During 2025 and 2026, various consumer protection authorities in Europe reported that asbestos fibers were found in some toys. The increase in product safety warnings issued in France, the United Kingdom and other European countries has led to renewed attention on toy safety.
It was reported that asbestos can be detected in products such as play sand, colored play sand, hobby and craft sand, archaeology/’excavation’ themed children’s sets, hobby kits containing plaster and kinetic sand.
Asbestos, classified as a category 1A carcinogen under Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008, is a substance that is strictly prohibited for use in toys by legislation. Both Directive 2009/48/EC Annex II Part III paragraph 3 and Regulation (EU) 2025/2509 Annex II Part III paragraph 4(a) explicitly prohibit the use of CMR class substances in categories 1A, 1B and 2 in toys.
For products where asbestos has been detected, market withdrawals, suspension of sales and more stringent safety assessments across the production chain have come into force. The issue was first raised in Australia, followed by similar findings reported in various countries in Europe.
