EBPC - The European Balloon & Party Council

The EBPC are Europe's leading voice representing all the key players in the balloon & party industry. The members are made up of manufacturers, distributors and trade associations. Their role is to deliver the promise of core values throughout Europe on behalf of its members.

Toy Safety

There are thousands of products in the marketplace, for all ages, for all occasions, all over the world. Product quality can be a minefield with businesses always looking to become more competitive. There are many party products that are classed as toys within Europe and are manufactured under the Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC. The standards provide manufacturers with the strict guidance required to comply with the directive. In the case of toy products - the standard is EN71 - Safety of Toys.

The EN71 Toy Safety Standard is a requirement that all toys must meet. Products are classed as toys depending on how they are packaged, what their intended purpose is and the age group of the intended market.

Europe CEN, CENELEC & ETSI are the only 3 organisations who can create standards within Europe and has 497 technical committees specialising in different areas of industry.

The committee responsible for the Safety of Toys is TC52. EBPC are members of CEN and have experts contributing at all levels including Technical Committee TC52 Safety of Toys, Working Groups and Task Groups.

At these groups our experts contribute to the improvement of safety standards EN71 – Safety of Toys.

Don't Let Go!

EBPC has noticed a significant increase in number of consumers who are actively campaigning against balloon releases. As a consequence, some authorities across the EU are banning balloon releases on their properties and are enforcing them with a fine.
EBPC takes its environmental responsibility seriously, and as a result of encouraging good environmental practice is introducing a symbol for ‘Don’t let go’ to ensure balloons are not associated with a littering problem in the future.

Intention
To raise consumer awareness and to reinforce the industry message to do not release balloons and to ensure balloons are disposed of properly.

More information: https://ebpcouncil.eu/