As the U.S. member body to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) encourages its members and relevant stakeholders to submit comments on a proposal submitted by the Swedish Standards Institute (SIS) for a new ISO standard on design and safety requirements for sex toys. All interested U.S. parties are invited to review the proposal and submit comments to ANSI by June 28, 2019.
According to the proposal, there are no regulations or international standards specific to these types of products in the global market, resulting in variable product tests, safety methods, and quality assessments. In a study published in 2018, Swedish researchers discovered an increase in the recorded number of incidences requiring medical intervention related to the use these products.
The proposal states that a global standard on design and safety requirements for sex toys would benefit manufacturers, retailers, medical providers, and consumers by reducing the numbers of incidences where these products cause unnecessary pain or injury to users and expense to the health care sector. Establishing clear requirements for risk assessment and recommended design considerations along with sufficient user information will enable companies to show conformity.
Please submit comments to Steve Cornish, ANSI senior director of international policy, at [email protected], by close of business on June 28, 2019.
Based on the input received from U.S. stakeholders, a recommended ANSI position and any comments will be developed and presented to the ANSI ISO Committee (AIC) for approval before ISO's August 10 deadline.
ANSI has published an explanatory information document outlining the process used to develop U.S. positions on issues and activities under consideration by ISO and IEC.