Bolton Consultancy Ltd

Questions

Questions on Cords and Drawstrings

Here are some of the questions that are being asked on Cords and Drawstrings:

Why does BS EN 14682 refer to ages of children and then set specification by height?

The age of the child tells us the stage of development and provides some indication of the kinds of behaviour, activities they will normally be involved in and probable level of supervision. However the size designations used in Europe for children’s clothing differ by country; in the UK, children’s clothes are most frequently sold by child’s age but in most EU countries the prime indicator is height.

The standard defines young children as up to age 7 years and older children as age 7 up to age 14 years. My size ranges are 0-5 years, 5-9 years and 9-15 years. What should I do?

Best practice is to use the more onerous requirement for the whole range, so for example, your range for age 5-9 year old should meet requirements for the younger child and the whole of the 9-15 year range should meet the older child requirements, even though age 15 is beyond the scope of the standard. This should avoid any confusion for your customer, especially if the garments are sold on the same rails in stores.

Why is ski wear in scope, but specialist sportswear out of scope?

In Scandinavia, children frequently ski to school: it is equivalent to cycling to school in the UK. As with all older children, they usually travel to school unsupervised, consequently the risks are higher and so these garments were put in scope.

I am designing a push-chair accessory which will be secured by a drawstring and have been advised to apply BS EN 14682 is this correct?

BS EN 14682 covers only children's clothing and therefore does not apply. You must of course ensure you conform to the GPSR - your risk assessment should consider the same hazards (strangulation, entrapment etc) presented by drawstrings in clothing but in the context of how your accessory is to be (and could foreseeably be) used, and you must mitigate any significant risk identified.


Bolton Consultancy Ltd has extensive experience in the Safety of Children’s Clothing and the application of the Standard.   We can provide advice, guidance, training and consultancy in this area.