Certified crochet toys

Crochet stuffed toy or Amigurumi - an art of crocheting or knitting stuffed yarn toys from Japan - is quite an appealing toy not only with little friends thanks to its "kawaii" shape and eye-catching appearance made from colorful yarns. With infinite creativity, patience and great attention through brilliant hands, the kingdom of crochet toys is getting big and bigger with vast variety of characters in all kinds of shape & color, each character looks like a close friend with cute look & lively expression. 

The materials to make a crochet toy can be either simple or complex depending on the maker's expected design. Basically there are 2 essential materials: yarn & fiberfill. Materials selection is quite important since it affects to the aesthetic look & quality beside workmanship level, for example which yarn for which size, what characteristics for soft & durable toy, which fiberfill to keep the toy in comfortable shape… In this article, LIdee Haus would like to mention more on the safety aspect of materials origin since product safety is always our top priority, especially category for children - our lovely friends needed much love & protection. 

The yarn is cotton 100% imported from USA, Brazil, India. The reason for imported materials comes from the lack of capability and productivity on OEKO-TEX® certified materials from local suppliers. In order to meet USA & EU import requirement on children toys, all safety protocols must be fulfilled, one of them is OEKO-TEX® for raw materials. For more information on this certification, please refer to this article.

Stuffing materials is fiberfill grade 1. In the shape of small & same-sized "balls", this fiberfill is considered as suitable materials for stuffing thanks to its good elasticity, the toy will stay in form even after being machine-washed, squeezed in suitcase...  

Spandex fabric layer is made of Polyester mixed with cotton made in Vietnam. This layer is not manndatory because the fiberfill can still be stuffed during the stage of crocheting. Having extra layer means having extra steps  that are much complicated, which requires high level of workmanship in order to make the toy not lumpy. The purpose of this Spandex layer is to prevent the fiberfill from protruding through the gaps after times of washing. Furthermore, our babies tend to bite on the toy or bring it close to mouth & nose, having extra layer can help to avoid breathing in fiberfill, in case the yarn is cut for any reason, the fiberfill will not protrude easily.

(There are small crochet gaps, the Spandex layer can be noticed in close-up. Above example is toy with Spandex layer)

(Example on toy without Spandex layer, if the gap is big, the stuffing fiberfill will protrude easily)

Both fiberfill and Spandex layer have been tested at TÜV Rheinland Vietnam and obtained certified report in accordance with EU requirements, details as below:

No PAHs

PAHs stands for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon, this is the compound of chemicals which originates from both natural & man-made resources. Some PAHs are used to make dyestuff, plastic & pesticide... According to REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals - European chemical regulation on substances of very high concern), PAHs are prohibited in children products as these compounds can cause negative impact to environment & cancer risk to human health.

No Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is typical chemical compound which is widely used in several production areas (home appliances, glues, fabric, pesticide, healthcare products, industrial wood…). Formaldehyde can be available in fabric due to dyeing & finishing process to maintain colors, anti-wrinkles, anti-mold. Nowadays there are several subsititutes for formaldehyde, it's still popular thanks to affordable cost.

WHO categorizes formaldehyde as toxic chemical with extremely serious affect on human skin, respiratory system, cancer risk and poison. Formaldehyde is available in low-quality products with unclear origin which contains high risk. In European countries, European Union (EU) restricts the limit of formaldehyde in fabric not exceeding 30 ppm in accordance with EN ISO 14184-1:2011. In Vietnam, Ministry of Industry and Trade has officially released Decree 21/2017/TT-BCT - National technical regulation on formaldehyde restriction limit applied to textile industry, this action is to control the substances of very high concern to human health and protect domestic consumers' right. According to this regulation, the limit of formaldehyde in textile products for infant < 36 months is not allowed to exceed 30 mg/kg. 

Regulation on chemical restriction may create additional barriers to manufacturers due to considerable lab testing cost and certified materials leading to high input cost. However, as a seller, LIdee Haus strongly agree that quality assurance & clear product origin are our responsibility & top priority in order to protect consumer's right - using safe products. Thank you for putting your trust on our products among various selection, we hope that you can enjoy carefree products at LIdee Haus. 

All photos & extracted report in this article belong to LIdee Haus, no content copy or reproduction without our authorization is permitted.