EC ramps up campaign against counterfeit toys

The European Commission (EC) has ramped up its campaign to educate consumers about the risks of buying counterfeit toys.

In a video created by the EC, CE-E, a singing robot, tells children about toy safety. Parents are also targeted, with the EC keen to state the dangers counterfeit toys can pose to children and the importance of looking for the CE mark when buying goods.

“These toys are dangerous because they don't respect the rules, for example in terms of chemicals. There are a lot of counterfeit toys which could contain cancerous substances,”  Antonio Tajani, vice president of the EC, said.

The latest push is part of the European Toy Safety campaign the EC began last year. As well as educating the public the EC is targeting toy manufacturers and marketers with a series of seminars.

In 2012 the EC has taken its seminars to Poland, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Ireland and Italy. Between them these countries accounted for four-fifths of European Union (EU) toy production in 2009.

Many products come from outside the EU though, with China a primary source of both authentic and counterfeit toys. The EC is also working to educate toy manufacturers in China.