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The Swiss Toy Association calls for equal rules for all market participants

Eleven Swiss business and consumer associations submitted a letter to the Office of the National Council on 29 January 2026.
Their central demand: The submitted parliamentary motions on regulating foreign online platforms must be addressed during the spring session.

Temu, Shein and AliExpress generate revenues of more than one billion Swiss francs in Switzerland. The trend is clearly rising. Every day, 500,000 parcels enter Switzerland, most of which do not meet Swiss safety standards. This is demonstrated by various tests conducted by the Swiss Toy Association (SVS) and Stiftung Warentest.

A systemic problem

The legal loopholes are enormous: foreign online platforms benefit from legal gaps that Swiss companies do not have:

  • Private imports are subject neither to the Product Safety Act (PrSG) nor to the Swiss Toy Ordinance. Toxic heavy metals, swallowable small parts such as magnets — none of this is checked.
     
  • No liability: If a child is injured by a Temu product, no one is liable. Parents are left without protection.
     
  • No environmental standards: Temu & Co. do not pay any disposal fees. They ship 500,000 parcels per day to Switzerland by air freight.
     

Swiss toy manufacturers, retailers and textile suppliers pay twice: they comply with the law but lose their markets to platforms that simply ignore these laws. Even more, they are forced to finance the disposal of the short-lived products sold by Chinese platforms.

Concrete demands

The eleven associations call for:

  • Requirement to have a registered office: Foreign online platforms must have a legal presence in Switzerland where they can be contacted and held liable.
     
  • Product safety: Online platforms must be considered as distributors. This means they are liable for the safety of the products they sell.
     
  • Control mechanisms: The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) and cantonal enforcement authorities must be able to inspect products — if necessary financed by a small parcel fee.
     
  • Sustainability: Online platforms must comply with Swiss environmental standards.
     
  • VAT enforcement: The platform taxation in force since 1 January 2025 must be consistently enforced. Shein and AliExpress are still not registered; the Federal Tax Administration must take action.
     

There are already five parliamentary motions on the table — these must be addressed.

The associations urge the Parliamentary Office to schedule the following motions for discussion during the spring session (March–June 2026):

  • Motion 24.3687 (Michaud Gigon): Requirement for large online retailers to have a registered office
     
  • Motion 24.4162 (Brenzikofer): Regulatory measures for foreign online retailers
     
  • Motion 24.4240 (Roduit): Product safety also for private imports
     

  • Motions 24.4619–24.4623 (Michaud Gigon, Schneeberger, Gutjahr, Meier, Gysi): Protection of health in online shopping
     

    Some of these motions have been pending in Parliament for 1.5 years without any action.

The letter was signed by:

  • Swiss Toy Association (SVS)
     
  • SWISS RETAIL FEDERATION
     
  • Handel Schweiz
     
  • Swiss Textiles
     
  • Fédération romande des consommateurs (FRC)
     
  • ASMAS – Swiss Association of Sports Retailers
     
  • Association of Swiss Stationery Retailers
     
  • Association of Swiss Toy Retailers
     
  • Swiss Consumer Forum
     
  • Promarca (Swiss Brand Association)
     
  • PBS and Greeting Cards Switzerland
     

This list shows that the problem does not only affect toys — it affects the entire Swiss retail sector.

Why the SVS is leading this initiative

“Our tests have shown that 80 percent of toys from Temu and Shein do not meet Swiss safety standards,” says Sandro Küng from the SVS executive office. “This is not about the fact that the preferential treatment of Chinese platforms causes enormous damage to the Swiss economy. It is about hundreds of thousands of dangerous products ending up in the hands of children. Button batteries that cause chemical burns, swallowable small parts such as magnets that could perforate the intestines, or toxic heavy metals in paints,” Küng explains. “The rules of the game must be the same for all market participants. Otherwise, it is not a market — it is chaos.”

The National Council has the opportunity to change this.
During the spring session.
Now is the moment.

Source:www.spielwarenverband.ch 

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