safety Archives - Sated Design

UKCA – Countdown to compliance

The UKCA mark applies to most goods that previously required a CE mark. In April last year, our sister company Hillside Product Design published an article about the new UKCA mark which came into effect on 1st January 2021. According to Government requirements, many businesses would still be able to use the CE marking until 1st January 2022 to allow them time to adjust to the new UKCA.

At the start of 2022 the UKCA marking must be present at least as a label affixed to the product or an accompanying document. From 1st Jan 2023 UKCA marking must comply with specific regulations that apply to the product.

This all sounds pretty straightforward; you would think, however concerningly, there appears to be a lack of understanding, or even knowledge of this requirement with many of the UK-based manufacturers we are speaking to. This suggests that come next year this is potentially going to be a problem for any who did not comply.

The new UKCA is a legal compliance, therefore markings must be appropriately displayed with newly manufactured products by the start of next year. With a deadline of less than 8 months away this could easily catch many manufacturers on their back foot.

UKCA marks must conform to certain size requirements. This means manufacturers will need to find space to integrate the new UKCA mark. As this is a compliance requirement, manufacturers have no choice but to do this and yet potentially this is going to cost a lot of money and, even more worryingly, a lot of time and inconvenience to implement.

There is frustration at this new legislation with some questioning whether the new UKCA is really necessary. Our position is that this is a regulation and will therefore need to be adhered to. Our advice is to address this early on and make adjustments that meet requirements.

Sharing

A long time coming – The adult toy industry finally gets a set of quality standards

Sated Design’s mission has always been to bring legitimate product design into the ‘wild west’ of adult toys. News of the new ISO 3533: Sex toys design and safety standards is music to our ears when so many products in the marketplace are badly designed, poorly made and risk harming the end users.

‘

Considering how and where adult toys are used, a lack of safety and quality standards particularly with regards to materials has posed huge risks to the professionalism and reputation of the industry. The disregards of some for even the most basic diligence in materials and design has caused medical related problems for end users; so much so that the formation of the new ISO 3533 was reported as being initially proposed by medical professionals, concerned by the number of sex toy related surgical procedures and ailments they were seeing.

‘

In our opinion there is no excuse for producing a product that risks harming its user and there are many safety standards which are sidestepped by crafty use of product descriptions. It is common knowledge that adult toy products can still fall in the “novelty product” category which means a set of tight industry standards are not applied. And yet, as the adult toy industry grows strongly (some estimate that its value will reach more than $36.1 billion by 2027), the industry is still struggling to be taken seriously.

‘

Many resellers and a great many more consumers remain ignorant to the risks a badly designed adult toy can cause. Adoption of the voluntary ISO 3533 by designers and manufacturers with support from marketing could prove to be a great mechanism to raise awareness and use market forces to drive away those few who spoil it for everyone else. The certification will mean recognition for those who are producing best in class, high quality products. This will raise the bar for the quality of adult toys and the longer term hope is that this will percolate down to the consumers via the retailers so consumers will understand how to make the right product choices.

‘

Sated Design is a company of product designers who are working on the cutting edge of new materials, processes and technologies in an incredibly diverse range of disciplines. It is our ethos that every adult toy product we design will be safe and fit for purpose. We welcome any standard, voluntary or otherwise that supports the work we do.

‘

If you have an idea for a new adult toy or wish to review a current one we’d be happy to discuss this with you. Contact us today.

Sharing

UKCA Marking – What you need to know

Britain’s exit from the European Union is affecting how people in the UK have to run their businesses. Some businesses have been greatly affected whilst others remain largely unchanged. Within the sphere of new product design there are some changes required, for now the new requirements are not far reaching and should be easy for most businesses to comply with. Part of these new requirements is UKCA marking.

The UKCA mark applies to most goods that previously required a CE mark. Currently technical requirements for the standards remain the same. For example, products are still subject to GPSR and, as before operate on the understanding that any product must be safe for intended use. If there is legislation specific to the type of product then this should take president. For example, both Toys and Electrical Equipment still have their own standard. These were previously referred to as “harmonised standards” from the EU but are now termed as “designated standards” and are published by the UK government.

UKCA marking came into effect on 1 January 2021. However, to allow businesses time to adjust to the new requirements, businesses will still be able to use the CE marking until 1st January 2022 in most cases. At the start of 2022 the UKCA marking must be present at least as a label affixed to the product or an accompanying document. And then from 1st Jan 2023 UKCA marking must be permanently attached to the product.

This does not apply to existing stock, for example if your goods were fully manufactured, CE marked and ready to place on the market before 1 January 2021. In these cases, your goods can still be sold in Britain with a CE marking.

There are however some cases when businesses need to apply the new UKCA marking to goods being sold in Great Britain immediately from 1 January 2021. When asked for clarification on which goods have this requirement the government Goods Regulation Team advised the following:

“You will need to use the new UKCA marking immediately if all the following apply to your product:

• it is for the market in Great Britain
• it is covered by legislation which requires the UKCA marking
• it requires mandatory third-party conformity assessment
• if conformity assessment has been carried out by a UK conformity assessment body and you haven’t transferred your conformity assessment files from your UK body to an EU recognised body before 1 January 2021”

As well as the marking of products there are some changes to third party test house certification, record keeping and declarations of conformity.

Sated Design’s recommendation during this transition period is that it would be best to exercise an early awareness of CE and UKCA for your project. Consult a third-party test house who are established Notified Bodies in both the UK and EU, and who specialise in the particular area of standards, compliance and certification your project requires. This will help make sure the most efficient route to compliance is adhered to.

Sharing

Are new regulations for designing a “safe” sex toy really necessary?

Having read an article in the July edition of EAN about the recent call for stricter regulations on adult pleasure products, I have been considering, are these regulations necessary or will they just muddy the water further when it comes to designing a “’safe” sex toy product?

The CE mark is a certification that indicates conformity with health, safety and environmental protection standards. It is also a mandatory requirement for any product manufactured within or designed to be sold in the European Union. Any sex toy product, in theory, will have to conform with the legal requirements of the CE in order to be marketed within the EU. As Product Designers we adhere to these when taking any new products through the stages from initial concept to manufacture. These “new” guidelines from SIS would just add another facet to this process, but as they have been described as “voluntary” they appear to me to be rather superfluous.

For me, there are two issues surrounding the perceived safety of sex toys.

1. Manufacturers outside of the UK that are not challenged to confirm with safety standards like the CE mark. By not doing so these manufacturers can easily under cut the pricing of quality products who are and selling non-rated products in the open market.

2. That it’s not so much the safety of sex toy products themselves but how they are being used by the consumer.

So how can these issues be addressed?

Well, firstly better policing of this is a must. The industry must police itself and report any non-conformists to trading standards or similar organisations. However, much needs to be done to ensure any legal challenges are efficiently supported by a trading standards organisation with enough resources to make these challenges effective.

With regards to the second issue, educating the end users of the products is the key to reducing the 40% of accidents reported in the article. This education is arguably the responsibility of the B2C retailers.

So, in summary, we need a better framework for making an example of those who are not trading fairly and ignoring general product safety measures and best practises already in place.

Do you have an idea for a new Sex Toy? Would you like a little help to guide you through the journey of making your product a desirable reality? Get in touch today – we may just be able to help you.

Sharing