Example: The law says that the pacifier must be made in such a way that it cannot be swallowed.
Your options are:
1. Develop your own way of ensuring that the pacifier cannot be swallowed and prove that it's effective
2. Buy the standard, follow it and prove that you are following it.
Option (2) is generally cheaper. Hence the market for these standards.
That sounds like doublespeak to me. What other way is there to follow the law besides implementing the standard referenced by the law?