Standards library
What the marks on the box actually mean.
A CE mark is not a safety award. GOTS certifies fibre, not finished goods. These distinctions matter when you're choosing something for a baby, and they're rarely explained anywhere that isn't trying to sell you something. Each entry below says what a standard requires, what it leaves out, and links to the regulation so you can read it yourself.
Australia & New Zealand
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AS/NZS ISO 8124 Mandatory
The joint Australia–New Zealand toy-safety standard, aligned with the international ISO 8124 series.
Canada
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CCPSA & Toys Regulations Mandatory
Canada's Children's Product Safety Act and the Toys Regulations (SOR/2011-17) — the legal floor for toys and child-care articles sold in Canada.
European Union
Required to sell in the EU. Toy safety here works by pre-market conformity assessment — the manufacturer must show a product meets the rules before it goes on sale.
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The manufacturer's declaration that a toy meets EU safety law. Required to sell in the EU — and not, by itself, evidence of independent testing.
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EN 1400 & EN 14350 Mandatory
The European child use and care article standards: soothers (EN 1400) and drinking equipment (EN 14350).
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The European toy safety standard series. EN 71-3 is the part that limits migration of heavy metals from materials a child can mouth.
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EN 71-9 / 10 / 11 Mandatory
The EN 71 parts covering organic chemical compounds in toys — formaldehyde, flame retardants, colorants and preservatives in what a child mouths or wears.
Independent schemes
Voluntary certifications a brand opts into, independent of where it sells. These are often the most informative marks on a label, because a brand has to choose to be audited against them.
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FSC certification Material
Forest Stewardship Council chain-of-custody certification for wood. Relevant to wooden toys and nursery furniture.
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Global Organic Textile Standard. Certifies organic fibre content plus environmental and labour criteria through the whole supply chain — and it's publicly verifiable.
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Tests finished textiles for harmful substances. Baby articles fall in the strictest product class.
Japan
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ST Mark Voluntary
The Japan Toy Association's toy-safety certification scheme, in place since 1971.
United Kingdom
Required to sell in Great Britain. Post-Brexit the UKCA regime still tracks the EU's technical requirements closely, though the two can diverge over time.
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UKCA marking Mandatory
Great Britain's post-Brexit conformity mark. Technically close to CE today, with scope to diverge.
United States
Required to sell in the US. Enforcement is largely post-market: the CPSC acts on products already on shelves, rather than clearing them beforehand.
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ASTM F406 Mandatory
The US safety specification for non-full-size cribs and play yards, incorporated into the CPSC's mandatory play-yard rule.
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The US toy safety standard, mandatory under CPSIA. The rough counterpart to EN 71.
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The US children's product safety law. Requires third-party testing and a certificate — a genuinely stronger testing requirement than EU self-declaration.
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FDA food-contact substances (21 CFR) Mandatory
US law on what may touch food — the Food and Drug Administration's framework for food-contact substances, covering bottles, cups and tableware.
Every explainer here cites the regulation or standards body it describes. Where we've summarised, we say so and link the original — see our methodology for how sources are ranked and what we won't cite.