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CANADIAN TOY
TESTING COUNCIL CRITERIA FOR TESTING: MANUFACTURERS' INFORMATION
The following
are the general criteria for having toys tested by the Canadian Toy Testing
Council (CTTC).
- The Canadian Toy Testing
Council is a national, non-profit organization that has been testing
toys on behalf of Canadian families since 1952. We do not charge for
our testing. The results are published annually in the fall (www.toy-testing.org).
In addition, we give awards to manufacturers (Children's Choice, Best
Bet and CTTC/Energizer Battery-Operated Toy of the Year) when we discover
extraordinary toys during the course of our testing.
- Toys we test must be available
in Canada, nationally distributed; that is to say, easily attainable
through nationwide retail outlets (boutique type specialty toy shops
are acceptable, as well as Toys 'R' Us type outlets).
- The Council may request
that you send a single sample of your toy so we can determine if it
is appropriate for our program. Six samples are required for testing.
- Six samples of each toy
must be supplied. Please provide the exact name of toy, model number,
age of child toy is aimed at and suggested retail price. We do not test
prototypes. To ensure inclusion in a given year's testing cycle, it
is preferred that toys are sent to the Council's office as early as
possible (February onwards, usually following Toy Fair), with a cut-off
date of the end of May. However, if a toy will be available later for
testing and you feel it may have a big impact on the Christmas market,
please notify us. (We will accept toys until end of July after discussion.)
Toys are not returned after testing; we need samples on hand when we
talk to the media, and used toys also help to raise funds to support
the Council's work.
- Please provide suggested
retail price for each toy in Canadian dollars, if possible.
- After testing is completed
(in the homes of our specially trained testing families, with children
playing with the toy), the CTTC evaluation committee meets to review
the testing results and provide a rating for the toy. Three stars is
the highest, followed by two stars, one star and not recommended. A
"novelty" rating is assigned when the toy has strong potential
but limited long-term play value. Each manufacturer is notified of the
rating as well as the text that will accompany the toy when published.
- If your toy earns a three-star rating, you will be asked to provide a visual of your toy. In addition, you will be invited to take advantage of our seal program, which allows you to put the Canadian Toy Testing Council's three-star sticker on your packaging. After testing, if you are interested, you can contact our office for further information on how this program works. In addition, if your toy is awarded a three-star rating, it will be considered for our awards program. Those results are announced in the fall as well.
Thank you for your interest in the Canadian Toy Testing Council.
