Consumer group Choice tested 22 toys bought from major online retailers against Australia’s toy safety standards: Toys from AliExpress, Amazon, Ebay and Temu failed.
The group said six of the items purchased had ‘serious’ safety failures, ranging from choking hazards to a lack of safety warnings.
However, Choice also selected an additional 18 painted, brightly coloured toys to test their chemical content, and all passed the tests.
“It’s really disappointing to see more safety failures in toys purchased through online marketplaces, particularly as we get closer to Christmas, when we know many people will be buying products like these for the children in their lives,” Choice’s director of campaigns, Andy Kelly, said.
The toys that failed safety testing were:
- AliExpress rattle.
- Amazon lip-shaped whistle.
- Amazon rattle set.
- Ebay rattle.
- Ebay foam letters and numbers.
- Temu elephant teether.
“Some of the failures we saw in our testing could result in children under three years old choking from ingestion or inhalation of small objects or balls, or choking from objects like handles that could become lodged in the back of the throat. The fact that we were easily able to purchase these toys online is simply not good enough,” Kelly added.
“While these unsafe toys have now been removed from sale, they should never have been available for purchase at all. Until we introduce stronger product safety laws, online marketplaces will continue to be under no clear, legal obligation to ensure the products sold by third-party suppliers on their platforms are safe, even for children.”
