In a recent shopping exercise by Toy Industries of Europe (TIE) and national toy associations, a staggering 80% of toys from unknown and non-EU sellers on online platforms failed EU safety standards.

The unsafe toys were bought from Allegro, AliExpress, Amazon Marketplace, Bol, Cdiscount, Fruugo, Light In The Box, Shein, Temu, and Wish.

This is today’s big challenge for the toy sector. Here in Europe, thousands of reputable toymakers, 99% of which are SMEs, take full responsibility for the safety of their products. So too should online platforms.

Our industry needs better EU rules to stop the sale of unsafe, illegal toys. Our businesses and our customers need to be better protected.

That’s why Toy Industries of Europe and national toy associations have launched the StopIllegalToys.eu petition: we want to use the voice of every European toymaker to ask the EU to make change.

StopIllegalToys.eu asks the EU to do four things:

• Implement stronger laws to make online platforms legally accountable for the illegal toys they allow the sale of.
• Better enforce existing toy safety rules. Many rules exist, but they are often not enforced, allowing cowboy traders to continue selling.
• Improve customs controls to help authorities manage the flood of small packages entering the EU.
• Ensure robust and swift enforcement of the Digital Services Act (DSA) which requires online platforms to ensure all sellers are identifiable and larger platforms to reduce the risk of selling dangerous and counterfeit toys.

StopIllegalToys.eu wil be presented to EU policy makers and national governments during the Spring of 2025.

Help us protect your business from unfair competition. Sign StopIllegalToys.eu and spread the word today.