifying real issues and their root causes to make valuable improvements is not always easy. It might require support from a third party who can assess and identify issues and establish the appropriate recommendations. 

Turning negative reviews into positive outcomes

At API, we help our customers improve quality and safety at the product development stage to meet consumer expectations through a dedicated program that uses five steps to:

• help brands and retailers listen to and understand consumer feedback
• identify the causes of bad ratings
• establish recommendations for product improvements