In January 2026, the European Union's updated Toy Safety Regulation (EU 2025/2509) began taking effect. Among its provisions: a ban on all endocrine-disrupting chemicals classified as Category 1 or Category 2 under EU chemical law — the first legislation of its kind to include suspected endocrine disruptors, not just confirmed ones. American nurseries operate under different rules.
The regulatory sources
The EU maintains a Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) under the REACH regulation — 253 substances as of February 2026. Restrictions flow from this list into REACH Annex XVII and product-specific rules like the Toy Safety Regulation. The US system restricts named substances individually, generally after harm is demonstrated at the federal level.
The gaps that result are specific, documented, and currently in effect.
The gaps, by substance
Phthalates DIDP and DNOP. Diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) are banned in EU toys and childcare articles that children can mouth, at concentrations above 0.1%. In 2017, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission published a final rule (Federal Register, October 27, 2017) explicitly removing the interim prohibition on both chemicals in American children's products. They are legal under US federal law.
BPA and bisphenols. EU Regulation 2024/3190, effective January 20, 2025, bans BPA from all food contact materials. The new Toy Safety Regulation extends prohibitions to ten bisphenol compounds. In the US, FDA banned BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups in 2012 — noting the decision was "based solely on a determination of abandonment" by manufacturers, not a safety finding. BPA remains permitted in infant formula can linings and most nursery-adjacent food contact materials.
HBCDD. Hexabromocyclododecane (CAS 25637-99-4), a persistent organic pollutant classified as a reproductive toxicant and endocrine disruptor, was added to REACH Annex XIV in 2011 with a sunset date of August 2015 — effectively banned from EU manufacturing and imports. The US CPSC initiated rulemaking on organohalogen flame retardants in children's products in 2017. No federal ban has been completed as of 2026.
PFAS. Under EU 2025/2509, PFAS are banned from toys and toy components. No federal CPSC rule restricts PFAS in toys or nursery products in the US. Seven states have enacted their own restrictions taking effect in 2026; federal law has no equivalent provision.
Formaldehyde. EU Regulation 2023/1464, taking effect August 2026, restricts formaldehyde in all articles — toys, children's furniture, baby products — across plastics, textiles, leather, and paper. US EPA's TSCA Title VI restricts formaldehyde in composite wood products only. Textiles and most toy materials face no federal US limit.
Heavy metal testing. EU toy standard EN 71-3 requires testing for 19 metals. US standard ASTM F963 requires testing for 8. The 11 metals tested in the EU but not in the US include nickel, cobalt, manganese, and boron. A product can fail EN 71-3 on a metal that isn't screened for under US law.
In a nursery
These gaps concentrate in predictable places: flame retardant chemistry in mattresses and upholstered furniture, formaldehyde in wood adhesives and fabric finishes on cribs and changing tables, phthalates in soft toys and teethers, PFAS water-resistance treatments in baby clothing and bedding. The same product built to EU spec and to US spec can differ on all of the above.
If you're shopping now
The baby products section is filtered against criteria that align with EU standards rather than US minimums — no chemical flame retardants, no PFAS, no plastics in food or skin contact. The full methodology is on our promise page.
Cover image: insung yoon via Unsplash (Unsplash License) — source.
