The Cosmic Watchdog

With Christmas just around the corner, many families will have purchased toys online to gift their loved ones.

And with the popularity and number of online marketplaces having exploded, there is more scope than ever to purchase things like toys cheaply online.

But consumer champion Which? says it has carried out an investigation which shows that more than 90 percent of the toys it purchased through online marketplaces can’t be legally sold in the UK.

The company found more than half of them posed a danger to any children playing with them. Swallowable magnets, sharp points and strangulation risks were among the problems found in the investigation. It desribed one toy as “an accident waiting to happen” that looked “like a baby toy knocked-up by a woodwork student”.

The toys were purchased from sites such as AliExpress, eBay, Fruugo, Temu, TikTok and Wish.

Which? found serious safety problems with 12 of the toys they purchased including:

1. A toy pig bought from a seller on Fruugo whose eyes fell off in testing. This is a choking hazard for a small child if they were to be swallowed.

2. A magnetic fishing set where the magnets detached during testing was bought from an eBay seller. The tiny magnets are a choking hazard and could seriously hurt any child who swallowed them.

3. A baby’s teether with ribbons from Fruugo were so long that it posed a strangulation risk. The bells were also sharp which could easily cut a baby’s soft skin.

4. A musical elephant-shaped hanging crib toy bought from a seller on Wish. The batteries weren’t safely secured and that posed a swallowing risk for small children.

This isn’t the first time Which? has entered the worrying world of dangerous toys being sold through online marketplaces. The company also carried out an investigation back in 2021 where 40 percent of the toys they purchased were dangerous, far fewer than in their current investigation.

According to Which?, only two of the 23 toys had all of the markings and documentation they needed to be sold legally in the UK.

The company said: “We look for a UKCA or CE mark on each product we assess. Products need to carry one of these marks by law.

“Both show that the products meet all of the requirements needed for them to be sold within the UK (UKCA) or EU (CE).

“In the case of toys, a UKCE or CE mark shows that the manufacturer of the toy has verified that it meets the legal requirements of the Toy Safety Regulations 2011 or the Toy Safety Directive.

“The Toy Safety Regulations state that toys sold in the UK need to comply with regulations including those covering mechanical and physical safety, flammability and the migration of certain elements into the body if swallowed.”

Six toys were completely missing either mark but, more worryingly, 12 products that failed Which?’s safety tests displayed either CE or UKCA marks.

The company also looks for the manufacturer’s and the importer’s name and address, as well as a batch code for the products. Any product which doesn’t have any one of these marks can’t be sold legally in the UK.

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: “It was frighteningly easy for Which? to find dangerous toys for sale on some of the world’s most popular online marketplaces – and this is particularly worrying when we know many people are shopping for affordable gifts ahead of Christmas.

“We would recommend that shoppers be careful about buying unbranded toys on online marketplaces, as it is hard to have confidence that they will meet UK safety standards set in law to protect consumers.

“The UK Government must act fast and use its Product Regulation and Metrology Bill to put much greater legal responsibility on online marketplaces for keeping unsafe items off their platforms.

“This must include allowing tough enforcement action, such as heavy fines if they breach the rules.”

Click here to find out how Which? test products.

Which? shared its findings with all of the online marketplaces where it found dangerous toys and toys that can’t be sold legally in the UK. All of the 21 listings for products that failed our tests and assessments have been removed from sale.

AliExpress told Which?: “We take product safety very seriously and we have strict rules and policies in place to ensure a safe online shopping environment.

“Third-party sellers who list items for sale on our marketplace must comply with the applicable law as well as our platform rules and policies. To ensure compliance, AliExpress requires the merchants to submit relevant qualification documents and, where necessary, testing reports when listing products on our platform for verification. In addition to these measures and control mechanisms, AliExpress conducts regular offline inspections of physical products to verify adherence to safety standards.

“However, due to the high volume of parcels, it is challenging to inspect all items. Should a merchant be found non-compliant, AliExpress will take appropriate actions, which can include suspension or closure of the seller’s store for serious violations.

“We thank Which? for bringing your test results to our attention and for the improvement of our control mechanisms. The listings of the products that failed the test have been removed from the site. We have been and will continue to work closely with the OPSS and other regulators to prevent non-compliant product sales on our marketplace.”

Ebay said: “Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay. We immediately removed the listings reported to us by Which?, and other listings offering these items, from our site. We take a proactive approach to keeping our site safe, using block filter algorithms aimed at preventing unsafe and prohibited listings.

“These filters, along with our safety alert and recall filters, blocked 99.2% of prohibited listing attempts in 2023. Ebay regularly monitors the marketplace using multiple layers of technology and professionally trained eBay investigators, supported by AI, to identify and remove any prohibited listings.”

Fruugo said: “Fruugo is a marketplace – not a retailer in its own right. Nevertheless, Fruugo takes these issues extremely seriously and we understand the importance of ensuring retailers using our platform meet their legal and product safety obligations.

“That’s why we have a full product recall and withdrawal process including an effective notice and take down process that ensures non-compliant products such as these are quickly removed from sale. We also have a content surveillance team that pro-actively sweeps the site for known high-risk items using keyword blocks, image recognition and other AI tools. We can confirm that the three items you brought to our attention have all been withdrawn from the Fruugo platform.”

Temu said: “We prioritise consumer safety and require sellers to comply with applicable standards. The product in question had been removed from sale prior to your email. We are conducting a review and will enhance our monitoring of similar products.”

TikTok said: “These items have been removed from TikTok Shop. The safety of our customers is of our utmost priority, and we have strict measures in place to ensure that our sellers comply with regulations and safety standards.”

Wish.com did not respond to Which?’s request for comment.