BTHA called for stronger controls for online marketplaces to prevent the sale of unsafe toys after latest investigation shows shocking number still being sold.
A new investigation by the British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) has found that 90 per cent of the toys it recently purchased from third-party sellers through major online marketplaces failed to meet the strict toy safety requirements in the UK – showing no improvement in results from the previous year.
The findings were launched at an event in the Houses of Parliament yesterday, attended by TnP, which brought together toy industry representatives, Members of Parliament, and officials in the government.
“The high percentage of unsafe toys still being sold by third-party sellers through online marketplaces is not only an unacceptable danger to consumers but is also the biggest threat to the responsible toy industry”
The BTHA has been campaigning for the role of an online marketplace to be updated and transformed into a legally accountable actor in relation to product safety, and for this to extend to all products sold through their platforms. The BTHA used the event to call on the government to introduce strong legal requirements for online marketplaces to prevent the sale of unsafe products, supported by strong penalties and enforcement action for those online marketplaces who fail to meet the required standards.
A keynote speech was delivered by Kate Dearden, the Minister for Consumer Protection, setting out the government’s ambitions and intention for closing the gap in legislation for online marketplaces to level the playing field and better support businesses complying with UK rules, and to protect consumers.
Clive Jones MP, the Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham, and former BTHA Chairman, sponsored the event and used his speech to state his support for the BTHA’s call for online marketplaces to have minimum standards established in law and applied consistently across all online marketplaces to ensure fairness, transparency, and consumer protection.
This was followed up by Roland Earl, Director General of the BTHA, who shared the impact on responsible businesses and children’s safety and opportunities to play with high-quality, safe toys. To help illustrate the real-world impact of unsafe toys, parent advocate Sam McCarthy who has been working with the BTHA since 2021 shared her story of the full effects of unsafe toys after her two-year-old daughter had to undergo surgery after swallowing 14 miniature high-powered magnets.
The latest investigation assessed almost 90 toys bought from seven online marketplaces: AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Shein, Temu, TikTok Shop, and Wish. 86% of the toys failed testing to a safety standard making them unsafe, while a further 4% failed on legal labelling requirements. Within this sample, 10 of the toys were similar looking to those in previous BTHA reports or recalled and listed on the UK Product Safety Database, with two also being sold by the same third-party sellers. All 10 toys failed testing again. The safety concerns in these toys included small parts in toys targeted at children under three and easy access to coin batteries that can be fatal if swallowed, amongst others.
Roland Earl, Director General at the BTHA said: “The high percentage of unsafe toys still being sold by third-party sellers through online marketplaces is not only an unacceptable danger to consumers but is also the biggest threat to the responsible toy industry… We welcome the government’s action so far and commitment to introduce new legislation following the consultation.”
