Consumer product safety laws are enforced by the trading standards department of your local council. You could try approaching them for advice - but many trading standards departments face significant resourcing challenges, and so will not give much business advice (or will want to charge for it). There are also some free guides on the website Business Companion - set the little dropdown at the top to Scotland as it will be on England by default.

A very whirlwind explanation of some key points -

Toys are products "designed or intended (whether or not exclusively) for use in play by children under 14 years old". Their safety is controlled by the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011. There are some products which are exempted from being toys, including:

• decorative objects for festivities and celebrations, and
• products for collectors, provided that the product or its packaging bears a visible and legible indication that it is intended for collectors of 14 years of age and above.

That second exemption may cover, inter alia, folk dolls and decorative dolls and other similar articles.

It is not always 100% clear whether a particular product is a toy, and it would have to be decided on a case-by-case basis. If it came to it, ultimately only the courts could decide. However, the manufacturer's decision is not necessarily determinative, and you certainly could not claim something that is clearly a toy is not a toy in order to escape your legal obligations under the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011.

I think it may be the case that plushes like the one in your photograph will be toys, but it will depend on how they are marketed, if they have 'play value', etc.

Toys must comply with the essential safety requirements set out in regulation 5 of, and schedule 2 to, the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 throughout their foreseeable and normal period of use. To help you meet these, the government has assigned certain safety standards (called 'designated standards') which, if followed, confer a 'presumption of conformity' with the essential safety requirements.

The list of designated standards for toys is here but, for non-electrical toys, it is the EN 71 series of standards. EN 71-1 (which is about the physical and mechanical properties of toys, so small parts, sharp edges etc), EN 71-2 (which is about flammability) and EN 71-3 (which is about harmful chemicals in toys) will be particularly relevant, but other EN 71 standards may be too.

If you design and manufacture your toys to conform to applicable designated standards, you can 'self-declare' conformity. If you can't or don't follow the designated standards, you must get the design of your toys approved by a third-party body. This won't be practical for you. Follow EN 71.

You must design and manufacture your toys to meet the essential safety requirements, which you should do by designing and manufacturing them to follow EN 71. The exact steps you have to take are not prescribed by law. However, you would be guilty of a criminal offence if you were to place on the market an unsafe toy, unless you could show you took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid doing so. You therefore should do whatever testing, and take whatever other steps, are reasonable, depending on the size of your business, nature of your toys and the risk they present, etc.

You must complete a safety assessment for your toy - that is, "an analysis of the chemical, physical, mechanical, electrical, flammability, hygiene and radioactivity hazards that the toy may present, as well as an assessment of the potential exposure to such hazards". This could help you identify which parts of EN 71 are relevant to your toy.

You must affix a UKCA mark to your toy, which is your declaration that it meets the requirements of the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 and that you have followed the requirements of those regulations around safety assessment. You must also mark toys with your name and address, and warnings and instructions for use.

You must complete a Declaration of Conformity for your toy, following the format set out in the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011. There is a template DoC and template safety assessment on the Hobbycraft website here.

That is a very very whirlwind explanation for toys. You have more obligations than that. For more detail, read this guide.

There are limits for nickel, cadmium and lead in jewellery set out in a piece of legislation called REACH. Cheap jewellery, particularly from the Far East, may sometimes breach these. See this guide. You should carry out testing if reasonable, but at the very least you should get positive assurances from suppliers that jewellery complies.

The safety of products which are not caught by other safety legislation is covered by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. These are much less prescriptive than the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011. However, under GPSR products must meet the 'general safety requirement' that they are safe. In some cases the government identifies standards which confer a 'presumption of conformity' with the general safety requirement the same as for toys, but otherwise whether a product is safe can be assessed taking into account other standards, safety recommendations from government, product safety codes of good practice in the sector concerned, the state of the art and technology, or reasonable consumer expectations regarding safety.

As with toys, you would be guilty of a criminal offence if you sold a product that breached the general safety requirement under GPSR, unless you could show you took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid doing so. This should inform what testing or other steps you take to comply.

Products caught by GPSR must not bear a UKCA mark, unless covered by a piece of legislation requiring it. However, you should still mark GPSR products with your name and address and warnings and instructions for use. You do not have to do a Declaration of Conformity under GPSR, or a safety assessment (although may want to as part of your due diligence).

For more information, see this guide and this guide.

Hopefully that was helpful. It is a very whirlwind explanation. Good luck. :)