Children’s Apparel Safety
When designing children’s apparel and accessories, it is essential to take into consideration the behaviours of the children, whose need for exploration and challenge drives them to use products in new and different ways.
One common factor children share is that they are unaware of the cause and effect and are therefore substantially less cautious than adults in relation to hazards. Products must therefore be safe for their intended use and foreseeable conditions of misuse.
Product Safety Guidelines
The National Retail Association Technical Standards Committee has created Product Safety Guidelines for Children’s Apparel and Accessories.
The Guidelines aim to provide industry guidelines that assist manufacturers, importers, suppliers, retailers and regulators to understand, identify and mitigate critical safety hazards associated with children’s apparel and accessories designed, marketed and intended for children from birth up to and including 14 years of age.
The requirements of this guide specify acceptable criteria and in some cases manufacturing “best practice” for children’s apparel and accessories such as (but not limited to):
- Metal Trims, Buckles, Rivets & Snaps
- Draw Cords and ties
- Appliqué / Badges / Embroidery
- Pom, Poms, Tassels, Fringing, Braids & Plaits
- Sequins
DOWNLOAD GUIDELINES
Get involved
The NRA Technical Standards Committee (NRA-TSC) brings together quality assurance and product compliance specialists from multiple retail categories to discuss challenges and solutions in terms of product safety and compliance.
This group provides an opportunity for retailers to:
- Keep up to date with changes in the technical standards applying to your products
- Learn from your peers in other Australian retail chains and stores about problems and solutions
- Contribute to and formulate national policy and standards as a Standards Australia nominating committee
- Engage in the dialogue between the retail sector and government and regulators about the issues concerning your business
- Attend presentations on topical issues from guest speakers from industry, regulators and suppliers
- Network with other product safety professionals and specialists in your field of expertise
Contact our team
David Stout
Director Policy
National Retail Association
David is a highly-respected senior executive across a wide range of retail sectors including corporate affairs, operations, customer insights, finance, procurement, risk and regulation, stakeholder engagement, community and supply chain. He is favourably regarded as a bipartisan and ethical operative in best practice across retail and corporate industry, regional and urban councils, local and state governments, and is currently involved in multiple advisory groups / committees.
Ebony Johnson
Project Manager, Policy
National Retail Association
As Project Manager in the Policy team, Ebony brings a strong background across the retail, textile, and hospitality sectors in project management, stakeholder relations, marketing and communications. Ebony provides project management expertise to multiple projects, including sustainability, product safety, retail crime and committees.