Notice of intent – Proposal to amend the Children’s Sleepwear Regulations under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act

The purpose of this Notice of intent is to inform interested parties that Health Canada is seeking comments on a proposed regulatory initiative to update the Children's Sleepwear Regulations under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA).

Health Canada will use the input received through this pre-consultation to inform next steps, which may include a cost-benefit analysis of the proposal. Any future regulatory proposal would be pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I for further stakeholder consultation in accordance with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Cabinet Directive on Regulation.

Background

The Children's Sleepwear Regulations (hereafter referred to as the Regulations) address flammability hazards for children's sleepwear and toxicity hazards associated with flame-retardant treatments on loose-fitting children's sleepwear.

The flammability of children's sleepwear up to size 6X has been regulated in Canada since 1971. Persistent incidents of severe burn injuries and fatalities, particularly among children wearing loose-fitting nightgowns, demonstrated that the original requirements were insufficient to mitigate the associated risks. A 1985 study found girls experienced more than twice as many burns as boys and accounted for most fatalities, because they were wearing loose, flowing nightgowns (Stanwick, 1985).

In 1987, the Government of Canada strengthened the flammability requirements for children's sleepwear. The amendments introduced distinct requirements for loose-fitting and tight-fitting sleepwear, with more stringent measures applied to loose-fitting sleepwear due to its higher propensity to contact ignition sources and burn rapidly. The regulations also set out stringent requirements for toxicity testing and labelling for any loose-fitting sleepwear treated with a flame retardant. Lastly, the scope of the regulations was expanded to include children's sleepwear up to size 14X.

To support consistent application of the regulatory requirements, Health Canada, in collaboration with industry, published the Children's Sleepwear: Flammability Requirement Guidelines in 1998. The Guidelines establish design and dimensional criteria to distinguish tight-fitting from loose-fitting sleepwear, based on dimensions specified in the National Standards of Canada for sizing children's garments. The Guidelines have been updated periodically, most recently in 2026. You can consult the most recent version online: Guidelines for the flammability requirements of the Children's Sleepwear Regulations (2026).

Following the 1987 regulatory amendments and implementation of the Guidelines, reported burn injuries and fatalities associated with children's sleepwear declined substantially. Since 1998, only one burn injury and no deaths have been reported to Health Canada.

The regulatory requirements have not been substantively updated since 1987, but there have been many changes in the sector since this time:

Sleepwear styles have evolved,
Toxicity testing methods for flame retardants have changed,
Equipment and methods for cleaning and drying garments prior to flammability testing have evolved,
Separable small parts (such as snaps and zipper pulls) in children's sleepwear, sleep sacks and wearable swaddles have been identified as a potential risk, and
Canada's marketplace has shifted from a domestic to a predominantly global market, with a majority of children's sleepwear being produced abroad and imported into Canada.

Purpose of the proposal

As part of ongoing efforts to review the existing suite of regulations under the CCPSA, Health Canada has identified a need to modernize and enhance the Regulations to:

help protect the health and safety of children when they wear sleepwear by:
- updating the definitions to include modern designs, such as loungewear, sleep sacks and wearable swaddles
- introducing protections for children under three years of age for hazards posed by separatable small parts
increase the clarity of the regulatory requirements,
increase regulatory alignment with Canada's trading partners, and
update references to the most recent test methods and standards.

The proposal

Health Canada has identified seven aspects of the Regulations for proposed amendment, and is proposing a transitional period for their implementation.

Help protect health and safety

Update sleepwear styles in scope of the Regulations to accurately reflect the styles currently available on the market.
Some sleepwear styles in scope of the Regulations are no longer in use or have changed names, and new styles have emerged that are not expressly listed in the definitions in the Regulations. For example, "baby-doll pyjamas (nuisettes)" are no longer a style that is prevalent on the market, while loungewear, sleep sacks and wearable swaddles have become more popular. As a result of this update, the scope of the Regulations would be clarified and expanded to include sleep sacks and wearable swaddles. The flammability requirements for most products would not change as a result of this expansion, however, certain sleep sacks and wearable swaddles composed of raised fibres would have more stringent flammability requirements.
Introduce a requirement that products in scope of the Regulations that are intended for children under three years of age must not contain a small part that is separable, or may become separated, with reasonably foreseeable use.
Table 1 in the Annex to this document provides a summary of the amendments proposed to help protect health and safety.

Increase clarity of the regulatory requirements and increase alignment with trading partners

Incorporate dimensional and design criteria for children's sleepwear from the Guidelines into the Regulations through an ambulatory incorporation by reference.
This change would add clarity and transparency for industry on current Health Canada policy regarding the administration and enforcement of regulatory requirements for children's sleepwear.
- Notes:
  An ambulatory incorporation by reference means that a final amended version of a document immediately becomes part of the Regulations without going through a regulatory amendment process. Health Canada's Incorporation by Reference Policy describes guiding principles and steps to be taken when documents are incorporated on an ambulatory basis into a regulation. An ambulatory incorporation by reference would help keep the Regulations up to date in an efficient manner.
  
  A compliance period would be proposed to provide regulated parties time to adjust their design, production, inventories to amendments to the Guidelines.
Update the Regulations to reflect the current policy approach for infants' sleepwear flammability testing as expressed in the Guidelines.
In the Regulations, sleepwear designed for infants weighing up to 7 kilograms (regardless of style) is subject to the flammability requirements for tight-fitting sleepwear. In the Guidelines, sleepwear designed for infants weighing up to 7 kilograms corresponds to a size of no more than 9 months of age and a maximum chest circumference of 508 millimetres. Reflecting these criteria in the Regulations would add clarity and transparency regarding alignment with the United States (U.S.).
Amend the definition of "char length" to improve clarity regarding the testing of loose-fitting sleepwear.
Flammability testing for loose-fitting sleepwear is performed in a manner similar to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The objective of an amendment to the definition of char length would be to clarify this alignment.

Update references to the most recent test methods and standards

Update the references to the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) standards in the Regulations.
Remove the references to the withdrawn (CGSB standard 2-GP-115M) and obsolete (CAN/CGSB-4.2 No. 30.3) standards, and reflect the most recent versions of the standards. Incorporate specific washing and drying procedures of the CAN/CGSB-4.2 No. 58-2019 (R2024) as ambulatory references, similar to the existing ambulatory reference for CAN/CGSB-4.2 No. 27.5.

Introduce language to recognize the equivalence of cleaning instructions on garment labels expressed as either words or symbols when determining the required cleaning method when testing loose-fitting children's sleepwear.

Add a 180-day compliance period for both ambulatory CGSB standard references. A compliance period allows time for regulated parties to become compliant with the applicable final published versions of the amended referenced standards (in other words, during a compliance period, products can be tested using either the newly published standard or the immediately previous version of the standard). Table 2 in the Annex provides information on the proposed updates to referenced standards.

Note: Several regulations under the CCPSA incorporate CGSB safety standards by reference. Health Canada recognizes that the Canadian General Standards Board ceased operations in April 2026 and is working with the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) to support the ongoing maintenance of relevant CGSB safety standards; further information will be communicated as it becomes available. In the interim, the referenced standards remain in force under the applicable regulations and continue to be available.
Update the references to 14 toxicity test methods related to flame retardants in loose-fitting sleepwear.
The proposed updates would reflect the new versions of the methods and replace references to withdrawn methods with references to up-to-date methods. Table 2 in the Annex provides information on the proposed updates to referenced standards.

Introduce a transitional period

Incorporate a 180-day transitional period that would be in effect after the Regulations come into force. This period would allow an appropriate transition of products on the market. For example, wearable swaddles could comply with either the existing flammability requirements for bedding under the Textile Flammability Regulations or the flammability requirements of the amended Children's Sleepwear Regulations during the transitional period. When the transitional period has ended, only the flammability requirements under the amended Children's Sleepwear Regulations would apply.

How to participate

To participate in this pre-consultation, stakeholders are asked to submit responses to the questions in the questionnaire. Stakeholders can do this by either filling out the online questionnaire or sending their responses to ccpsa-lcspc@hc-sc.gc.ca. This pre-consultation will be open for comment from July 7, 2026 to September 14, 2026.

Feedback collected through this pre-consultation will be used to inform the development of regulatory amendments that align with the purpose of this proposal.

Annex

Table 1. Summary of proposed performance requirements for children's sleepwear and related products
Children's sleepwear style	Examples	Proposed performance requirements
All styles	N/A	Update definitions of children's sleepwear to reflect modern styles
Loose-fitting sleepwear: nightgowns, nightshirts, dressing gowns, bathrobes, housecoats, robes, pyjamas and baby-doll pyjamas		Children's Sleepwear Regulations No change regarding flammability performance Toxicity requirements for flame-retardant treatments continue to apply, with updated test method references No separable small parts in sleepwear for children under three years of age
Tight-fitting sleepwear: polo pyjamas and sleepers		Children's Sleepwear Regulations No change regarding flammability performance No change regarding toxicity requirements for flame-retardant treatments (not applicable) No separable small parts in sleepwear for children under three years of age
Tight-fitting sleepwear: sleepwear for infants up to 7 kilograms and sleepwear designed for hospital use		Children's Sleepwear Regulations No change regarding flammability performance No change regarding toxicity requirements for flame-retardant treatments (not applicable) Revise "sleepwear designed for infants weighing up to 7 kilograms " to reflect sleepwear designed for infants of 0 to 9 months of age with a maximum chest circumference of 508 millimetres No separable small parts in sleepwear for children under three years of age
Loungewear		Children's Sleepwear Regulations No change regarding flammability performance (loungewear is currently subject to the flammability performance requirements for tight- or loose-fitting sleepwear depending on design and dimensions) Toxicity requirements for flame-retardant treatments continue to apply for loose-fitting sleepwear, with updated test method references No separable small parts in sleepwear for children under three years of age
Sleep sacks with leg openings that allow a child to be mobile while wearing them		Children's Sleepwear Regulations No change regarding flammability performance (currently subject to the flammability performance requirements for tight- or loose-fitting sleepwear depending on design and dimensions) Toxicity requirements for flame-retardant treatments continue to apply for loose-fitting sleepwear, with updated test method references No separable small parts in sleepwear for children under three years of age
Sleep sacks without leg openings that do not allow a child to be mobile while wearing them Wearable swaddles		Children's Sleepwear Regulations Note that currently these products must meet the flammability requirements for bedding under the Textile Flammability Regulations Products without raised fibres would be subject to the flammability requirements for tight-fitting sleepwear, which are the same as those for bedding Products composed of raised fibres would be subject to the flammability requirements for tight-fitting sleepwear, which are more stringent than those for bedding composed of raised fibres No change regarding toxicity requirements for flame-retardant treatments (not applicable) No separable small parts in sleepwear for children under three years of age
Other garments or accessories intended for wearing during sleep or activities related to going to bed such as night caps or sleep masks		Children's Sleepwear Regulations No change regarding flammability performance Toxicity requirements for flame-retardant treatments continue to apply to loose-fitting sleepwear, with updated test method references No separable small parts in sleepwear for children under three years of age
indicates proposed changes indicates no changes

Table 2. Proposed updates to referenced standards and test methods.
Name of the standard or publication	Current reference in the Regulations	Proposed update
OECD Test no. 401	Static reference to version from May, 1981 (test was deleted in 2022)	Remove reference and replace with references to OECD test methods 420, 423 or 425 (any of these methods could be used)
OECD Test no. 402	Static reference to version from May, 1981	Reference the most recent version of the same test
OECD Test no. 404	Static reference to version from May, 1981	Reference the most recent version of the same test
OECD Test no. 406	Static reference to version from May, 1981	Reference the most recent version of the same test
OECD Guidelines on Genetic Toxicology	Static reference to version from May, 1986	Reference the most recent version of the same guidelines
Third level of concern (LOC III) of the federal Guidelines on the Use of Mutagenicity Tests in the toxicological evaluation of chemicals, 1985. Health and Welfare Canada and Environment Canada	Static reference to version from 1985	Remove reference as no longer necessary
OECD Test no. 471	Static reference to version from May, 1983	Reference the most recent version of the same test
OECD Test no. 476	Static reference to version from April, 1984	Reference the most recent version of the same test
OECD Test no. 480	Static reference to version from October, 1986 (deleted in 2014)	Remove reference as no longer necessary
OECD Test no. 473	Static reference to version from May, 1983	Reference the most recent version of the same test
OECD Test no. 474	Static reference to version from May, 1983	Reference the most recent version of the same test
OECD Test no. 475	Static reference to version from April, 1984	Reference the most recent version of the same test
Allen et al., 1977 and Mirsalis and Butterworth, 1980	Static reference to test methods as described in scientific publications from 1977 and 1980	Remove reference and replace with references to OECD test numbers 486, 488 or 489 (any of these methods could be used)
OECD Test no. 451	Static reference to version from May, 1981	Reference the most recent version of the same test
CAN/CGSB-4.2 No. 27.5	Ambulatory reference. The most recent version is CAN/CGSB-4.2 No. 27.5-2023	Add a 180-day compliance period
CGSB Method 58, the National Standard of Canada CAN2-4.2-M77, Colour Fastness and Dimensional Change in Domestic Laundering of Textiles	Static reference to specific washing and drying procedures in version from December, 1984	Reference specific washing and drying procedures in the most recent version of the method, CAN/CGSB-4.2 No. 58-2019 (R2024), and revise the reference from static to ambulatory with a 180-day compliance period
CGSB Method 30.3, the National Standard of Canada CAN2-4.2-M77	Static reference to version from May, 1980 (standard was withdrawn)	Remove reference to CGSB Method 30.3 and incorporate language indicating use of a commercial dry-cleaning operation
CGSB standard 2-GP-115M, Standard for Detergent, Laundry, Powder, Built	Static reference to version from December, 1984 (standard was withdrawn and not replaced)	Remove reference to CGSB standard 2-GP-115M given that the updated CAN/CGSB-4.2 No. 58-2019 (R2024) addresses the relevant variables

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2026-07-14