Sand containing asbestos found on online marketplaces

Two children’s sand kits have been withdrawn from sale after testing by Which? revealed that they contained hazardous tremolite asbestos. 

One kit was for sale at Asda and eBay, while another was found on Tiktok Shop and Amazon Marketplace. 

It’s the latest in a continuing and worrying series of products being recalled from UK shelves due to asbestos contamination - from craft kits to toys and even doorstops filled with sand. 

 Dangerous sand from Tiktok Shop also for sale on Amazon

This toy marketed as a Montessori sand art tray is designed for hands-on learning to support fine motor skills, encouraging children to draw in the sand using the pencils provided or their fingers. But our test revealed that the sand in the kit contains tremolite asbestos. 

We bought the set we tested from Tiktok Shop, and we also found it for sale from three separate sellers on Amazon. It was still for sale on both platforms until May, despite the same set (from Alibaba) being subject to recall by the OPSS in March due to the contamination of asbestos. The OPSS has now updated the original recall notice to include Amazon and Tiktok Shop. 

Product recalls are issued for a reason. Removing products when they are reported by third parties such as Which? is not enough – online marketplaces should be proactively checking to make sure the products offered for sale on their sites do not match prior notices, and ensuring effective checks on sellers and what is being listed to ensure compliance. 

We shared our findings with the platforms. Tiktok told us that the product had been removed, and that it has policies and processes in place to protect customers (including seller registration and verification requirements) alongside a TikTok Shop Product Safety & Recall Policy. 

An Amazon spokesperson said: ‘Customer safety is our top priority and we are taking this issue very seriously. We are in the process of removing all products in this category across our store while we investigate further, and as a result the highlighted items have been removed.’

Dangerous sand from Asda also for sale on eBay

Our lab testing revealed that the sand in the GL Style Sand Bottle Art Heart or Stars set, bought from supermarket giant Asda, was contaminated with tremolite asbestos. 

We found what appears to be the same kit for sale on eBay from three private sellers. The brand name on the kit is RMS International Limited. 

An Asda spokesperson told us that as soon as we made them aware that the product had failed testing, it contacted the supplier and began the process of issuing a full product recall. They said that customer safety is a top priority, and that customers who have purchased this product should stop using it immediately and return it to their nearest store for a full refund. A receipt is not required.

The Which? shopping team received a recall notice from Asda. The manufacturer, RMS International, has also issued a recall. RMS International did not respond to our request for comment.

An eBay spokesperson said: ‘Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay. We swiftly removed the items identified by Which? and are conducting further sweeps to identify similar listings.

‘We work diligently to prevent and remove unsafe product listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms, AI-supported monitoring by in-house specialists, and close partnerships with regulators. These measures helped to prevent 21 million potentially unsafe listings from appearing on eBay in 2025.’

The dangers posed by asbestos in sand

Asbestos is a banned substance because it can pose a risk to health even at low levels of exposure. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified all forms of asbestos as being carcinogenic to humans.

Products containing asbestos in any quantity, even trace amounts, are prohibited for sale in the UK. 

Tremolite asbestos fibres, which were found in both of these products, are rod or needle like in appearance, as seen above.

According to information published by the UK Health Security Agency, the level of risk depends on the amount of asbestos fibres to which you are exposed, the duration of exposure and the way you are exposed (e.g. inhaling or ingesting the fibres). The amount of asbestos found in play sand is likely to be low and children tend not to be exposed over long periods of time. 

The asbestos sand crisis

In late 2025 it was found that a craft kit being sold in Australia contained sand contaminated with asbestos. This discovery has led to tens of recalls internationally, with over 90 products now subject to recall in the UK. There’s been a wide range of products recalled, including sand art kits, craft kits containing bags of sand, stretchy/squishy toys and even doorstops filled with sand. 

In the UK, three schools closed as a precautionary measure while play sand was tested for asbestos (all have now reopened after the tests came back clear). In New Zealand 50 schools and day care centers temporarily closed for cleaning because many classrooms had arts and crafts kits that contained the affected sand, and several parks in Australia were also shut. 

The form of asbestos in these products, tremolite, is naturally occurring and commonly found in metamorphic rocks. If quarrying and processing is poorly controlled, asbestos fibres can contaminate the final product. Tremolite was one of two asbestos types found to be contaminating Johnson & Johnson mineral-based talcum powder.

So far the issue has only affected products that have been imported from China. China introduced restrictions on asbestos use in the noughties, but the reality is that national policies are often unevenly enforced and there’s no national testing or enforcement body ensuring products are compliant in practice. In 2023, the Australian Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia reported that Chinese products tested which contained less than 5% asbestos were being declared as asbestos free by Chinese importers. 

In November last year, Catriona Lowe (deputy chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the agency’s investigation into the origin of the contamination was ongoing, but that at least some of the sand had come from one common quarry in China. Elsewhere government bodies said that the contamination appeared to be so widespread that they weren’t able to identify a common source.

In the UK there is little systematic testing for asbestos in imports, and products are often assumed safe if the documentation says they are asbestos free. Modern supply chains, including dropshipping and marketplaces, makes it difficult to trace the true origin of products. The onus is often on the seller or importer to know where a product has been produced.

What should I do if I have a product that’s been recalled?

The OPSS advises that you should check the recall notice for the businesses advice on what to do with the product, as most should be accepting recalled products as returns. The OPSS website lists all the recall notices relating to asbestos.

Until you are able to return it:

• Stop using the product immediately.
• Place the product in a heavy duty plastic bag, and secure it with tape (even if the sand is still in its own packaging). Mark it as containing asbestos. 
• Clean any areas where the sand has been used with wet clothes to avoid generating dust. Wear gloves and a mask, and then double bag up anything you’ve used during the cleaning process. Keep children and other people away from areas where the sand has been used until the area has been cleaned.
• Either return the product to the retailer for a full refund. If you're unable to or the sand was purchased from an online marketplace, then dispose of it in your general household waste. 

For more guidance, visit the OPSS’ page on asbestos in consumer products.   

Which? is calling for tougher controls to prevent the sale of unsafe products

Toys contaminated with asbestos are only the latest example of dangerous products being sold through online marketplaces, with the platforms continuing to evade meaningful legal responsibility for products listed by third-party sellers.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Act, adopted in July, could grant powers to impose product safety requirements on online marketplaces, and the government is currently consulting on proposals to help prevent, identify and remove unsafe products sold through these platforms. It's a crucial opportunity to close longstanding gaps in product safety law, but further delays could leave consumers exposed to dangerous products.

Which? is calling on the government to urgently introduce robust secondary legislation requiring online marketplaces to take clear legal responsibility for ensuring unsafe and illegal products are not sold through their sites.

Sue Davies, Head of Consumer Rights Policy at Which?, said: 'It is outrageous that online marketplaces are selling products which may expose children to asbestos — especially when some of these products had already been recalled by the OPSS.

'Seemingly innocent items like toys and craft kits can have serious health consequences if there are not proper checks to make sure they comply with safety laws.

'The government has published proposals that would require online marketplaces to exercise due care in preventing, identifying and removing dangerous products sold through their platforms — an area where regulation is currently far more limited.

'Ministers now urgently need to introduce legislation that makes these duties sufficiently robust and properly enforceable. The longer the government delays taking action, the greater the risk that more dangerous products will reach consumers.'

Support our campaign to protect online shoppers today.

How we tested sand kits

We tested nine sand kits at an independent lab using SEM/EDX analysis for asbestos detection. They were tested to the ISO 22262-1:2012 standard. 

This is the recommended technique for detecting asbestos in consumer products containing sand, according to OPSS guidance. It can more reliably identify low asbestos concentrations, below 0.1%, and fine or thin asbestos fibres likely to be present in contaminated products.

The safe products

For seven of the products we sent for testing, we found no trace of asbestos in the samples we looked at. 

The results were correct at the time of testing, and for the samples we tested. 

If you have any sand toys in your house, keep an eye on recalls and follow the advice if any are affected.