What is the new EU baby sling standard?
For the past 12 years, the European CEN committee has been writing updated standards for baby carriers. Diana Mateescu is both a BCIA board member and a member of the CEN committee. She is a babywearing educator with experience in manufacturing and product design, so she has a keen understanding of focusing on product safety in a way that’s accessible even to kitchen table manufacturers.
There are two standards nearing publication. One is a standard for structured carriers with defined leg openings, and the other is a standard for infant slings and wraps that have undefined leg openings. Diana expects that both will be published over the next several months, at which time, they will become law not only in EU nations but in other countries as well.
We have an detailed explanation of the CEN process, including a list of countries that will adopt the new EU baby sling standards and soft carrier standards, in our resources.
Do I test to the current EU baby sling standard, or the new CEN standards?
Members have asked for guidance about product testing — should they test to the existing standards, or wait for the new soft carrier and baby sling standards to be published?
Since June 2017, EU law has required that products referenced in EN 13209-2:2015 comply with this regulation.
The scope of this regulation is as follows:
“This European Standard specifies the safety requirements and test methods for soft carriers for children i.e.
those carriers without a framed support. These carriers are designed to transport a child in an essentially
vertical position whilst attached to the carer’s torso. It is essential that the carriers are designed to allow the
carer hands free operation when standing and/or walking. These carriers are for use with a minimum weight of
child of 3,5 kg.”
What has been tricky about this is that all baby carriers that are unframed seem to fall into the scope, including slings and soft carriers — but the standard itself is written specifically for carriers with defined leg openings, such that slings and wraps sometimes fail lab testing for this standard.
Therefore, manufacturers of slings, wraps, and other carriers without integral leg openings should reference the technical report CEN TR 16512. This is additionally clarified by the scope of the technical report, which defines its scope as carriers with leg openings that are not “integral” to the carrier.
When do I test to the new EU baby sling standard and soft carrier standard?
The BCIA will send updates to members when the new standards are passed. We will provide guidance for transitioning your compliance information to the new CEN standards when they are published. Generally, you can expect to have at least 6 months of transition time once the new standard becomes law — this is not always the case, but it’s generally a safe practice to expect a grace period of this length.