National foreword

This British Standard is the UK implementation of EN 14682:2014. It supersedes BS EN 14682:2007 which is withdrawn.

The UK participation in its preparation was entrusted to Technical Committee TCI/66/-/2, Safety of children's clothing.

A list of organizations represented on this committee can be obtained on request to its secretary.

This publication does not purport to include all the necessary provisions of a contract. Users are responsible for its correct application.

Compliance with a British Standard cannot confer immunity from legal obligations.

This British Standard was published under the authority of the Standards Policy and Strategy Committee on 31 December 2014.

This European Standard was approved by CEN on 2 November 2014.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United Kingdom.

Foreword

This document (EN 14682:2014) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 248 “Textiles and textile products”, the secretariat of which is held by BSI.

This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by June 2015, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by June 2015.

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent rights. CEN [and/or CENELEC] shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This document supersedes EN 14682:2007.

EN 14682:2014 includes the following significant technical changes with respect to EN 14682:2007:

Clause 1 'Scope':
New clause for bags and purses that are often sold as co-ordinating accessories for children’s clothing
Clause 2 'Terms and definitions':
1. Re-ordered to be more logical for user, with several new terms;
2. 2.10 definition for belt added, to differentiate from tied belt;
3. 2.11 revised definition of tie belt or sash;
4. 2.12 braces (suspenders) new definition;
5. 2.19 open to its largest and laid flat, new definition;
6. 2.20 relaxed natural state, new definition;
7. 2.21 three dimensional embellishment, new definition;
8. 2.22 hood neck and upper chest, changed to head, neck and upper chest. The use of the term 'head' ensures consistent terminology with parts of body specified and not parts of garment.
Clause 3 'Requirements':
1. 3.1.4 new NOTE to consider functional hanger loops. 3.2 and 3.3 term hood deleted and replaced by head.
2. Requirements now consider the different risks for front and back of garment, and specification corrected accordingly.
3. 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3 decorative cords are now permitted for young children with restrictions which specifically consider strangulation hazards. This is consistent with permitting stitched embellishments, for example bows.
4. 3.2.5, 3.2.6 and 3.3.4, 3.3.5 deal with shoulder straps and halter neck styles. Ring and slider mechanisms are commonly used to permit adjustment of the strap in wear, to ensure close fit and functionality of the garment. The loops created by these straps will be variable, and may be greater than 7,5 cm. However as these are close fitting to the body, no loop should present an entrapment hazard.
  3.4 has been revised. Examination of garments shows that those clothes that are worn from waist down can be defined as those that fit closely to the body to be functional. Strings at the waist on these garments when closed to the body will be low hazard, and some requirements have been relaxed. Other garments can be more flowing, for example unbuttoned coats. In these garments, requirements have been strengthened.
3.7 sleeves: The original text assumed strings protruded from lower hems only, and that sleeves were long or short. This did not reflect fashion. Clauses have been revised to consider strings other than at hems, and all lengths of sleeve
Annex B: new paragraph to clarify that anthropometric data listed is that used to define children’s sizes in EN 14682:2014, where the tallest children in Europe were considered.
Annex C: enhanced to provide rationale for exclusions from scope, and rationale for requirements for lengths of drawstrings and cords. Explanation that manufacturers need to be more aware of how product is likely to be used, and not what it is called as a garment type.
Annex D, new improved methods for measurement of
- sash or tied belt,
- garment open to its largest and laid flat,
- garment in its relaxed natural state.
Annex F, improved figures provided to illustrate requirements.
To assist the reader, throughout this European Standard, the terms defined in Clause 2 'Terms and definitions' are in italics.

This document has been prepared under a mandate given to CEN by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association.

According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organizations of the following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

Introduction

The European Commission Mandate No. M/309, related to the safety of consumers of drawstrings or cords on children’s clothing and issued on 9 March 2001, requested that CEN develops standards or specifications to consider cords and drawstrings on clothing intended for children up to age 14 years.

The aim of this European Standard is to minimize the risk of accidental entrapment by cords or drawstrings on children’s clothing taking into account:

the child’s age;
behaviour and activities of children for their age and stage of development, for example playing in playgrounds, climbing trees, travelling by bus or train, ability to look after themselves, and where relevant, level of supervision;
national accident statistics indicate that serious accidents involving cords and drawstrings on children’s clothing fall into two main groups by age of child;
1. younger children: entrapment of hood cords in playground equipment such as slides, resulting in fatalities;
2. older children and young persons: entrapment of cords and strings from the waist and lower hems of garments in moving vehicles such as bus doors, ski lifts and bicycles resulting in severe injuries or death from being dragged along or run over by the vehicle.

In addition, elasticated hood or neck cords have resulted in a number of facial injuries.

Children’s clothing sold in the EU is usually sold by height as the primary measurement, sometimes with age as an additional indicator. Clothing for babies (up to around 1 year of age) is generally sold by length of the baby although some countries use the baby's weight. All chest, waist, and hip measurements are secondary measurements.

1 Scope

This European Standard specifies requirements for cords and drawstrings on children's clothing, including disguise costumes and ski apparel, up to the age of 14 years.

Within the scope of this European Standard, it is not possible to cover all potential hazards that may create an unsafe garment.

Conversely, identifiable specific hazards in certain styles/design of garment might not present a risk for certain age groups.

It is recommended that an individual risk assessment be carried out on any garment in order to ensure that it does not present a hazard to the wearer

This European Standard does not apply to the following (see Annex C for rationale):

child use and care articles, for example bibs, nappies and soother holders;
shoes, boots and similar footwear;
gloves, hats, bonnets and scarves;
neckties designed to be worn with a shirt or blouse;
belts, with the exception of tied belts which are within scope;
braces;
religious clothing;
celebratory clothing such as that worn at civil or religious ceremonies, national or regional festivals provided this is worn for limited periods and under supervision;
specialist sportswear and activity wear generally worn for limited periods and under supervision, for example rugby shorts, wet suits, and dancewear, except where those garments are commonly worn as day wear or night wear;
theatrical costumes used for theatrical performances;
aprons intended to be worn over day wear, for limited periods and under supervision, to protect clothing from soiling during activities such as painting, cooking, or during meal times;
bags and purses.

2 Terms and definitions

3 Requirements

3.1 General

3.2 Head, neck and upper chest area on garments for young children (Figure 1, zone A)

3.3 Head, neck and upper chest area on garments for older children and young persons (Figure 1, zone A)

3.4 Chest and waist area (Figure 1, zone B)

3.5 Lower edge of garments which hang below the crotch (Figure 1, zone C)

3.6 Back area (Figure 1, zone D)

3.7 Sleeves

3.8 Other parts of the garment

Bibliography

BS EN 14682:2014

Safety of children's clothing. Cords and drawstrings on children's clothing. Specifications

Current, Under Review

Published:

31 Dec 2014