Organization Toy Industries of Europe (TIE), which represents manufacturers toys In European Union and Great Britainannounced that it purchased more than 100 toys from third-party sellers at 10 online stores – including at Amazon – and discovered that 80% of the toys did not meet EU safety standards. This poses a potential “danger to children,” CNN warns.
Dangerous toys are flooding the European Union
“Dangerous toys from sellers who ignore EU rules will continue to flood the EU unless online marketplaces take greater responsibility for the safety of toys sold on their platform,” Catherine Van Reeth, CEO of TIE, said in a statement on Thursday. The products tested were sold by both EU and non-EU sellers on marketplaces, including low-cost Chinese stores Ago and Sheinand also on Amazon.
Amazon and other platforms are responding
An Amazon spokesman said the company takes “proactive measures to prevent unsafe or non-compliant products from being listed on its site.” “The products in question have been removed pending investigation,” he told CNN.
A Temu spokesperson responded to CNN that product quality and consumer safety are the company’s “top priorities.” “All sellers on our platform must meet strict security standards. We act quickly on feedback and take immediate action to remove non-compliant products.”
In turn, a Shein spokesperson told CNN that third-party sellers on the platform must adhere to “rigorous product compliance standards” and that it “immediately removed” the products in question from its site and was investigating.
Toys under the microscope
The TIE study conducted independent laboratory testing of products purchased by the group, including a baby teether that could easily break into small pieces, posing a choking hazard. Products were also found containing boron in amounts more than 13 times higher than the EU limit. Boron can, among others, cause reproductive health problems.
TIE notes that the study’s results “do not reflect the safety of all toys available on these platforms.” The study did not take into account any well-known brand toys.
Strict toy safety system
The European Union has “the most stringent toy safety regime in the world,” but manufacturers outside the bloc are exempt from EU rules when they sell their products through online stores. Six of the 10 platforms surveyed, including Amazon, have signed the EU pledge to ensure the security of products sold on their platforms by third parties.
In the United States, regulators are also concerned about the safety of goods sold online. In September, two officials with the Consumer Product Safety Commission called for an investigation into Shein and Temu over the potential sale of “lethal products to infants and toddlers.”
