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Release of chemical substances from tents and tunnels for children

2 Survey of tents and tunnels

• 2.1 Trade conditions
• 2.2 Figures of turnover
• 2.3 Production
  • 2.3.1 Manufacture
  • 2.3.2 Materials
  • 2.3.3 Finishing
• 2.4 Choice of products for analyses

A survey has been carried out of tents and tunnels for children on the Danish market, partly regarding the amounts sold, partly from which the products are produced and which finishes they are subjected to. As we are dealing with toys, they carry a CE-label.

By way of introduction it must be mentioned that it has been very difficult to get information of these toy products, tents and tunnels. It has thus not been possible to find literature, which specifically deals with these products. The survey of the materials and contents in the products thus originates from a general knowledge about textile products and their manufacture, and partly from the product information, which could be obtained from the importers about the products selected for the analyses.

Further it has not been possible through official statistics to find figures of turnover about these specific products. Such degree of detail does not exist in material from Statistics Denmark. The figures of the turnover thus originates from kind suppliers and retailers, and the summation and conclusions thus must be read with all possible reservations.

2.1 Trade conditions

Tents and tunnels for children are primarily sold in toyshops, but they have also been identified in certain department stores for furniture as well as other major grocery department stores. In the toyshops they are normally standard goods, which are always there in spite of a certain seasonal variation. This is true for the furniture department stores as well, whereas in the grocery department stores they more have the character as special offers during the season.

The trade has been contacted in various ways in order to illustrate the questions about the concrete products and their manufacture. The Association of Danish Toy Traders (Danmarks Legetøjshandlerforening) was contacted without success, and later information has made it likely that the activities of the association have ceased.

The Common Council of the Toy Trade (Legetøjsbranchens Fællesråd) formerly represented both manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. Following a recent restructure the Council is now linked with Danish Commerce & Services (Dansk Handel & Service) and today only represents wholesalers and retailers.

Toy manufacturers are today organised in the Association of Toy Manufacturers in Denmark (Foreningen af Legetøjsfabrikanter i Danmark (FLD)) with secretariat at European Advisers (Europa-Konsulenterne). None of these organisations has, however, been able to supply further information for this project.

According to the telephone directory seven toy factories exist in Denmark. After contact to each of them it became clear that none of them produces tents and tunnels. Later information has confirmed that all these kind of products are imported form foreign countries.

According to the telephone directory under the category "Toys, wholesale" 39 companies exist. By looking at the names one can identify a part, which obviously do not supply tents and tunnels. The remaining 28 were contacted, and out of these 28 answers were received from 12, of which 10 indicated that they do not supply tents and tunnels. Only two companies supply such products, and they readily gave information about their products and turnover.

2.2 Figures of turnover

Based of information mentioned in the previous chapter and information from a furniture department store the following picture can be drawn of the turnover of tents and tunnels for children in Denmark.

The three companies together sell a total of about 30 different products with total annual sale of 40 - 44,000 pieces. Assuming that these thre companies cover 80% of the market it leads to a total annual sale of 50 - 55,000 pieces. The figures must as mentioned earlier be read with all possible reservations, as they are based on information from only a few suppliers.

The products can roughly be divided into three different types as indicated in table 2.1 below.

Table 2.1. Types of tents and tunnels and their turnover

The prices of the products vary from 125 to 140 DKK for the most wide spread igloo and Indian tents. Tunnels, which can be linked to the tents, cost between 115 and 120 DKK. The more special playhouses and pop-up tents cost from 200 to 350 DKK. The total annual turnover is supposed to be between 6.8 and 7.2 million DKK.

2.3 Production

2.3.1 Manufacture

As mentioned all products within the category are imported goods, and typically the information given about the products are quite scarce.

The products typically consist of a tent canvas, which makes up the largest part of the product both in area and weight. In the products identified on the market the tent canvas consists of either cotton, nylon or polyester, where nylon is the predominant type.

In many of the products there will be a bottom, which can consist of the same material as the canvas, but more often will be made from another material. In the products identified on the market the bottom consist of either nylon, polyethene (polyethylene, PE) or polyurethane (PUR).

In many products finally poles, ropes, pegs etc. will be present. Area wise they will, however, constitute a very small part, so it must be presumed that with regard to release of chemicals, which is the main objective of the study, the canvas and the bottom must be by far the most important source.

The products are most often dyed and/or printed in bright and strong colours, and it is presumed that dye auxiliaries and print paste may have contained chemicals, which are subject to release. Further a part of the products are impregnated, primarily to make them water repelling or water proof. Such impregnation might cause chemical release. A couple of the products are allegedly equipped with a UV-filter, the nature of this filter not being revealed in the first place.

2.3.2 Materials

2.3.2.1 Cotton

Cotton is a vegetable fibre, which is grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions. It is a crop, which demands large amounts of water and fertiliser, and to ensure a good yield often quite large amounts of pesticides are used during growing, as the plant easily gets attacked from pests and diseases.

In the EU eco-label, the Flower, requirements for the maximum content of pesticides in cotton exist, but it is not very likely that there will be traces of pesticides in a finished fabric, which could degas from the final product.

2.3.2.2 Nylon (PA)

Nylon or polyamide is a synthetic fibre, which is manufactured on the basis of crude oil. Two types exist, PA 6 and PA 6.6; but for the use in this connection it is not likely to play a role, which type of fibre we are dealing with.

In the EU eco-label, the Flower, requirements for the maximum emission of N2O during monomer production, but this requirement is not relevant for the use of nylon in products in this study.

2.3.2.3 Polyester (PES)

Polyester is a synthetic fibre, which is manufactured on the basis of crude oil. Traditionally antimony compounds are used as catalysts during polymerisation, and a VOC emission is also taking place during polymerisation.

In the EU eco-label, the Flower, requirements regarding both of these aspects exist, but they are not presumed to have any importance in relation to degassing of chemicals from tents and tunnels.

2.3.2.4 Polyethene (PE)

Polyethene or polyethylene is a synthetic plastic material, which can exist either as fibres or as foil. PE might contain plasticisers, which might degas from the final products.

2.3.2.5 Polyurethane (PUR)

Polyurethane is a synthetic plastic material, which might contain starting materials from the synthesis (cyanates) or plasticisers, which might degas from the final products.

2.3.2.6 Dye auxiliaries

Certain dye auxiliaries might be present in the finished fabric and might degas at a later stage. This might be the case for the so-called carriers in polyester dyeing, which might be chlorinated organic compounds.

2.3.2.7 Printing auxiliaries

Certain print pastes for textile printing may contain volatile organic substances. The print paste itself may be based on white spirit, or certain auxiliaries can have a certain content of VOC's. Print which is based on white spirit is no longer common in the western world, but can exist in Eastern Europe or the Far East.

2.3.3 Finishing

A large number of finishing products for textile products exists. Their purpose is to equip the textile product with a specific property. Regarding tents and tunnels it seems that water repellents are quite common. Water repellent impregnation can be based on wax or paraffin emulsions or silicones (polysiloxanes). During curing of some of these products formaldehyde might be produced or cleaved off, which the in turn can degas.

Some products are equipped with UV filter, the chemical nature of which is not revealed. Such impregnations can be based upon heterocyclic compounds or dispersions of substituted benzotriazol compounds. Certain fibres, e.g. viscose, may be equipped with special pigments, which give a UV protecting effect.

Some products are allegedly fire retarding. A large number of fire retarding products for textile or plastic materials exist. It may often be phosphorous compounds or various metal salts. Certain synthetic textile fibres have already during fibre production been equipped with fire retarding chemicals. Common for most of these fire retarding chemicals is that they do not consist of volatile compounds, but during curing of some of these products formaldehyde might be produced or cleaved off, which the in turn can degas.

Tents and tunnels might also have been impregnated against rot and fungi or other microbial attacks. Such products could be coppernaphtenate, copperoxichinolate, cadmiumselenide, pentachloro compounds, dimethyl dithiocarbamate, dichloro diphenylmethane, tetramethyl thiuramidsulphide, salicylanilide, trialkyltin compounds or organic mercury compounds. Also quaternary ammonium compounds have been used. There is, however, nothing that indicates that the selected products have been equipped with such finishes.

2.4 Choice of products for analyses

Approximately 30 products were identified on the market within the category tents and tunnels. From those the following six products were selected for analyses. The information in the table originates from the suppliers.

Table 2.2 Products for analyses

The products have been selected to cover the most sold types and the most used materials. Further products are included both woth and without alleged impregnation.

The Danish suppliers had no immediate detailed knowledge of the chemical products used for the impregnations mentioned in the table.

The selected products cover about 31,000 pieces of the 50 - 55,000 pieces sold annually, or 56 - 62% of the annual turnover. Further most of the products, which were not selected, consist of the same or similar materials.

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Version 1.0 August 2005, © Danish Environmental Protection Agency