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Teddies for Tragedies

British Standard Bear

When I first started looking for homes for teddies, I had several disappointing replies stating teddies were unhygienic etc.
So I spent time looking into the British Standard; hence this page.

BS EN 71 Safety of Toys

The text below has been copied with permission from the BSI Educational web pages (ages 14 - 19)
It is not the text from the official standard, rather a flavour to let you know the standard isn't onerous!
Only those parts of the standard applicable to our teddies is included.

 
© BSI Education Soft Toys
 What it means for our teddies
Materials "Material used in toys shall be visually clean and free from infestation. The material is assessed visually by the unaided eye rather than under magnification." Only use clean new wool, if it's been in your wool bag a while wash it first!
"Toys containing fibres of straightened length greater than 50 mm and attached to a fabric base shall carry a warning. "Caution! Not suitable for children under 10 months due to long hair." We don't know the ages of the children so, don't use angora-type wool.
Filling "Soft filling materials shall not contain any hard or sharp contaminants, such as metal particles, nails, needles and splinters." Make sure you take all the pins out!
"Filled soft toys must not produce surface flash when near a flame." Polyester filling is fine.
Seams "Seams and joints are tested as part of the whole toy. If a seam splits, the fillings can become a danger as a child may choke on them." Sew them up well.
Features "All features must be securely attached." Embroider the features.
Attachments "Toys with loose attachments (such as ribbons) for children under 36 months should have recommendations to remove them before giving to the young child." Remember to sew the scarf on securely (but only at the back of the neck so children can play at untying it).

British Standards Institution (BSI)


If you'd like to find out more about the Charities that help get our teddies to needy children, here's a few of them.
Mercy Trucks is a small charity based in Hexham Northumberland they do great work - visit the website to find out more.   
Mercy Trucks 		The Rotary LifeBox helps those in need by providing basic provisions that we take for granted but are so desperately needed by those affected by earthquake, flood, drought and war.   
LifeBox 		When your family has lost everything, you can share your troubles with your teddy.   
ShelterBox 		Albert Camus, the French Philosopher said that where there is no hope, we must invent it.   
Hope and Aid Direct 		Recently Education Action have sent teddies to Sudan and Uganda.   
Education International 		Women and Children in Africa - Working to alleviate hardship and suffering by funding projects which provide a sustainable benefit and help give women and children in Africa a better quality of life.   
WACIA 		Imagine ships crewed by doctors, nurses, water engineers and agriculturalists visiting some of the world's poorest countries. Now imagine their life-changing services offered free of charge...   
Mercy Ships 		Grassroots is a Christian charity focused on enabling and supporting individuals to know and serve Jesus better.   
Grassroots 		You can see pictures of teddies in Bantul on our teddy travels page.   
Bantul Kindergarten Project 		Project Peru is a totally voluntary Guildford-based charity supporting a children's refuge in the desert shanty towns of Lima.   
Project Peru

Please don't send unsolicited teddies to charities. They may not have storage facilities and there is a limit to how many a charity can cope with at one time.
Check with the website and your teddies will go where they're needed.
Also keep a look-out in local papers, they are a good source of new outlets.
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updated: 15th March 2007