Why you must check your children’s Halloween costumes for this tag

Look out for it this Halloween.

Following a number of accidents involving children's Halloween costumes catching fire, a lot of retailers have changed their approach to making the garments. Under European Law, dress-up clothing was always categorized as a 'toy', so it went through the same fire safety tests as any toy would. Except, they really should have been classified as nightwear and tested in a different way. New standards have now been enforced to ensure that Halloween costumes go through a more stringent flammability test which has a requirement of a maximum burn rate of 10mm a minute, compared to 30mm a minute previously. While most costumes will contain a fire safety message, parents are urged to look out for one important line on them, "This garment has undergone additional safety testing for flammability."   This proves that the manufacturer has adhered to the new guidelines and has deemed the costume to have a lower burn rate. The need for change was highlighted when presenter Claudia Winkleman's daughter had an accident involving a candle. Her daughter's costume went on fire in 2014, leaving her with life-changing injuries. She spent weeks in the hospital and had to have several operations. Maurice Buckley of the NSAI has said previously that the CE mark on costumes shows that the manufacturer has complied with safety regulations: "The label doesn’t mean that these items won’t catch fire, but it does indicate that they will resist burning and they should extinguish quickly once you get them away from the fire source. "At this time of year, I would ask parents to look out for these marks, particularly since the standards are there for your safety and your children’s."

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