Abraham Jewett  |  October 7, 2021

Category: Children

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toys sold online toys
(Photo Credit: New Africa/Shutterstock)

Hazardous Toys Overview:

  • Who: The British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) released new research on the safety of children’s toys sold online. 
  • Why: The BTHA found 48 percent of toys sold on online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay by third-party retailers were unsafe for kids.
  • Where: The study was applicable for consumers across the United Kingdom.

Nearly half of toys sold online by third-party retailers are unsafe for children to play with, according to new research by the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA). 

The troubling claim is the result of BTHA research which studied a random sample of 255 toys sold by third-party retailers to determine if they posed a safety hazard to children, reports The Guardian

Of the random sample, the BTHA found 48 percent of the toys posed a safety risk to children, ranging from choking, burning, and poisoning hazards. 

Toys sold online that were found to be unsafe for children included an interactive baby doll on eBay that contained a chemical that is restricted, and a toy helicopter found on Amazon that contained button cell batteries that posed an extreme risk if swallowed. 

Amazon, eBay Not Required To Ensure Safety of Toys Sold Online

There is currently no legal requirement for online marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay to ensure the safety of items listed on their websites by third party sellers, reports The Guardian. 

Members of Parliament on the public accounts committee recently raised their concern, arguing that regulations were not up to snuff as shopping moved increasingly online.

The BHTA is now calling for more regulations for online marketplaces, including increased vetting of toys sold online by third party sellers and accountability for what is sold, reports The Guardian. 

“We must see politicians from all sides of the house coming together to protect children,” Natasha Crookes, BTHA’s director of public affairs, told The Guardian. 

Trading Standards officers had been in charge of upholding product safety standards up until 2018, when Brexit helped bring about the formation of the Office for Product Safety and Standards. 

eBay told The Guardian that it has automatic filters in place to seek out unsafe product listings, in addition to employees whose job it is to keep an eye out for products that may be dangerous. 

Amazon, similarly, says it has procedures in place to prevent suspicious or products that do not comply with its standards or apply with the laws and regulations of the country they are being sold in, reports The Guardian.

A lawsuit was filed against Amazon in the United States earlier this year by the country’s Consumer Product Safety Commission, which was seeking to protect consumers from purchasing dangerous products from the online marketplace

Were you aware online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay are not required to ensure the safety of products sold by third-party retailers? Let us know in the comments! 


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