Being intended for children, stuffed animals have to be made out of safe materials. Some recent cases and rumors have put a bit of a doubt that is always the case.
In order to find out whether teh materials used in stuffed animals are safe, we need to explore them and go back in time a bit. At first stuffed animals were made mainly with original materials. Like mohair for example which was generally used for fur. Today synthetic polyester fibers are the main choice of most manufacturers. Some, like Steiff, are still using mohair for their collectors’ editions.
In most cases stuffies are made out of several different type of materials in order to achieve the look. Even older toys though have been made with safe materials. Noone would like to hear that their toys caused problems to a child, right?
Usually the most difference in stuffed animals is the stuffing. As we’ve seen recently, there are cases where incidents can happen. Generally though companies are using synthetic materials for the stuffing as well. “Beanie” toys for example are not filled with actual beans. Instead small plastic pellets are used. Beanie Babies uses polyethylene pellets that are considered more environmentally friendly. It is a material that it is found in various household items.
Today stuffies are made with safe materials. Often manufacturers create their own types of materials to distinguish their toys. In order to get permission to do that, the materials must be tested thoroughly even before being used to make toys.
There are also additional tests after the toys are made. There are quite a few regulations that span in most countries about what type of materials can be used in toys. New imports of stuffed animals are routinely taken in for testing bu the authorities.
They test if all of the materials used in stuffed animals are safe. This includes even the pigments used for the coloring. These days stuffed animals must not use materials that can cause allergic reactions. They also must be safe that if part of them is ingested it won’t poison the child. With that being said, you should always keep an eye on your little kids when they play with toys, just in case.
If the toys are bought from a proper store and have labels on them with details of tha manufacturer, you can be safe in the knowledge they are tested. Naturally, there is always a slight possibility that something did slip through the net, but the percentage chance is very, very low.
