Selling paints and art supplies online: ASTM D4236 and 'non-toxic'

Turn over almost any tube of paint sold in the US and you will find a short line: "Conforms to ASTM D4236". It is not decoration. US rules require art materials to be reviewed by a toxicologist and to carry that statement. For sellers, two more questions follow: can you call the product "non-toxic", and can you sell it to children?

This page covers the conformance statement, the non-toxic claim, children's art supplies, and the EU.

What this page covers: paints, markers, crayons, pastels, clay, resin, inks and craft chemicals.

The short version

• Art materials must be reviewed by a toxicologist and carry the statement that they conform to ASTM D4236.
• Materials that need chronic hazard warnings should never be marketed to children.
• "Non-toxic" needs evidence and must not mislead.
• In the EU, children's art supplies may count as toys.

What is the ASTM D4236 conformance statement?

The ASTM D4236 statement is the label line US rules require on art materials. Under the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act, art materials are reviewed by a toxicologist, and the label carries the statement that the product conforms to ASTM D4236, with any chronic hazard warnings the review calls for.

Show the label with that statement in your images, readable at full size. It is the line a careful parent or teacher looks for.

Can art supplies be marketed to children?

Not when they need chronic hazard warnings: art materials that need those warnings should never be marketed to children. That includes images: a resin kit with a hazard warning, shown in a child's hands, markets it to children.

If your product is made for children, our page on toy rules covers the age and image rules that may also apply.

Can you call an art supply non-toxic?

Only with evidence. "Non-toxic" is a claim, and the FTC's Green Guides ask for evidence behind it, used in a way that does not mislead. A product reviewed under ASTM D4236 with no warning needed is a different statement from "non-toxic", and the safer listing says what the label says.

What should art supply images show?

Art supply images should show the label's ASTM D4236 statement, the right age group and true colours. Include:

• The label with the ASTM D4236 statement, readable.
• The product in use by the age group the label suits.
• Colour swatches photographed in daylight, so the buyer sees true colours.

Do children's art supplies count as toys in the EU?

They may. Art supplies made for children sold in the EU may count as toys, with the toy safety rules that follow.

How Commicorn helps

• Your label, as printed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn, so the ASTM D4236 statement and any warning stay exactly as printed.
• Claims that need proof are marked. The keyword step marks a green claim with what the marketplace asks for.

Questions sellers ask

What does "Conforms to ASTM D4236" mean?

It means the art material has been reviewed by a toxicologist under the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act, and its label carries any chronic hazard warnings the review calls for.

Do art supplies sold in the US need the ASTM D4236 statement?

Yes. US rules require art materials to be reviewed by a toxicologist and to carry the statement that they conform to ASTM D4236.

Can I sell a resin kit with a hazard warning as a children's craft?

No. Art materials that need chronic hazard warnings should never be marketed to children, and an image of a child using one markets it to children.

Is "non-toxic" the same as conforming to ASTM D4236?

No. A product reviewed under ASTM D4236 with no warning needed is a different statement from "non-toxic", which needs evidence under the FTC's Green Guides.

Do EU toy rules apply to children's paints?

They may. Art supplies made for children and sold in the EU may count as toys, with the toy safety rules that follow.

Before you list

Have a readable photo of the ASTM D4236 conformance statement and any chronic hazard warning, and the evidence behind any "non-toxic" claim, ready before the listing goes live. On a borderline product, two things settle it: the US art materials labelling rule, 16 CFR 1500.14(b)(8), under which a material that needs a chronic hazard warning is never marketed to children, and for the EU the Toy Safety Directive, which decides whether a children's art supply counts as a toy, both linked below.