MarketMoodz
Which? finds 150 unsafe baby products on UK online marketplaces
Consumer group Which? found 150 unsafe baby products still listed for sale by third‑party sellers across eight online marketplaces, including Amazon, Alibaba/AliExpress, eBay, Etsy, TikTok, OnBuy and Wish. The listings include items previously flagged or recalled by the Office for Product Safety and Standards, raising fresh questions about platform policing and regulatory liability.
Key Takeaways
- Which? identified 150 unsafe baby products on eight marketplaces: Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, TikTok, OnBuy and Wish.
- The probe found 59 sleeping bags with hoods or lacking armholes and 37 newborn sleep pillows among the listings.
- There were 33 long‑straw bottle‑feeders and 21 pillow‑bottle‑holders, a combined 54 items equal to 36% of the total.
- OPSS issued recalls/alerts in 2022 over bottle‑feeders and published a warning on baby sleep pillows in December 2025.
- Which? is urging the UK government to use the Product Regulation and Metrology Act to impose a clear legal duty on online marketplaces for product safety and enforcement.
People Involved
- Sue Davies Head of consumer protection policy, Which?
Entities Involved
- Which? Consumer advocacy group that conducted the product probe
- Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) UK regulator that issued recalls and safety warnings
- Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) Online marketplace where flagged items were found
- Alibaba Group (BABA) Operator of Alibaba marketplace and owner of AliExpress
- AliExpress Online marketplace where flagged items were found
- eBay Inc. (EBAY) Online marketplace where flagged items were found
- Etsy, Inc. (ETSY) Online marketplace where flagged items were found
- TikTok (ByteDance) Social commerce platform where flagged items were found
- OnBuy UK-based online marketplace where flagged items were found
- Wish Online marketplace where flagged items were found
MarketMoodz Analysis
For investors, the Which? findings sharpen two clear risks for marketplace platforms: regulatory and reputational. Regulators already flagged bottle‑feeders and sleep pillows in 2022 and late 2025; the persistence of those listings suggests enforcement gaps that could prompt tougher rules. If the UK imposes a statutory duty under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act, marketplaces face higher compliance costs, faster takedown obligations, potential fines and higher insurance or recall liabilities—factors that can compress margins and force changes to seller onboarding and monitoring.
This is not new territory: regulators worldwide have pushed platforms toward greater product‑safety accountability as e‑commerce scales. Past OPSS alerts show the problem is persistent rather than isolated; marketplaces’ dependence on third‑party sellers creates a recurring enforcement challenge. Watch for three signals: formal government action or guidance under the Act, platforms’ transparency on removals and moderation capacity, and any uptick in litigation or supplier delistings. Portfolio managers should review marketplace disclosures on third‑party risk, and retailers should expect tighter vetting and higher compliance costs if the UK moves to hard statutory duties.
Source: Original Article