How the Digital Product Passport enhances toy safety and chemical transparency

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Gifting toys at Christmas without worry

Every year, as the Christmas season approaches, families fill their shopping baskets with toys, the gifts that will make living rooms shine on Christmas Eve. But behind the anticipation lies a growing concern in the European toy market: the rise of harmful chemicals in toys, especially in those bought online or imported from outside the EU.

The EU is working intensively on new toy safety regulations to better protect children from harmful chemicals, including endocrine-disrupting substances, PFAS ("forever chemicals"), and bisphenols, as reported by the European Parliament in November 2025.

It is reported that enforcement across the EU is being tightened, particularly for toys sold via global online marketplaces. According to K‑Zeitung, the revised EU Toy Safety Regulation is now “in the home stretch” and forms part of Europe’s commitment to a toxic‑free environment. The Council of the European Union confirms that the regulation will formally ban several high‑risk chemical categories and introduce digital product identifiers, enabling authorities to better trace and verify product safety. Full compliance is expected by the end of 2029.

Recently, the IMCO Committee (Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament) stated that online platforms must ensure that toys sold on their sites meet EU safety standards. If a toy is found to be unsafe or non‑compliant, it must be withdrawn from the market across all EU member states. The regulation also aims to strengthen enforcement by defining clearer obligations for economic operators and online marketplaces, ensuring greater responsibility across the supply chain.

This is especially relevant during the Christmas season. According to the Financial Times, more than 80% of toys purchased online do not meet EU safety standards. With the surge in Christmas shopping, millions of toys enter European households within a short period, making this the most critical time of year to raise awareness about safety and traceability.

Especially during the festive season, hazardous chemicals must have no place in our children's toys. This is precisely why the EU is investing in the Digital Product Passport for toys: to tackle the problem at its source.

Why Digital Product Passports matter for toy safety

Dangerous substances continue to appear in toys and childcare products despite existing bans. Current standards, such as EN 7,1, address mechanical risks and flammability, but they are insufficient when it comes to chemical traceability in global supply chains, which often involve hundreds of suppliers spread across several continents. The European Commission has openly stated that documentation is often inconsistent, supplier information is frequently missing, and traceability remains limited, hindering effective enforcement.

To address these challenges, the EU is introducing the revised Toy Safety Regulation alongside the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which entered into force on July 18, 2024. According to the European Commission, the ESPR provides the legal foundation for Digital Product Passports across industries, including toys, enabling regulators, companies, and consumers to access verified product information throughout a toy’s lifecycle.

Media outlets highlight the importance of this development. Euractiv describes the Digital Product Passport as “a new era in EU consumer protection, where every product tells its own verified story.” At the same time, the European Commission's Sustainable Products Initiative explains that DPPs will make sustainability and safety information “easily accessible and reliable,” allowing both consumers and authorities to make well‑informed decisions.

In the midst of the high‑volume toy‑shopping season in Europe, this vision becomes even more relevant. Transparency and trust are not abstract political goals; they directly influence the safety of what ends up under the Christmas tree. 

How Spherity can contribute to toy safety

Spherity specializes in Digital Product Passports, and our solution can also technically be used for toys. Companies affected by the new EU Toy Safety Regulation can use our software to digitally manage and verify product data such as materials, origin, and safety certificates.

The goal is to bring more transparency into the supply chain and, in the long term, improve the safety of toys for children. Spherity’s Digital Product Passport solution is technically equipped to support the toy industry and is ready to be applied in this context.

Why the need for Digital Product Passports is growing

Across Europe, momentum behind Digital Product Passports continues to build. The European Commission has confirmed that DPPs will become mandatory for regulated product categories under the ESPR, creating a harmonized approach to documenting sustainability and safety. DPPs also enable structured data exchange between manufacturers, authorities, and recyclers, supporting both compliance and circular‑economy practices.

KPMG states: “The Digital Product Passport is a new EU requirement that will become mandatory starting in 2027 for priority product groups, with full rollout expected by 2030.” Analyses by One Click LCA show that DPPs will become central compliance tools, requiring companies to maintain detailed digital material data.

Taken together, these perspectives make one thing clear: Digital Product Passports are no longer a distant concept but an imminent and essential part of Europe’s regulatory landscape, especially for products that are widely purchased and deeply trusted, such as children’s toys.

During Christmas, when millions of toys are given as gifts, trust matters most. The Digital Product Passport helps parents make informed decisions and enables companies to take responsibility for safe products. If you are interested in learning more about the Digital Product Passport, read our blog post on choosing the right software solution and how it helps companies reliably implement safety and compliance.

Contact us

If you’re a toy manufacturer, importer, or platform operator preparing for upcoming Toy Safety Regulation and ESPR DPP requirements, now is the time to act.

Contact our DPP experts to learn how our Digital Product Passport software can help you ensure compliance.

Find out more on our DPP product page: www.spherity.com/digital-product-passport

Talk to our experts: https://www.spherity.com/contact

Note: This article was created with the support of AI.