A dummy strapped to a bottle, a pillow designed to fasten around a newborn’s neck, a sleeping bag without armholes – these are among 150 potentially deadly baby products still being sold on online marketplaces, despite official safety warnings, according to an investigation by Which?.
The consumer group found the items listed by third-party sellers on eight platforms – Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, TikTok, OnBuy and Wish – even though they had been subject to product recalls or alerts from the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS).
“Which? found 150 unsafe baby products still sold on Amazon, eBay, TikTok and other sites despite safety warnings.”
More than a third of the unsafe products were self-feeding devices designed to let a baby drink from a bottle with little or no assistance, posing an “obvious” choking risk, Which? said. Of those, 33 used a long straw design and 21 were pillow bottle-holders that fasten around a baby’s neck. These feeders were available despite an OPSS alert in 2022 calling for their removal.
The probe also found 59 sleeping bags with hoods or without armholes and 37 sleep pillows marketed for newborns, despite suffocation and overheating concerns and NHS safe sleep guidance. The OPSS issued a specific alert for baby sleep pillows in December 2025.
Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said the investigation showed “how easy it is to find these unsafe products” and urged the government to take action. “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,” she said. She added that ministers “must urgently use the new powers it has under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act” to impose a clear legal duty on online marketplaces for product safety, with tough enforcement for those that fall short.
Ruth Watts, a registered health visitor who posts advice on social media, told the BBC she was not surprised. “Parents are the most vulnerable consumers out there,” she said. “We want what’s best for our babies, we’re desperate for sleep – and if a product is promising you that it will help or your baby sleep better… it’s of course tempting.”
Most of the companies named said they had removed some of the flagged products. Which? advises parents not to buy any self-feeding aids and to check official safety alerts before purchasing baby items.
The findings raise urgent questions about how effectively online marketplaces are policing their sellers – and whether the government’s promised new powers can come quickly enough to prevent another tragedy.