During those first few days of Spring, we're all thinking the same thing - Easter is coming!!! And if you're anything like me then you'll be excited about all the decorations in the shops and the cute clothes you can get for your little ones!
Well, did you know that all children's clothing (including handmade) has to comply with UK Safety Laws? And this includes bunny ears attached to children's clothing. Even I've designed a Bunny outfit with Easter in mind and I had to make sure that it complied with the law to make sure it is safe for children to wear.
SO WHAT IS THE LAW?
1. Bunny ears that "flap" away from the main body of the garment are classed as free ends. Any item of children's clothing which has free ends, can't be longer than 7.5cm.
If you look at my design carefully you'll notice that the ears have been sewn down part way up the ear to meet the requirement of this safety regulation.
2. Ears on hoods need to meet several requirements in order for them to be safe. They can't be:
Protruding more than 7.5cm
Long enough to individually tie in a knot
Long enough to tie the 2 ears together
Embellished with additional features
The picture below is a screenshot from a webinar I watched regarding safety laws in children's clothing - a link to this can be found on my website (info at the end).
3. Hats are exempt for these safety regulations (crazy, I know)! Although this exemption might allow for long floppy ears as part of a hat design, it is important to note that the reason there are regulations for ears on hoods is because of their risk of entrapment and then the risk this might have on strangulation.
4. Bunny outfits that have been specifically designed to be worn as costumes or fancy-dress need to undergo additional safety testing - including chemical and flammability tests. This is due to them having an added "play factor" resulting in them being classed as toys.
These types of outfits should carry either the CE or UKCA mark on the label - and if it doesn't, stay well clear!!!
These regulations have been put into place to keep children safe - and by "children" I'm referring to all young people 14 years and under. The main risk of having long free ends is entrapment, i.e. the child becoming trapped resulting in injury or fatality. I have read several example about long cords becoming trapped in vehicle doors causing the child to pulled along/under as the vehicle drives away.
I think we can all agree that kids wearing bunny themed clothes is extremely cute, especially at Easter - just make sure that the outfit is safe!
As a final note - it is important to understand that all of my guidance is from my interpretation of UK Safety Laws after extensive reading and research. If you are ever unsure, I would always recommend speaking to your local trading standards office for full clarification.
You can find all the Safety Regulations that I have compiled on my website - simply scroll down to the bottom of the homepage and click on the link!
And to finish - if you have enjoyed reading this article and have gained valuable information that you didn't know before then I'd really appreciate a share!!!
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