150 Unsafe Baby Products Are Still Being Sold Online in the UK. Here's Why That Keeps Happening

Consumer group Which? has found 150 baby products for sale on UK online marketplaces that regulators have already warned are dangerous. The products were listed on Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, OnBuy, and TikTok Shop, according to an investigation reported by the Guardian. Almost a quarter appeared on Amazon.

To be clear about what this investigation looked at: Which? didn't search marketplaces at random. Researchers specifically hunted for products the government's Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) had already flagged as hazardous. The 150 items they found represent products in known-problem categories that are still circulating for sale.

What kinds of products were found

Three main product types made up most of the haul.

Bottle-feeding holders. Which? located 54 self-feeding devices — padded holders designed to prop up a baby's bottle so parents can free their hands during feeding. The OPSS warned in 2022 that these carry a serious choking and pneumonia risk. Twenty-one of the 54 were neck-fastening pillows. In one case, a BleuRibbon Baby Shop pillow was already recalled over these exact dangers, yet similar products remained available.

Sleep pillows for infants. Researchers found 37 pillows marketed for babies under 12 months. The OPSS warned in December 2025 that infant pillows raise the risk of suffocation, overheating, and have been linked to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). These aren't pillows for toddlers or older children — they're marketed specifically for the youngest babies.

Sleep sacks with safety problems. Which? found 59 baby sleeping bags (also called sleep sacks) with design flaws that create suffocation hazards: hoods without openings for the baby's face, missing armholes, or both. The OPSS had already issued a safety warning about these risks in January 2024. Etsy accounted for 38 of these 59 — more than any other single platform.

One example: Amazon sold a swaddle blanket with teddy-bear ears on the hood, marketed for babies up to six months, with no armholes. The listing said it could be used as a sleeping sack. Which? reported this same product (in a different color) to Amazon earlier in 2026, but a similar version was still for sale afterward.

How the platforms responded

When asked for comment, the marketplaces said they had removed the products. Alibaba said it "swiftly removed the non-compliant products" and would continue educating sellers. AliExpress said it had removed the flagged items and would tighten controls. Etsy said safety was "paramount" and removed all flagged listings.

None of the platforms explained why products that had been flagged years ago were still listed in the first place.

Why this keeps happening: a problem with who's responsible

Here's the key question underneath all this: who is legally responsible for keeping dangerous products off these sites?

Right now, UK law treats online marketplaces more like bulletin boards than shops. Amazon, eBay, and others aren't technically the sellers — the third-party vendors using their platforms are. That means if a dangerous product shows up, regulators often have to chase down individual sellers, many of whom operate from overseas and are hard to reach or hold accountable. The platforms themselves face little direct legal pressure.

Which? is asking the government to change this. The organisation wants ministers to use powers under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act to make online marketplaces legally responsible for third-party products sold on their sites. Under that model, liability would shift from scattered overseas sellers onto the platforms that profit from hosting them. It would be like holding the shopping center liable when a shop inside sells dangerous goods — not just the shop owner.

The broader context matters here. This isn't the first time Which? has found batches of flagged products still in circulation. In November 2025, the organisation reported finding hundreds of potentially deadly items on the same marketplaces. The current discovery of 150 items suggests the problem isn't a one-time slip — it's a recurring pattern. The same product categories that regulators warned about years ago are still being found.

Whether the government acts on Which?'s request, and how quickly, will determine whether these investigations simply keep documenting the same problem, or whether platforms finally have real legal skin in the game to keep dangerous products off their sites. The answer matters for every parent buying baby gear online.

How the platforms responded

When asked for comment, the marketplaces said they had removed the products. Alibaba said it "swiftly removed the non-compliant products" and would continue educating sellers. AliExpress said it had removed the flagged items and would tighten controls. Etsy said safety was "paramount" and removed all flagged listings.

None of the platforms explained why products that had been flagged years ago were still listed in the first place.