Not everything which we call a toy is indeed or officially defined as one, according to the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (Bundesamt für Verbraucherschutz und Lebensmittelsicherheit). But how to act when something extremely bad happens caused by a purchase? Due to this and other reasons, we start hereby a series to dive into the german laws surrounding the toys market.
Whether you’re a native or foreign citizen, a parent, a child or just a single living being… Yes, this series brings facts which interest even you! One may think that all you need to know is: returning. If a purchase is not as expected, the solution would be to just return it. Wrong. Some extreme cases can happen to anybody at any moment. We all don’t need to know more than 80% of everything but being aware of only 8% or less about your rights is actually pretty dangerous.
Today, we start with the simplest. As a matter of fact, toys can be categorized into Spielwaren, Scherzartikel and Spielzeug. Where does your problematic product fit in?
What is Spielzeug?
Spielzeug itself is officially defined as products, which are designed for children under 14 years old to play (see article 2, paragraph 1 of EU-Spielzeugrichtlinie RL 2009/48/EG).
That automatically excludes fashion jewelry for kids, pacifiers, skateboards, scooters, fireworks, etc. But wait, what about collectibles, such as locomotives, car models and hobby articles, which are independent of age?!
Plushies: Spielzeug
What is Spielwaren?
Any products, which are independent of age designed to play. Yes, it includes Spielzeug but also the products which adults play. Some examples: boarding games, cards, complex puzzles with 500 or more pieces, hobby toys, card models, plushies, dolls, etc.
What is Scherzartikel?
The kind of product designed for tricks, pranks or jokes, which fulfil similar goals and do not contain harmful substances or cause any negative body reactions or injuries. Some examples are: stink bombs, fart pillows, squeaky chicken, etc.
Source: Trendaffe DE
Similarities & Association
Both Spielwaren and Scherzartikel are consumer goods which when used as intended or in predictable ways must not damage its user health. If you are wondering which lay book represents it, they find themselves under “Lebensmittel-, Futtelmittel- und Bedarfsgegenstängegesetzbuch” (in short “LFGB”, you can find this book here).
In case you find it a bit confusing, the picture below explains where exactly the Spielzeug, Spielwaren and Scherzartikel are, considering both aspects described in this post and similar products, while specifying borders to either associate or separate them.
Source: BVL Bund DE
Besides the LFGB; in order to assure further requirements for Spielzeug, other special regulations are also applied, such as the EU-Spielzeug-Richtlinie (the same one from the beginning of this text) and certifications… We will keep more detailed info for future posts of this series.
Please share this article with people who need it! We all thank you. Let us know any special situations you had to go through in this topic.
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