The European Commission has recently adopted Decision 2011/196/EU on the compliance of a safety standard on cords and drawstrings on children’s clothing with the general safety requirement, as set out in the General Product Safety Directive (2001/95/EC, the ‘GPSD’).

The Decision, which was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 30 March 2011, sets out the Commission’s reasoning for approving the adoption of a new standard in this domain. It also provides the standard’s reference which traders will be able to make use of to ensure the compliance of relevant children’s clothing items.

The GPSD imposes a general safety requirement on any product put on the market for consumers or likely to be used by them. A safe product is considered to be one which poses no threat, or only a reduced threat in accordance with the nature of its use and which is acceptable in view of maintaining a high level of protection for the health and safety of persons.