Materials & Sourcing

We're often asked what our toys are made from and how we check they're safe. Here's an honest answer, not a marketing one.

Materials We Look For

Natural Wood

Where a toy is wooden, we look for natural wood finished with water-based paints or left untreated, rather than synthetic coatings – it's a safer, more durable choice for little hands and mouths.

BPA-Free, Phthalate-Free Plastics

For plastic components, we look for products where the manufacturer specifies the plastic type, rather than a vague "plastic" description with no detail behind it.

Tested Fabrics

For soft toys and fabric products, we look for materials certified to Oeko-Tex Standard 100, which tests for harmful substances including pesticide residues, heavy metals, formaldehyde, and pH levels.

How We Check Safety Documentation

Before any product joins the Bambelou collection, we ask our manufacturers for the underlying documentation, and we check for:

• CE certification, confirming the product meets the requirements of the EU Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EC) – covering physical/mechanical safety, chemical safety, flammability, and (where relevant) electrical safety
• Material declarations for the specific components used – paints, fabrics, plastics
• An age recommendation that matches the product's actual design and small-parts risk

We want to be precise about what this means: we review and rely on our suppliers' certification and material documentation – we're a curated retailer, not an independent testing lab. If any of that documentation looks incomplete, unclear, or doesn't hold up, we don't list the product, regardless of how well it might sell.

Why This Matters More Than It Might Seem

"Non-toxic" and "safe" on a box aren't regulated terms – any manufacturer can print them without independent verification. A genuine CE mark and specific material declarations are what actually mean something. That's what we check for, every time.

For the full picture on how this applies across our range, see our Product Safety & Certification page. Questions about a specific product's materials? Email hello@bambelou.me and we'll tell you plainly what we know.