Children's clothing safety rules for the US and the EU

Children's clothing is held to rules that adult clothing is not. Some concern design: a cord at a hood can catch, and a snap that comes away can be swallowed. Others concern chemistry and fire: lead in a metal trim, nickel on a press stud, a fabric that burns too fast. The rules differ between the US and the EU, and several must be settled before the first sample is cut, because a drawstring or trim chosen at the design stage decides which tests follow.

Garments Hub BD is a sourcing desk; factories on its bench make the goods and are matched to the certificates you need. Market specific test reports are built into the timeline when you ask for them on the quote form, so name the market and the age range there, before any sample is made.

Which garments the children's rules cover

In the US, the CPSIA rules apply to children's products, meaning products designed or intended mainly for children aged 12 and under. Size range, labelling, packaging and how the product is marketed all count, so a school uniform or a pageboy suit sold in children's sizes is covered. In the EU, EN 14682 sets the rules for cords and drawstrings on children's clothing and divides children into young children, up to age 7, and older children from 7 to 14. Write the age range of each style into the tech pack, because the tests follow from it.

Cords and drawstrings under EN 14682

EN 14682 treats each part of the garment separately: the hood and neck, the waist, and the lower edges such as hems, sleeves and legs. The strictest rules apply to young children, for whom drawstrings and functional cords at the hood and neck are not allowed. For older children some cords are permitted, within limits on length, free ends and toggles. Waist ties and sashes are checked for length and for how they are fixed.

The practical answer is to design the risk out early. Replace hood cords with elastic, a fixed tab or a snap. Use waist cords that are fixed at the centre back so they cannot be pulled through, and keep ties short. Many brands use one design without cords for every children's size, which also suits the US, where drawstrings at the hood and neck of children's upper outerwear in sizes 2T to 12 are treated as a substantial product hazard; ask your laboratory to confirm the current US requirement for each style.

Small parts and attachment strength

Snaps, buttons, appliques, bows, pom poms and sequins on garments for babies and toddlers can come away and be swallowed. Most childrenswear buyers set a pull test for these parts in their own standard: a set force applied with a gauge, on samples and again on bulk. Avoid small decorations that cannot pass it. Factories making childrenswear commonly keep a broken needle policy and pass finished garments through a metal detector before packing; ask for both on the quote form.

Lead, tracking labels and the certificate under US CPSIA

For children's products, CPSIA limits total lead to 100 ppm in any accessible part and 90 ppm in paint or surface coatings. Dyed and undyed textiles are determined not to exceed the lead limit (16 CFR 1500.91), so testing falls on metal trims, prints and coatings: snaps, zips, rivets, buttons, painted parts and plastisol prints.

Testing must be done by a third party at a CPSC accepted laboratory. On a passing report, a Children's Product Certificate is issued; for goods made abroad, the US importer issues it. Each garment and its packaging carry a permanent tracking label giving the maker or brand, the place and date of production and batch details. The CPSIA phthalate limit (0.1 percent) applies to children's toys and child care articles, not to clothing as such; ask the laboratory whether any item in your range, such as a bib or baby sleepwear, counts as a child care article.

Flammability: general clothing against children's sleepwear

In the US, 16 CFR 1610 covers the flammability of clothing textiles in general, for adults and children alike. Most plain fabrics pass it comfortably; raised surface fabrics such as brushed fleece and pile, and very light sheer fabrics, are the ones that need attention.

Children's sleepwear has its own, much stricter rules: 16 CFR 1615 for sizes 0 to 6X and 16 CFR 1616 for sizes 7 to 14. Loose cotton nightwear rarely passes without treatment, so sleepwear is usually made either from flame resistant fabric or as tight fitting garments cut to the dimensions the rules set, which then carry a label saying they are not flame resistant. Garments for infants of nine months and under fall outside the sleepwear rules. Whether a style counts as sleepwear depends on its design and how it is sold. For nightwear sold in Europe, ask the laboratory which flammability test the market expects.

Nickel and chemical limits on hardware and fabric

In the EU, REACH (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006), Annex XVII entry 27, restricts nickel release from metal parts in direct and prolonged contact with skin above 0.5 micrograms per square centimetre per week. On children's clothing that means snaps, rivets, buckles and the backs of buttons. Specify nickel free or coated hardware and ask for a test report. Azo dyes (entry 43) and the textile CMR entry (entry 72) apply to children's and adult clothing alike. OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 is voluntary, and its class I, for baby articles, is the strictest of its four classes. The guide to chemical compliance covers these in detail.

Which tests apply, and where they sit in the timeline

The laboratory quotes per style and per component, so every extra trim, print colour or fabric adds a test. Plan in this order: check cord design against EN 14682 at the proto and fit stage; choose trims and get their lead and nickel reports early; send samples that represent production for the CPSIA certification tests; and hold the reports before shipment. A failed result means a new trim or fabric and a retest, which adds days. Typical combinations:

• Baby bodysuit with snaps, US: lead on snaps and print, a pull test, the tracking label and the certificate.
• Children's hoodie, EU: hood and waist cords to EN 14682, nickel on metal eyelets, azo dyes.
• Children's pyjamas, US: 16 CFR 1615 or 1616 unless tight fitting, plus lead on trims and prints.
• Brushed fleece jacket, US: 16 CFR 1610 on the fabric, plus lead on zips and snaps.

What to put in your specification for childrenswear

• Market and agesThe selling market and the age range of each style, since the rules and the tests follow from both.
• Cord designHood, neck, waist and hem cords drawn and dimensioned, checked against EN 14682 for the age group.
• Trim listEvery metal, painted or coated part and every print, so each can be tested for lead and nickel.
• Attachment strengthThe pull test force for snaps, buttons and decorations on garments for babies and toddlers.
• Sleepwear statusWhether any style is sleepwear and, if so, flame resistant fabric or a tight fitting cut.
• Tracking labelThe wording and position of the permanent tracking label on the garment and on its packaging.
• Laboratory and reportsA CPSC accepted laboratory for US goods, with passing reports in hand before shipment.

Questions buyers ask