Dangerous Baby Sleeping Bags Found Online Spark Safety Fears
A worrying discovery has been made that every parent should hear about. Consumer watchdog Which? has uncovered dozens of baby sleeping bags being sold online that could actually put infants in danger. These products, found on popular marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and others, were shown to pose serious suffocation risks—and many of them even look almost identical to products that have already been recalled by UK regulators.
So what exactly makes these sleeping bags unsafe? The main issue comes down to design flaws. Some of the products were found to have hoods, which are not allowed under British safety standards because they can slip over a baby’s head and cover the face. Others were missing proper armholes, which means a baby could slide down inside the bag and become trapped. Both flaws create a real risk of suffocation, and yet these items were still being listed for sale and even purchased by unsuspecting parents.
In this snapshot investigation, Which? identified 35 unsafe products, with Amazon hosting twelve of them, eBay seventeen, and Etsy five more. Some were marketed as “cute” or “multi-purpose” items, like teddy bear or star-shaped designs, but beneath the appealing look, they carried hidden hazards. Alarmingly, a number of these products were nearly identical to those that had already been recalled by the Office for Product Safety and Standards earlier this year. That means the same dangerous designs are resurfacing under slightly different names or listings, slipping back into circulation.
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What’s more troubling is how slowly some platforms acted once these dangers were flagged. In Amazon’s case, only eight of the twelve unsafe products that were reported were eventually removed. On eBay, certain recalled designs stayed online for nearly two weeks and had already been sold multiple times before action was taken. And on Etsy, some flagged listings remained available even after warnings were issued. Other sites like Alibaba, Gumtree, Shein, and Wish were also found to have similar products listed, though some did take quicker action to remove them once notified.
Consumer safety experts say this is not a new problem. Which? has raised alarms about unsafe products on online marketplaces for years. Dangerous baby items have been spotted, removed, and then reappeared again and again. Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, described the situation as “outrageous,” stressing that the cycle will only be broken if online marketplaces are held legally accountable. Right now, these platforms don’t carry legal responsibility for third-party goods sold through their sites.
That could soon change. The new Product Regulation and Metrology Act has been passed in the UK, and secondary regulations are being developed. Campaigners want to make sure these rules clearly require marketplaces to prevent unsafe goods from being sold, with strong penalties for failures.
In the meantime, parents are being urged to shop with caution. The safest baby sleeping bags are those that have proper armholes, no hoods, and are sold in the correct size for your baby’s weight. Multipurpose products or novelty designs with bows, ears, or oversized hoods may look cute, but they could be dangerous. Sticking to trusted brands and checking for safety certifications is the best way to stay protected.
This investigation is a stark reminder that not everything sold online meets safety standards—and when it comes to baby products, the risks can be life-threatening.
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