Standardization News

When we were kids, most of us had a favorite toy, whether it was a set of tiny race cars, a beloved doll, a Star Wars light saber, or a cool video game system. 

Kids of today – or more accurately, the grown-ups who take care of the kids of today – are fortunate to have the ASTM toy safety standard (F963). Favorite toys of many kinds are covered by this important standard.

In this episode of “Standards Impact,” join the editor in chief of Standardization News, Dave Walsh, and his guests Joan Lawrence, senior vice president of Standards and Regulatory Affairs with the Toy Association; and Heather Bramble, vice president of Product Safety and Regulatory Compliance with Mattel, for a lively discussion about standards and toy safety.

Plus, you’ll learn about the favorite toys of Joan, Heather, Dave, and several ASTM staff members!

Dave: We have F963 and the bulk of the standard and it was written years ago, but like all ASTM standards, it needs to be revised every four years. And the most recent revision took place just recently. We've already talked about the kinds of hazards and the things that F963 covers, but what were some of the things that the revision addressed and can you let us know what you think future revisions may address as the field continues to evolve?

Joan: I'll talk about some of the things that the most recent edition included. We had existing requirements for a number of things and in four areas mainly we added requirements, we enhanced the existing requirements and those touched on things like acoustics, which is the sound level of toys on battery accessibility, on expanding materials on projectiles. In all of these cases there were existing requirements but we looked at new products that are emerging and in some cases, ways kids are interacting with products to enhance their existing requirements and add new requirements under each of those categories.

Heather: You mentioned thinking about the future and maybe I'll take that since I know most of my toy makers are some of the greatest innovators around at Mattel and part of what we think about is what is the future of play? What does the future of toys look like? And I think the ideas that come to mind are new and more sustainable materials as well as utilizing technology, whether it's AI or connected to the internet, like the Internet of Things, types of products. And I know both of those areas are things that industry stakeholders and consumer advocates and the government are watching to see what types of new materials, recycled materials, recyclable materials are on the horizon and how they will be used in toys. Because obviously these are products for a vulnerable population for children and so we have to ensure that they are safe.

And then on the other side, how will ASTM handle a lot of these new types of technology? And I know there are different types of standards organizations and different groups including the government looking at artificial intelligence and how it plays out. But from a product safety perspective or any other perspective for that matter, like what will the requirements be and how will that be encapsulated going forward? I think we're all waiting to see that. 

I know for a while now Internet of Things and interconnected and connected products has been something that different companies have tried to integrate into different products, whether it's toys or household appliances, all these things. And that's also something that the different standards groups have been looking at. What kind of requirements should you put into, right? And so, for the toy standard, it's really centered on performance requirements and how do you interpret these new technologies into something that you can test and have a repeatable and reliable test protocol that is a performance standard that will continue to ensure that the product is safe. I think these are all things that we're watching as an industry.