AGR seal: A look behind the scenes

The AGR seal of the Aktion Gesunder Rücken e.V. (Campaign for Healthier Backs) can be found on all our baby carriers – and even on our stroller, the newly updated Metro Compact City Stroller. In fact, it’s currently the only stroller on the market with this accreditation!

A committee of medical and therapeutic experts from a variety of fields certifies that our products are ergonomically optimal – both for the wearer and the children. But what exactly does a carrier have to accomplish to receive the seal? We want to explain this to you in more detail with our newborn carrier, the Ergobaby Embrace.

Before the AGR experts award the much-desired seal, they first compile a list of requirements. In the “comfort baby carriers” product category these requirements aim to ensure that the product is both simple and safe to use. In addition, seating, securing, picking up, carrying, setting down, and removing the child must be friendly to the user’s back while also being safe and comfortable for the child. Our Embrace carrier meets all these requirements.

Ergonomics and comfort for the user
Because a baby carrier should be back-friendly and comfortable for the wearer, the AGR committee says it must adapt to different body shapes optimally and also be light in itself. The latter is assured with the total weight of 480g of our Ergobaby Embrace. Since the strap lengths for both the waist belt and shoulder straps are continuously adjustable and the jersey fabric is so light and elastic, it fits almost everyone. Beyond that, the belt mechanisms should be easy to handle, at least 6 cm wide and padded to ensure they relieve pressure sufficiently. With the Embrace’s 7-cm wide waist belt and widely spread shoulder straps, the weight of the baby can be distributed over the hips and shoulders, and the straps do not cut in. The fact that they are crossed at the back and elastic in width and diagonally also makes the Embrace truly back-friendly.
Then the required ease and safety of putting on and removing the carrier is made simple thanks to the three buckles on the waist and shoulder straps and is intuitive as many backpacks are known to work this way so it comes naturally to anyone who has ever used one. And as a back-up measure to make sure nothing can go wrong, we have also equipped the hip buckle with a safety strap.

 

Ergonomics and comfort for the child
The carrier should not only be ergonomic and comfortable for the parent or caregiver, but also the child. It should be easy and intuitive to position the child in the carrier. The carrier must be adjustable to the size of the child and equipped with a special insert for newborns, for example. Since the Embrace is a newborn carrier, it does not require a special insert. However, it can still be used for larger babies (58 cm and above) and can be adjusted accordingly.

This is made possible by the two carrying modes:

In the newborn mode, (up to a height of 58 cm), the width of the straps is narrowed, and the back panel is shortened by double-folding the waist belt. An extra padded head and neck support are also built into the back panel to position the child’s unstable head optimally.
In baby mode (after about 2-3 months), you do not need to double-fold the waist belt. Now you can use the full width of the strap and the full length of the back panel.

This means that the Embrace grows with the baby and, depending on the stage of development, provides an ergonomic spread-squat position so that the spine and hip joints can develop optimally – which is another requirement of the AGR experts. The leg region should also be padded to relieve pressure, which the Embrace does in the areas where the thighs rest – even though the jersey fabric is very soft and supple enough as it is.
So that positioning the child is easy, there are written instructions, user videos and illustrated short instructions sewn into the carrier. Our customer service also provides trained carrier advisors with help and advice. The last thing to check in this category is whether the air ventilation is optimal for the child and carrier. The Embrace also satisfies this criterion 100 percent in both carrying modes, thanks to the small amount of carrying material, the adjustable back panel, and the open sides.

Handling

A baby carrier must be adjusted without any “tools” and must be easy to change and wash. This is what the AGR e.V. requires. As with all our carriers, the Embrace can, of course, be used and adjusted without the use of any tools. It can also be washed in the washing machine and as the soft jersey material is made of a polyester mixture, it dries very quickly.

 

Safety and freedom from harmful substances

This leads us to the last test category. In terms of safety, the Embrace meets the requirements of CEN/TR 16512:2015, which means that it satisfies this point already. And because its soft, supportive and cuddly jersey fabric is certified according to Oeko-Tex Standard 100 Class 2. It is also free from the use of a significant amount of chemicals. We consistently and constantly carry out further tests to ensure the safety of the baby carrier and a fabric that is low in harmful substances. This goes without saying for us!