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Babies are being put at risk by dozens of potentially lethal infant products sold to UK parents on major online marketplaces, an investigation has found.
The consumer champion Which? identified ۱۵۰ products, including self-feeding prop feeders that pose a choking risk and baby sleep pillows linked to suffocation.
The items were listed for sale on Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, OnBuy and TikTok Shop. The investigation found that every one of these platforms was allowing multiple items to be sold that could put an infant’s life at risk.
Almost a quarter of the products were on Amazon, which Which? said presented itself as an industry leader in detecting unsafe goods.
Sue Davies, the head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said: “The lives of babies are at risk because these platforms won’t stop dangerous products from reaching their customers … We’ve shown how easy it is to find these unsafe products, so it’s impossible to take companies as powerful as Amazon or eBay at their word when they claim safety is a top priority.”
Which? is urging ministers to use new powers under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act to make online marketplaces legally responsible for third-party products, with tough penalties for those that fail.
The research focused on products that had been subject to safety alerts or product safety notices from the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).
The consumer group found ۵۴ self-feeding devices across Alibaba, Amazon, eBay, OnBuy and TikTok Shop, despite an OPSS alert issued in ۲۰۲۲ warning that they create a risk of serious injury or death. The products allow babies to bottle-feed without constant supervision, increasing the risk of choking or aspiration pneumonia if milk enters the lungs. Because choking is often silent, even nearby parents may not realise that a baby is in distress.
Of the ۱۵۰ products, ۲۱ were pillow bottle-holders, designed to fasten around a baby’s neck.
Which? also identified ۳۷ sleep pillows marketed for infants under ۱۲ months across AliExpress, Amazon, Etsy, OnBuy and TikTok Shop. Many used terms such as “newborn” or “infant” or showed babies using the products in cots.
The OPSS issued a warning in December ۲۰۲۵ that sleep pillows marketed for babies under one year old posed risks of suffocation and overheating, which can lead to serious injury or death and have been associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Which? found ۵۹ baby sleeping bags across Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Etsy that it believes pose a serious suffocation risk because they include hoods, and lack arm holes, or both. Which? said the products did not meet British Standards Institution safety requirements and should not be sold.
Thirty-eight of those sleeping bags were listed on Etsy, including one knitted hooded sleeping bag without arm holes that was pictured covering a baby’s mouth and nose. Many were marketed as “bunny-style” sleeping bags.
Alibaba.com said it “swiftly removed the non-compliant products on our platform” and would continue to “educate sellers”. AliExpress removed the flagged products and would make “necessary enhancements to our existing control measures to further reduce the risk of non-compliant product listings” reappearing.
An Etsy spokesperson said safety was “paramount” and that it “removed all the flagged policy-violating listings”.
One swaddle blanket dispatched by Amazon was marketed for babies aged up to six months and featured a hood with teddy ears but no arm holes. The listing said it could be used as a sleeping sack. Which? reported the same product, in a different colour, to Amazon this year.
An Amazon spokesperson said: “Parents trust Amazon because we take customers’ safety incredibly seriously, particularly when it comes to babies and infants. It’s why we prohibit certain products … We’ve removed the products highlighted by Which? while we investigate.”
The Product Regulation and Metrology Act, which came into force last July, gives ministers powers to impose product safety requirements on online marketplaces through secondary legislation. Which? said the measures had yet to be introduced and urged the government to act quickly to prevent dangerous products reaching UK consumers.
A spokesperson for OnBuy said safety was a top priority and that it had removed all products before any sales.
Ebay said it used technology, AI and expert teams “to help keep unsafe items off the site”. It added: “Two of the items identified by Which? had already been removed before they contacted us. We have now removed the remaining four items and carried out a wider check.”
TikTok Shop said it had also removed flagged products, with notices issued to customers. “TikTok has policies and processes in place to protect customers, including policies on what can and can’t be sold,” it said. The platform claims that more than ۹۹.۵% of non-compliant products are removed proactively, before listing.
