I. PRODUCT COVERAGE
Toys and Dolls product coverage/classification by Harmonized System (HS) and  Philippine Standard Commodity Classification (PSCC) is shown below:

 
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II. PRODUCT USE/S
Toys appeal to children's desire for fun;  serve a deeper purpose by helping to advance their cognitive, emotional, social and physiological development.  Toys can impact a child's ability to interpret situations, solve problems, think creatively and develop imagination.  Children can also learn to control and appropriately express the various complex emotions they typically experience in play situation.

Toys in general are very important to children's healthy development, as they help them to 'play-out' and to resolve daily occurrence in both their own and the adult world.  A toy may 'speak' to one child and become the object of love and comfort.  Often toys are valued as mascots for displays and the lucky few take on human characteristics and become a family member.

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III. PRODUCTION CAPACITY
The degree of mechanism of the sector varies across sub-sector, e.g., stuffed toy sub-sector is highly labor intensive while the wooden toy sub-sector is appeared to be more capital-intensive.  While most firms utilize a number of machinery and equipment, at least 50 percent of the total number equipment of the industry is imported.

The local toy manufacturers also engage in sub-contracting activities.  Production of certain items, either in whole or in part are pass on to sub-contractors due to operations not within the reach of the manufacturers.  Activities being sub-contracted are sewing, plastic molding, ceramic molding and silk-screen printing.

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A. Raw materials
Stuffed Toys
The main raw materials for the stuff toys are:  polyester cotton fabrics (T/C) fabrics); plush; and stuffing material such as polyester fiberfill, polyester or colored stuffing and acrylic stuffing.  Other materials include adhesive eyes/nose, lace and accessories,  threads and acrylic yarn.

Some of the raw materials are locally available in Divisoria.  There are also those who import directly from Hongkong, Taiwan and Korea.  These are sourced locally.

Wooden Toys
The main materials for the wooden toy subsector include kiln dried mahogany, soft solidwood such as almaciga, palosapis, palochina and malacauayn, and plywood. 

B. Labor

Production workers vary from as few as three workers to as many 200 workers constituting  90 per cent of women. The number excludes subcontractors who are summoned when there are big volume orders.

C. Packaging Materials

Toys sold require warning labels on those intended for children three to six if they contain small parts, and choking hazard warning labels for balloons, marbles, and small balls.

Toys are packaged either in a carton or plastic containers.

D. Appropriate Standards and Certification

The Philippine National Standard Safety Requirements for Children's Toys (PNS) comprises of two groups.  The first group of hazards comprise those applicable to all toys, e.g., sharp edges, sharp points, pinch or crush hazard, excessive noise levels.  The other group comprise those which were specifically related to toys which, because of their design or traditionally play modes, are intended for use by children of a certain age group, e.g., ingestion or inhalation hazard, strangulation hazard, fall-off the toy hazard, puncture hazard electrical shock hazard, burn hazard.

Japan and many European countries, have their own toy safety standards and regulations similar to U.S. voluntary and mandatory standards.  The 12-member European Community, under EC-92, has promulgated a toy safety directive called EN-71.  This directive went into effect January 1, 1990, 2 years ahead of most other product standards.

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A. Exports by Product

PHILIPPINE EXPORTS OF TOYS AND DOLLS
1996 to 2000
FOB Value In Thousand US Dollars

Source: National Statistics Office (NSO)

PHILIPPINE EXPORTS OF TOYS AND DOLLS
 1996 to 2000
FOB Value in Thousand US Dollars

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VI. USEFUL ADDRESSES

Philippine Toy and Novelty Manufacturers Association, Inc (PHILTOY)
c/o  MERR-C EMBROIDERIES EXPORT INTERNATIONAL 
#528 Hipolito St., Caingin,
Malolos Bulacan 3000
Tel. No.  63 (044) 791- 0443/ 1262
Fax No.  63 (044) 791-1262
Contact Person:  Ms. Rosalinda Miguel - President