Dangerous baby sleeping bags found for sale on online marketplaces
A snapshot investigation has revealed 35 baby sleeping bags for sale by third party sellers on online marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay and Etsy, that could be deadly.
The sleeping bags all present a serious risk of suffocation as they include hoods which could cover a baby’s head and face or lack arm holes, or both, meaning a sleeping infant could slip down inside. They don’t meet the required safety standards set out by the British Standards Institution (BSI), and simply shouldn’t be for sale.
The products in our investigation all appeared identical or similar-in-style to official recalls by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), the government’s regulator for consumer goods.
During the investigation we also came across 7 sleeping bags that weren’t similar-in-style to recall notices but which we believe pose a risk due to the lack of arm holes or hoods.
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Dangerous baby sleeping bags
Amazon
There were 12 baby sleeping bags for sale via Amazon marketplace that posed a suffocation risk. These appeared to be identical or similar-in-style to recalled sleeping bags that didn’t meet safety standards.
Initially Amazon didn’t remove any of the baby sleeping bags that we reported to them, and they remained live for at least a week more. Amazon told us that ‘the products flagged are not in scope of the safety alerts shared by Which?’.
We prompted the marketplace giant further – all of the sleeping bags we had reported failed to meet safety standards, regardless of whether they had different listing details (e.g. brand name or ASIN) to a specific recall notice. There is simply no safe, legal baby sleeping bag with a hood or no armholes. Amazon then removed eight out of the 12 products that we flagged.
This star-shaped sleeping bag may be listed as ‘cute’ on Amazon’s French site, which delivers to UK consumers, but the OPSS recall notice for a product that’s identical-in-style says it presents a suffocation hazard. The hood, which isn’t permitted by the relevant standard, could cover a baby’s head and face.
The Amazon UK listing for this teddy-bear style blanket says it can be used as a sleeping bag for babies ages 0-6 months. It appears similar to a recalled teddy-bear style sleeping bag – the recall notice states that the product has a hood which is not permitted in the relevant standard, as well as having no arm holes. The hood could cover a baby’s head and face, or a baby could slip down inside.
Amazon said it requires all products to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies, but that the products flagged were not in the scope of previous safety alerts shared by Which?.
eBay
We found 11 products on eBay that appeared identical or similar to recalled sleeping bags. We also found 6 sleeping bags that weren’t subject to recall, but we believe don’t meet the correct standards for sale.
This egg shaped sleeping bag appears identical to one recalled in March 2025. It fails to meet the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 due to the lack of arm openings. The recall notice says that this product presents a serious risk of suffocation.
This sack-style sleeping bag is listed as having multiple roles, including use as a sleeping bag. The image shows a young baby who appears to be absolutely swamped by the product.
It appears to be near-identical to a product recalled in March. The original product recall was issued for a grey cable-knit baby sleeping with brown buttons listed on eBay. This appears to be the same product on the same marketplace. At the time we found it, it appeared to have been live on eBay for nearly 2 weeks and had sold at least 3 times.
eBay said consumer safety is a top priority, and it uses a range of measures to keep its site safe. It said listings that violate eBay policy, including those we reported, are swiftly removed.
Etsy
We found five listings on Etsy that we were concerned about. Two appeared to be identical to recalled products, and the other three were in a similar style and listed as sleeping bags.
The listing for this bear style fleece swaddle calls it ‘baby bedding’ and says it doubles as a sleeping bag. In March a near identical product was recalled by the OPSS due to the serious risk of suffocation presented by the hood.
At the time of writing Etsy had not responded to a request for comment and the products we reported to them remained for sale. In the past it has told us that keeping its users safe is paramount, and that it prohibits the sale of dangerous items, including those recalled by governments or manufacturers.
Sleeping bags found on other sites
We also found sleeping bags that appeared from the listings to be identical or similar to those in recall notices for sale via Alibaba, Gumtree, manomano, Shein (direct from Shein) and Wish. We believe all presented a risk of suffocation. We shared our findings with each.
- Alibaba requires all merchants to comply with local laws and its listing policies. It said it swiftly removes products when notified of non-compliant items, including the product we reported to them. It says it continues to educate sellers and take action against those who violate its terms of use.
- Gumtree said it takes the safety of its users extremely seriously, and works with the OPSS to monitor safety recalls and proactively detect and remove listings. It said that in this case, products were not automatically flagged because they did not contain identifiers. It urges shoppers to use the ‘Report’ button so that it can investigate and remove potentially harmful products.
- Manomano confirmed that the product we shared with it had been removed from its platform and that no customers purchased it prior to its removal.
- Shein said it takes product safety very seriously, and immediately removed the items from its site while it investigates. It said all vendors are required to comply with its code of conduct and relevant laws and it works with international third-party testing agents to ensure compliance.
Discover more about unsafe products on online marketplaces and how to avoid them.
Marketplaces failing to take action
These findings come after the OPSS, the UK regulator, undertook market surveillance to identify a range of dangerous products for sale on online marketplaces, including baby sleeping bags, that didn’t meet the required standards for sale. The work was conducted in 2025 and resulted in recalls being issued and the regulator working with online marketplaces to facilitate the removal of the unsafe listings.
Many of the recall notices were issued at the end of March 2025. However, just four months later, we found dozens of similar potentially fatal sleeping bags for sale, suggesting the OPSS’ efforts on baby sleeping bags had a limited impact on the online marketplaces.
We alerted marketplaces to dangerous safety issues with baby sleeping bags back in 2020. Two of the products in this latest snapshot investigation bear a striking resemblance to a shark-shaped sleeping bag that we reported nearly five years ago. Additionally, over a week after we reported these items to the marketplaces in our most recent investigation, we were able to find two dozen similarly dangerous products still for sale.
Based on our results, it seems that once again marketplaces have failed to prevent the sale of dangerous products to consumers, suggesting they aren’t doing enough to stay on top of the issue and continuing to put online shoppers in harm’s way. Which? campaigned for years for the Product Regulation and Metrology Act (PRaM Act), which recently received Royal Assent. However, it's now vital that secondary regulations currently being developed by the Government include a clear and strong duty on online marketplaces to prevent the sale of unsafe products, and backed up by tough penalties. Regulators such as Trading Standards and the OPSS must be properly equipped with strong enforcement powers to enforce this and put a stop to the sale of these dangerous products.
Sue Davies, Which? Head of Consumer Protection Policy, said: 'It’s outrageous that dangerous baby sleeping bags are still being sold on online marketplaces. Our previous investigations showed this is part of a wider pattern: unsafe products are removed, only to resurface. The only way to break this cycle is by holding online marketplaces legally accountable, with tough penalties for failures.
'The PRaM Act is a good first step, but it must be backed by regulations that impose a clear legal duty, heavy fines, and stronger enforcement of consumer protection laws.'
Keep an eye on the latest product recalls and safety alerts from Which?
How to safely shop for a baby sleeping bag
A baby sleeping bag can be a useful tool for keeping your baby tucked up snugly at night, but you need to check that you are buying the right product.
- Make sure it has arm holes – only buy sleeping bags that have holes for your baby’s arms. This helps to stop them slipping down inside the bag.
- Don’t buy sleeping bags with hoods or excess material – hoods, large bows or any other novelty additions risk covering a baby’s head and face while they wriggle in their sleep. Sleeping bags with hoods are not permitted in the relevant safety standard.
- Buy the correct size for your baby – an incorrectly fitted sleeping bag can pose a risk to a sleeping baby, as they can slip through the hole for the neck. Make sure you buy the correct size for your baby by their weight, and avoid those that have large age ranges.
- Avoid products with too many functions – if a product suggests it can be used as a swaddle, a stroller cover and a baby cocoon in addition to a sleeping bag then it may not have been designed with sleep in mind. Baby sleeping bags should be just that.
- Be mindful of the temperature in the room – baby sleeping bags come in different tog ratings, just like a duvet. If you think your baby is cold, don’t add loose blankets and instead opt for a higher tog sleeping bag. If the weather is warmer, use a lightweight 0.5 tog sleeping bag or no sleeping bag at all.
- Stick to known brands – as a general rule when buying any products that may entail a safety risk (such as baby products, electricals, cosmetics and toys) stick to recognisable brands, rather than ‘unbranded’ items or those from brands you’ve never heard of before. Check if a brand has a website, contact details and what their policies are for returns or faulty goods.
For advice on how to put your baby to bed safely, see the safer sleep guides on the Lullaby Trust.
