Hong Kong businesses importing and selling children’s furniture, baby products, toys, and other children’s products must ensure compliance with the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance. In this guide, we cover safety standards, documentation, lab testing, and more.
Mentioned Products
- Toys
- Baby cribs
- Infant walkers
- Bunk beds
- Pacifiers
Content Overview
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Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance
The Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance regulates the safety of toys and children’s products in the market of Hong Kong.
The Ordinance sets out the scope of regulated products and requires these products to comply with the applicable standards, covering materials, mechanical safety, and substances.
The Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance also lists applicable standards for a range of products, such as bunk beds, walking frames, and others. You can learn more in Schedule 2 of the Ordinance.
You can read the full text of the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance here.
General Safety Requirements
Generally speaking, the Ordinance aims at making toys or children’s products safe for the user.
Also, it establishes the safety requirements for toys and children’s products with respect to the following:
- Dimensions
- Chemicals and heavy metals limits
- Physical and mechanical characteristics
- Other safety aspects
Further, the Ordinance imposes specific safety standards, for certain products that are considered potentially dangerous for the children. That said, the general safety requirements apply to all children’s products, regardless of whether the product you sell is explicitly mentioned.
Our general recommendation is that you contact a product testing company in Hong Kong to find out which standards and tests may apply to your product.
Safety Standards
The Ordinance adopts EN Standards (EU) and ASTM Standards (USA) for several categories of children’s products and toys sold in Hong Kong. In some cases, they also accept AS/NZS or ISO standards. As such, selling your product in Hong Kong may not even require additional testing – assuming the product is already tested in compliance with European Union or American safety standards.
The fact that Hong Kong also references EN and ASTM standards also makes it easier when buying products from factories in Mainland China, as the factories are more familiar with US and EU standards than those in smaller markets.
Important Notes
- More than one standard may apply to a certain product
- Standards may be updated from time to time
- Verify compliance with all mandatory standards before importing products to Hong Kong
You can find a full list in the text of the Ordinance. Below, we list standards that are relevant to some children’s products.
Toy Safety Standards
Schedule 1 of the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance lists relevant EN and ASTM Standards for toys. Below you find some examples:
a. ASTM F963-17, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety
b. EN 71-1, Safety of toys—Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties
c. EN 71-2, Safety of toys—Part 2: Flammability
d. EN 71-3 – Safety of toys—Part 3: Migration of certain elements
Children’s Furniture Standards
The Ordinance regulates children’s furniture including bunk beds, domestic safety barriers, carry cots, high chairs, and wheeled child conveyance in Hong Kong by adopting the following standards:
a. ASTM F1427-19, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Bunk Beds
b. ASTM F1004-19, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Expansion Gates and Expandable Enclosures
c. ASTM F406-17, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs/Play Yards
d. BS EN 747 – Safety, Strength, and Durability Requirements for Bunk Beds and High Beds
e. BS EN 1930 – Safety Requirements and Test Methods for Safety Barriers
f. BS EN 1466 – Safety Requirements and Test Methods for Carrycots and Stands
g. AS/NZS 4220 – Bunk Beds and Other Elevated Beds
Baby Walkers
The Ordinance also specifies standards for baby walkers:
a. ASTM F977-12, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Infant Walkers
b. BS EN 1273, Safety Requirements and Test Methods for Baby Walking Frames
Pacifier Standards
There are two EN Standards adopted by the Ordinance to regulate pacifiers, soothers and their equivalent:
a. BS EN 1400 – Safety Requirements and Test methods for Infant Soothers
b. BS EN 14350 – Chemical Requirements and Tests for Drinking Equipment
Substance Migration Standards
The migration of certain elements in surface coating materials, paints, and inks, in children’s products in Hong Kong should comply with the following standards:
a. BS EN 71-3 Safety Requirements Concerning the Migration of Certain Elements in Paints
b. ISO 8124-3 – Toy Safety Requirements Regarding the Migration of Certain Elements
Labeling and Warnings
The Ordinance might specify, for some products, warning and caution labels that indicate the safekeeping, storage, consumption, or disposal requirements for children’s products. Such labels should be written in both Chinese and English, and be firmly attached to the products and their packaging.
The following example of a warning statement only applies to toys that are not intended to be used by children under three years old:
“Warning: There are small accessories in it, not suitable for children under three years of age.”
You can refer to the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Regulation to learn more about warning texts and other labeling requirements.
Lab Testing
Third-party lab testing is required in order to verify that your products are compliant with the relevant EN, ASTM, or ISO standards. Further, testing needs to be done by a HOKLAS approved lab testing company.
List of HOKLAS Approved Testing Companies
- Eurofins Product Testing Hong Kong
- UL VS Hong Kong
- Intertek Testing Services Hong Kong
- SGS Hong Kong
You can visit this page to find more HOKLAS accredited labs.
I am exporting baby diapers from China to Singapore and want to also import into H.K. to sell online . Are there any requirements for the dais pets to sell in Hk ?
Please advise .
HI Deepak,
We have not researched that topic, unfortunately. Maybe a testing company like SGS knows.