Which? finds unsafe baby products online

Which? said on July 9 that online marketplaces were still listing 150 baby products that the consumer group said could put infants at risk of suffocation, choking or overheating. The products were offered by third-party sellers on platforms including Amazon, eBay, Etsy, TikTok Shop, Alibaba, AliExpress, OnBuy and Wish, according to Which?’s investigation. BBC News reported the findings on Thursday, citing items that had previously been subject to official safety notices or recalls. Which? said the listings showed how products linked to earlier warnings could remain easy for parents to find online. ### Which products did Which? say it found? Which? said the 150 listings included 59 baby sleeping bags, 54 products designed for self-feeding and 37 baby sleep pillows. The group said the sleeping bags it identified did not meet safety standards and posed a suffocation risk, while the self-feeding products carried a choking or aspiration pneumonia risk. It said the baby sleep pillows risked overheating or suffocation, both of which it linked to sudden infant death syndrome. (which.co.uk) The Office for Product Safety and Standards has previously issued product safety alerts for baby sleep pillows and for baby self-feeding pillows or prop feeders. The government alerts say baby sleep pillows can pose a risk of suffocation, overheating and death, and say self-feeding pillows or prop feeders present a risk of serious harm or death. (which.co.uk) ### Which marketplaces were named? Which? said the products were found across major online marketplaces used by UK shoppers, including Amazon, eBay, Etsy and TikTok Shop, as well as Alibaba, AliExpress, OnBuy and Wish. BBC News separately reported that listings remained active on sites including Amazon and TikTok when it reviewed the findings. (gov.uk) Retail Gazette reported that Amazon, Etsy and TikTok Shop removed products identified by Which? after being contacted about the investigation. Which? said the items had been sold by third-party sellers rather than by the platforms themselves. ### Why did Which? focus on those categories? (which.co.uk) Which? said it examined self-feeding products, baby sleep pillows and baby sleeping bags because those categories had already been the subject of alerts or safety notices from UK authorities. The group said that despite those warnings, researchers were still able to find large numbers of listings on mainstream marketplaces. (retailgazette.co.uk) Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said the investigation showed “how easy it is to find these unsafe products.” BBC News and Yahoo both reported that Davies urged the government to make online marketplaces legally responsible for the safety of products sold on their sites. ### What did the marketplaces say? (standard.co.uk) Amazon, Etsy and TikTok Shop said they had removed the flagged listings after Which? shared its findings, according to Retail Gazette. BBC News reported that marketplaces said product safety was a priority and that they had systems for removing unsafe items. (yahoo.com) Wish did not respond to Which?’s findings, according to reporting that cited the consumer group’s investigation. Which? has previously argued for tougher enforcement against marketplaces that continue to host products matching official safety warnings. ### What happens next? July 9 is the publication date for Which?’s findings, and the group used the release to renew its call for tighter legal duties on online marketplaces. (retailgazette.co.uk) The next step is likely to center on government scrutiny of marketplace rules and on further removals by named platforms including Amazon, Etsy and TikTok Shop. (which.co.uk) (independent.co.uk)