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Lowest number of children walking to school in rural areas since records began 20 years ago.
31 January 2025
Environmental charity Wen (Women’s Environmental Network) has warned that the UK is fast becoming a regulatory dumping ground for toxic toys.
The warning follows new EU’s rules for safer toys in the EU, as it prepares to implement new bans on toxic chemicals including EDCs (Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals), PFAS and Bisphenols, in children’s toys.
Wen has called for immediate UK government action to align with the EU’s strengthened rules and protect children from toxic exposures linked to developmental, hormonal and long-term health risks.
‘Toys sold in the UK are slipping through the cracks of outdated post-Brexit rules. While the EU acts to remove some of the most dangerous substances from children’s environments, our own laws lag behind. Online marketplaces remain poorly regulated, and cheaper imports continue to expose children – particularly those in lower-income households – to health risks associated with toxic chemicals like EDCs (Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals), PFAS and Bisphenols. Our own regulation should be brought in line with the new EU Toy Regulation as a minimum.’
IVIE ITOJE
Wen’s Green Baby campaign manager
Over 500 toy recalls have been issued in the UK since 2021 – more than half classed as serious – with repeated safety breaches involving toxic plasticisers.
Wen’s new briefing, ‘Playing Safe’, outlines how 80% of cheaply made toys sold through major third-party platforms often fail to meet basic health and safety standards.
‘The UK risks becoming a warehouse for unsafe toys banned elsewhere. We need political will to close this post-Brexit health gap – before Britain’s Brexit Babies pay the price.’
IVIE ITOJE
Wen’s Green Baby campaign manager
Children are particularly vulnerable to chemical exposure due to their physiology and play, including hand-to-mouth contact and organs that are still developing, making early-life exposure a critical environmental health issue.
‘We now understand just how much early environmental exposures affect long-term health – from fertility to cancer risk. These chemicals don’t belong in our children’s lives, and yet families are unknowingly bringing them into their homes through toys they assume are safe. The science is clear. The regulatory path forward should be too.’
DR KAREN JOASH
Consultant Obstetrician
Wen’s Green Baby Campaign, now in its third year, highlights how environmental inequalities intersect with class and race.
Children from marginalised communities are disproportionately exposed to hazardous toys due to cost and reduced access to safe alternatives.
‘The EU’s move to ban groups of harmful substances such as forever chemicals, bisphenols and other endocrine disrupting chemicals in toys reflects the growing scientific consensus and the need for action. Without parallel UK measures, children in the UK will be playing with toys considered too unsafe for children in neighbouring countries to play with. CHEM Trust is calling for the UK government to match the EU toy regulation to protect the health of our children.’
DR ANNA WATSON
Director of policy and advocacy, CHEM Trust
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