Multinational toy maker LEGO, like others in the industry, is coming under increasing pressure to demonstrate that its products meet tightening chemical limits. The company talks to Emma Chynoweth about the challenges of meeting higher expectations on toy safety. LEGO, one of the world’s leading brands, recognises that it is difficult to talk about toys and hazardous chemicals. However, the toy industry is facing increased controls as the EU prepares to overhaul its 20-year old toy safety Directive CW Newslink 28 January 2008. It is also coming under greater scrutiny following last year’s spate of product recalls for toys containing prohibited levels of dangerous substances. The company wants a better dialogue both with regulators and within the supply chain to ensure that products are not only physically safe, but also safe in terms of chemical hazards.
"It is a sensitive debate," says Peter Trillingsgaard, director in global quality at LEGO. "Everyone is in a race to be the best protector of children, but we need to make sure the debate is balanced. The industry is a well regulated one and operates to the highest safety standards," he asserts.
For LEGO, the bulk of its building brick products are primarily made of the monomers acrylonitrile, butadiene and styrene (ABS), as well as colourants. Heavy metals and phthalates have had the greatest attention in terms of eliminating chemical hazards from products. Heavy metals, including lead, chromium and mercury can be present in colourants and electronic components, while phthalates are widely used to soften PVC, used for electric cables, for instance.
The content of heavy metals, such as lead, is currently regulated by the EU toy safety Directive, and the company made a voluntary decision in 1999 to avoid phthalate plasticisers altogether. They are now banned in the EU for use in toys that could be chewed or sucked by children under three years. Mr Trillingsgaard says LEGO tests its products - including monomers and additives - against specific migration limits set out in the EU food contact plastic Regulation. It also observes other staandards set for consumer products set by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment and the US Food and Drug Administration.
"We have had a policy not to use phthalates for a number of years," says Mr Trillingsgaard. "Sometimes in the past it was difficult to source components, such as external wiring…and we had to compromise our own policy by using ordinary wires because phthalate-free plastic wire coating was not available on the market." But the EU phthalates ban has helped, he says, and now alternatives are available on the market.
All raw materials are approved by LEGO’s chemical product safety team based on recipe evaluation and migration tests of chemical substances. Suppliers must ensure that any raw materials delivered are on the company’s approved list of raw materials. For purchased parts, suppliers are asked to sign a contract with LEGO as a guarantee for chemical compliance but the company then tests the finished product for content of heavy metals, phthalates, etc. All chemical demands are specified in the product safety handbook which is a part of the ‘global agreement’ contract that all suppliers must sign.
Much attention has focused on toys manufactured in China - a major centre for outsourced toy production - and where many of the products recalled last summer were made CW Search. LEGO only outsources three percent of its product volume to China. Nevertheless, Mr Trillingsgaard says: "We are more careful when we select suppliers in China and carry out more frequent audits. For our outsourced production, we do not allow suppliers to use materials other than those we have approved." The company carries out unannounced audits - some suppliers are audited once every three months, others once a year.
The construction is fairly straight forward as long as you watch for the sticker placement. I was nicely surprised at how well the laser cannons fire the projectile considering the small spring mechanism propelling the piece. It was fun to put together and I will enjoy putting other pieces together in the future.
If you want to know more details I would definitely recommend checking it out Lepin
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