Standards Development

Scope

Scope statement of the proposed new committee (The scope shall precisely define the limits of the field of activity. Scopes shall not repeat general aims and principles governing the work of the organization but shall indicate the specific area concerned).

Standardisation of horizontal requirements of any product designed or obviously intended to safely ensure and facilitate seating, bathing, changing and general body care, feeding, sleeping, transportation and protection for young children. Standardisation of all products related to child care for which no other Technical Committee exists. The main focus is for products intended for children up to 4 years old.

Purpose

Purpose and justification for the proposal. (The purpose and justification for the creation of a new technical committee shall be made clear and the need for standardization in this fieldshall be justified. Clause C.4.13.3 of Annex C of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1 contains a menu of suggestions or ideas for possible documentation to support and purpose and justification of proposals. Proposers should consider these suggestions, but they are not limited to them, nor are they required to comply strictly with them. What is most important is that proposers develop and provide purpose and justification information that is most relevant to their proposals and that makes a substantial business case for the market relevance and the need for their proposals. Thorough, well-developed and robust purpose and justification documentation will lead to more informed consideration of proposals and ultimately their possible success in the ISO IEC system.)

The demand for child care articles is on the rise globally. Rising birth rates in some countries certainly play a role to some extent. But the main factors are probably the increase in income and in home space, together with the introduction of new habits, such as travelling with children and shared custody between parents or with grandparents. The growth of second hand products demand is also an important trend in this market. Nowadays, the child care industry is expanding internationally. Manufacturers are faced with the challenge of taking into account a wider range of consumers’ habits as they expand in new countries. Furthermore, they have to deal with increased scrutiny and higher expectations in terms of safety. Additionally, some countries have adopted national regulations, which can apply either to all child care articles horizontally or only to some specific categories of products. In consideration of this complexity, manufacturers operating globally have an incentive to set up R&D facilities in multiple countries.

Moreover, the design and production system of child care products is reaching maturity. Its industry is one of the best organized, covering product design, marketing, production, transport, storage and testing. With the fast development of child care articles, safety issues are becoming of major importance. For instance, baby walking frames were banned in Canada in April 2004. At the same time, the European Consumer Association ANEC requested a ban on bath seats in Europe. However, these products are still widely available across many markets, as consumers find them useful to their nursing activities. It seems all the more important to mitigate the risks incurred and to define safety requirements as well as clear instructions for the safest possible use of these products.

Consequently, the development of International standards, thanks to the application of ISO’s global relevance policy, is not only expected to raise the level of safety for child care articles worldwide but also to lower the costs incurred by the diversity in the national and regional provisions.