Baby products sold on Amazon, Etsy and TikTok Shop can smother and suffocate children, Which? warns

Which? researchers found potentially lethal items on Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, OnBuy, TikTok Shop and Wish. Every one of these sites allowed multiple products to be sold that could lead to an infant’s death. 

Which? focused on three types of product: self-feeding products, baby sleep pillows and baby sleeping bags that Which? believes don’t meet safety standards. All of these product categories have been subject to alerts or product safety notices by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) and Which? believes that none of them should be sold. 

Self-feeding products are designed to enable babies to bottle feed with little to no assistance from a caregiver. According to the OPSS safety alert, issued in 2022, this creates a risk of serious harm or death from choking on the feed or aspiration pneumonia (when the feed gets into the baby’s lungs), as babies do not have the dexterity or cognitive ability to control the flow of the feed or to know when to stop. The process of choking is silent, since the airway is blocked, so even a nearby parent may not realise this is happening. 

Despite the fact that the OPSS says that these products should be removed and the obvious risks associated, Which? was able to find 54 baby self-feeders for sale across Alibaba, Amazon, eBay, OnBuy and TikTok Shop. 21 of these were pillow bottle holders that fasten around a baby’s neck.

Baby sleep pillows have been linked to child fatalities in the UK and overseas. The OPSS issued a product safety alert in December 2025 stating their concerns about products marketed for babies under 12 months old. The main harms of sleep pillows are suffocation and overheating which can lead to serious injury or death in babies, and have been associated with sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). 

Despite this, Which? found 37 pillows marketed as products for infants under 12 months, many including the words ‘newborn’ or ‘infant’ in the name or description or showing a child who was obviously under 12 months old using the product. The consumer champion found these for sale on AliExpress, Amazon, Etsy, OnBuy, TikTok Shop and Wish. Product listings often mentioned using the pillows to improve sleep, or using in a crib or cot.

The OPSS issued a report in December for a giraffe shaped baby pillow for sale on Amazon. Which? researchers found several similar looking products that they believe pose the same risks for sale on the platform, including one shaped like a giraffe with imagery that shows an infant using the product. 

Many of the listings on AliExpress stated that the products should not be used with children under the age of one, but they also clearly stated ‘baby’, ‘infant’ or ‘newborn’ in the product name and included images of the product in use with infants including in cots and cribs. A reviewer of a baby pillow on AliExpress said that it was ‘way too heavy for a newborn or child under 1’. The product listings on AliExpress suggest that at least 1,200 have been sold. 

Which? researchers found 59 baby sleeping bags for sale on online marketplaces including Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Wish that they believe to be unsafe due to serious risk of suffocation. The sleeping bags 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. Which? believes that they do not meet the required safety standards set out by the British Standards Institution (BSI), and should not be sold. 

Which? found 38 sleeping bags on Etsy that raised concerns, including one knitted sleeping bag with a hood and no arm holes that was shown covering a baby’s mouth and nose. Many of these were ‘bunny-style’ sleeping bags. 

Which? researchers spotted six baby sleeping bags on Amazon that they believe to be dangerous, some of which were orders fulfilled by Amazon itself (as opposed to third party sellers operating on Amazon). 

A baby swaddle blanket dispatched by Amazon was marketed for infants ‘aged 0-6 months,’ with a hood featuring teddy ears but no arm holes. The listing states that it can be used in the nursery and as a sleeping sack. Which? flagged the same product as a safety risk, although in brown rather than pink, to Amazon in January this year.

Which? first exposed the sale of dangerous sleeping bags in 2020 and has done so multiple times since. In the last year alone, Which? has alerted platforms to 79 baby sleeping bags that do not meet safety requirements. Six years after its first investigation, Which? believes that online marketplaces have made no meaningful progress protecting infants from these potentially lethal products.

The consumer champion found all of these products through a combination of key word searching, including phrases published in safety alerts by the OPSS, and reverse image searching. Online marketplaces claim that safety is a top priority, but the tools used by Which? are widely available and its researchers had little difficulty finding 150 examples of products that could end a baby’s life. 

Alarmingly, almost a quarter of these products were found on Amazon, which portrays itself as a market leader on detecting unsafe products.

Which? believes that online marketplaces will not take meaningful action to protect their customers unless they are compelled to do so by law and face significant fines for breaking the rules. This means that online marketplaces must be given clear responsibilities for ensuring the safety of products that they list on their sites.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Act, adopted in July last year, enables the Secretary of State to impose product safety requirements on online marketplaces through secondary legislation, but these have been delayed and the government has only recently consulted on possible changes. The government urgently needs to use these powers to ensure that products such as these are prevented from reaching UK consumers. 

Sue Davies, Which? Head of Consumer Protection Policy, said:

“The lives of babies are at risk because these platforms won’t stop dangerous products from reaching their customers - even though they are well aware that these products can be deadly. 

“Which? has shown how easy it is to find these unsafe products with simple tools, so it's impossible for us to take companies as powerful as Amazon or eBay at their word when they claim safety is a top priority. Lives will be at risk until online marketplaces are finally forced to clean up their act. 

“The government must urgently use the new powers it has under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act to update product safety legislation and impose a clear legal duty on online marketplaces for ensuring the safety of products sold through their third-party sellers, with tough enforcement for those that fall short.”

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

Methodology:

Which? researchers conducted a snapshot investigation into baby products sold by third-party sellers on major online marketplaces.

They used a combination of keyword searching based on phrases from Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) safety alerts, along with reverse image searching, to identify potentially unsafe items.

Which? found 150 products across three categories: baby pillows (37), baby sleeping bags (59), and self-feeding products (54).

Each product was assessed against relevant safety standards, British Standards Institution (BSI) requirements, NHS safe sleep guidance, and previous OPSS safety alerts and recalls.

The investigation focused on products marketed for infants under one year old, particularly those intended for sleep or self-feeding. 

Advice for consumers - how to shop safely for babycare products

Sleeping bags: 

Any item marketed as a sleeping bag for babies which includes a hood is unsafe and should not be sold. 

Avoid baby sleeping bags with hoods or excess material, such as large bows or other novelty additions. These risk covering a baby’s head and face while they move around in their sleep. 

Always use a sleeping bag with arm holes as these help to stop babies slipping down inside the bag. The Lullaby Trust, a charity which aims to reduce unexpected death in infancy, strongly advises against letting babies sleep in products that restrict their movement or position them in a way that could block their airway. 

Other things to avoid include products sold as multipurpose items - e.g., a swaddle, a stroller cover, and a baby cocoon as well as a sleeping bag. Baby sleeping bags have to conform to strict standards. 

Self-feeding products:

Any ‘self-feeding’ product for babies and infants can be lethal and should be avoided. 

Sleep pillows:

‘Baby Sleep Pillows’ should not be used for babies under 12 months old.  

Do not place a ‘Baby Sleep Pillow’ in a cot or crib.

Always follow NHS safe sleep advice

Imagery:

Right of replies: 

Alibaba.com said: ‘Alibaba is a business-to-business marketplace that allows merchants to list their products online, and requires all merchants to comply with applicable local laws and regulations as well as a Product Listings Policy.’ It said ‘upon notification of the third-party listings, we swiftly removed the non-compliant products on our platform. We will continue to educate sellers, and take action against those who violate our terms of use.’

AliExpress said: 'AliExpress takes customer safety and product compliance extremely seriously. All third-party sellers on our platform are required to comply with applicable laws as well as AliExpress's policies and standards. The products flagged by Which? have been removed from the UK market, and we will be making necessary enhancements to our existing control measures to further reduce the risk of non-compliant product listings reappearing on our UK platform. We appreciate your attention to this important issue and remain committed to fostering a safe and secure environment on our platform.'

An Amazon spokesperson said: 'Parents trust Amazon because we take customer safety incredibly seriously, particularly when it comes to babies and infants. It’s why we prohibit certain products from our store and have strict proactive controls on this category, which can include requiring independent third party lab testing and certification documents. We continuously monitor our store and we take swift action when we’re alerted of potential issues. We’ve removed the products highlighted by Which? while we investigate. If customers have concerns about any item they've purchased, we encourage them to contact our Customer Service directly so we can investigate and help resolve their issue.'

eBay said: ‘At eBay, we use technology, AI and expert teams to help keep unsafe items off the site. We also work closely with regulators as part of our commitment to maintaining a safe and trusted marketplace. 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 to find and remove any similar listings.’

An Etsy spokesperson said: 'Keeping our users safe is paramount, and Etsy prohibits the sale of unsafe items on our marketplace. Our Trust & Safety team works constantly to remove items that violate our policies, using a combination of automated controls, human review, and community flags. We removed all the flagged policy-violating listings as soon as it was brought to our attention.'

OnBuy said: 'Product safety remains one of our highest priorities. Our Risk Team works closely with the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) to ensure that our monitors and controls effectively remove unsafe and non-compliant products from our marketplace as quickly as possible. We can confirm that all of these products were removed before any sales were taken.'

TikTok Shop said: ‘The products flagged by Which? have been removed from TikTok Shop and notices issued to customers. TikTok has policies and processes in place to protect customers, including policies on what can and can't be sold. Product Safety & Recall Policy covers product safety concerns flagged by users and regulatory government bodies in the UK and in other countries and TikTok frequently engages with organisations including the Office of Product Safety and Standards and Trading Standards Institute around product safety.’

TikTok claims that more than 99.5% of violative products are removed proactively, before listing.

Wish did not respond.

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, empowering people to make confident choices and demand better. Through our research, investigations and product testing, we provide trusted insight and expert recommendations on the issues that matter most to consumers.

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