Parents warned third of sunglasses sold on sites like Amazon and Ebay 'unsafe'
Parents warned third of sunglasses sold on sites like Amazon and Ebay 'unsafe'
Consumer watchdogs found misleading claims and 'dangerously low' protection
All of the sunglasses tested were found to be missing key information
A third of children's sunglasses bought from online marketplaces including Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay and Temu do not provide the required protection and are unsafe, according to a Which? investigation. Which? researchers bought 20 pairs of children's sunglasses from online marketplaces, finding UV protection levels were 'dangerously low' for two of them, despite claims they offered full protection.
Some offered significantly different protection from one lens to the other. Several models including Cute Cat Kids' Sunglasses UV Protection (£1.59 from Amazon), Classic Vintage Holiday Sunglasses UV400 (£3.99 on eBay), Kids' Aviators (£1.16 from AliExpress), Kids £1 Sunglasses (from Temu) and red heart-shaped sunglasses (£5.28 from eBay) all made either misleading claims about their ability to block UV rays or had inconsistent UV filtering.
All of the sunglasses tested were found to be missing key information, labels and markings, such as CE or UK Conformity Assessed markings (UKCA), which are required for them to be sold in the UK legally. As a result, none of the 20 pairs of sunglasses bought from online marketplaces could be sold legally in the UK, Which? said.
Which? director of policy and advocacy Rocio Concha said: 'With summer holidays approaching, it is understandable that parents will want to buy their children sunglasses, and kids and parents alike might be tempted by some of the cheap and trendy options sold online. Our research shows many of these models are so ineffective as to be dangerous for children to wear and this is a consequence of online marketplaces having no real responsibility or incentive for taking safety seriously.
'The Government's Product Regulation and Metrology Bill must be strengthened to include legal responsibilities for online marketplaces to ensure the products they sell on their sites are safe, with heavy fines for those that fall short of the required standards.'
Article continues below
An Amazon spokesman said: 'Safety is a top priority, and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies. We continuously monitor our store and take action to maintain a safe selection for our customers, including removing non-compliant products and reaching out to sellers, manufacturers, and government agencies for additional information.
'The products in question have been removed. AliExpress also said it had removed the items that failed Which?'s tests, adding: 'AliExpress takes product safety very seriously and we have strict rules and policies in place to ensure a safe online shopping environment.'
A spokeswoman for eBay said: 'Consumer safety is a top priority. We proactively keep our site safe and prevent prohibited listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms for unsafe listings, and AI-supported monitoring by our team of in-house specialists. If we find an unsafe product, we remove it immediately and alert buyers, which is the exact approach we took on April 4 2025, before Which? contacted us.'
Article continues below
Temu said: 'We take product safety very seriously. All three flagged listings have been removed from the platform pending further review.'
TikTok said: 'The safety of our customers is of our utmost priority, and we have strict measures in place to ensure that our sellers comply with regulations and safety standards. These listings have been removed from our platform.'
Shein said: 'We take product safety very seriously and are committed to offering safe and reliable products to its customers. We immediately removed the items from our site as a precaution while we investigate.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion United
5 hours ago
- Fashion United
Third of children's sunglasses sold online pose 'serious risk'
A third of children's sunglasses bought from online marketplaces, including Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay, TikTok, Shein and Temu, do not provide the eye protection required and are unsafe to wear, according to a new investigation from Which?, a UK consumer champion that tests and reviews products. Which? researchers bought 20 pairs of kids' sunglasses from the six online marketplaces and found that UV protection levels were found to be dangerously low for two of the pairs tested, despite claiming to have full UV protection, while some offer significantly different protection from one lens to the other, when good sunglasses should offer the same protection in both lenses. It also noted that while several models look enticing, especially to children, with heart or cat-shaped lenses or vintage styles, they either made misleading claims about their ability to block UV rays or had inconsistent UV filtering. All of the sunglasses tested were found to be missing key information, labels and markings, such as CE or UK Conformity Assessed markings (UKCA), which are required for them to be sold in the UK legally. As a result, none of the 20 pairs of sunglasses bought from online marketplaces can be sold legally in the UK, said Which?, which has labelled the sunglasses as Don't Buys and would urge consumers to avoid them. Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said: 'With summer holidays approaching, it is understandable that parents will want to buy their children sunglasses, and kids and parents alike might be tempted by some of the cheap and trendy options sold online. 'Our research shows many of these models are so ineffective as to be dangerous for children to wear and this is a consequence of online marketplaces having no real responsibility or incentive for taking safety seriously. 'The government's Product Regulation and Metrology Bill must be strengthened to include legal responsibilities for online marketplaces to ensure the products they sell on their sites are safe, with heavy fines for those that fall short of the required standards.' In response to the research, an Amazon spokesperson added: 'Safety is a top a priority, and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies. We continuously monitor our store and take action to maintain a safe selection for our customers, including removing non-compliant products and reaching out to sellers, manufacturers, and government agencies for additional information. 'If customers have concerns about an item they've purchased, we encourage them to contact our Customer Service directly so we can investigate and help resolve their issue. The products in questions have been removed.' AliExpress, Shein, Temu and TikTok told Which? that it had removed the items that failed the tests from its platforms, while Ebay stated it was 'proactively' preventing prohibited listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms for unsafe listings, and AI-supported monitoring by our team of in-house specialists.
Daily Record
9 hours ago
- Daily Record
'Unsafe' sunglasses pulled from Amazon, eBay and Temu
An investigation looked at 20 pairs, and found problems with each of them A third of children's sunglasses purchased from popular online marketplaces such as Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay, and Temu have been deemed unsafe due to insufficient protection, according to an investigation by Which?. The consumer watchdog bought 20 pairs of children's sunglasses, discovering that two pairs had "dangerously low" UV protection levels, despite claims of full protection. Furthermore, some pairs offered significantly different protection between lenses. Several models, including Cute Cat Kids' Sunglasses UV Protection, Classic Vintage Holiday Sunglasses UV400, Kids' Aviators, Kids £1 Sunglasses, and red heart-shaped sunglasses, made misleading claims about their UV-blocking abilities or had inconsistent UV filtering. None of the tested sunglasses met UK legal requirements, lacking essential information, labels, and markings like CE or UKCA markings, rendering them unfit for sale in the UK. Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: "With summer holidays approaching, it is understandable that parents will want to buy their children sunglasses, and kids and parents alike might be tempted by some of the cheap and trendy options sold online. "Our research shows many of these models are so ineffective as to be dangerous for children to wear and this is a consequence of online marketplaces having no real responsibility or incentive for taking safety seriously. The Government's Product Regulation and Metrology Bill must be strengthened to include legal responsibilities for online marketplaces to ensure the products they sell on their sites are safe, with heavy fines for those that fall short of the required standards." A representative from Amazon responded: "Safety is a top priority, and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies. We continuously monitor our store and take action to maintain a safe selection for our customers, including removing non-compliant products and reaching out to sellers, manufacturers, and government agencies for additional information." "The products in question have been removed." AliExpress also stated that it had taken down the items that did not pass Which?'s tests, and said: "AliExpress takes product safety very seriously and we have strict rules and policies in place to ensure a safe online shopping environment.". An eBay spokesperson said: "Consumer safety is a top priority. We proactively keep our site safe and prevent prohibited listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms for unsafe listings, and AI-supported monitoring by our team of in-house specialists. If we find an unsafe product, we remove it immediately and alert buyers, which is the exact approach we took on April 4 2025, before Which? contacted us." Temu said: "We take product safety very seriously. All three flagged listings have been removed from the platform pending further review." A TikTok representative added: "The safety of our customers is of our utmost priority, and we have strict measures in place to ensure that our sellers comply with regulations and safety standards. These listings have been removed from our platform." Shein said: "We take product safety very seriously and are committed to offering safe and reliable products to its customers. We immediately removed the items from our site as a precaution while we investigate."
Wales Online
14 hours ago
- Wales Online
Parents warned third of sunglasses sold on sites like Amazon and Ebay 'unsafe'
Parents warned third of sunglasses sold on sites like Amazon and Ebay 'unsafe' Consumer watchdogs found misleading claims and 'dangerously low' protection All of the sunglasses tested were found to be missing key information A third of children's sunglasses bought from online marketplaces including Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay and Temu do not provide the required protection and are unsafe, according to a Which? investigation. Which? researchers bought 20 pairs of children's sunglasses from online marketplaces, finding UV protection levels were 'dangerously low' for two of them, despite claims they offered full protection. Some offered significantly different protection from one lens to the other. Several models including Cute Cat Kids' Sunglasses UV Protection (£1.59 from Amazon), Classic Vintage Holiday Sunglasses UV400 (£3.99 on eBay), Kids' Aviators (£1.16 from AliExpress), Kids £1 Sunglasses (from Temu) and red heart-shaped sunglasses (£5.28 from eBay) all made either misleading claims about their ability to block UV rays or had inconsistent UV filtering. All of the sunglasses tested were found to be missing key information, labels and markings, such as CE or UK Conformity Assessed markings (UKCA), which are required for them to be sold in the UK legally. As a result, none of the 20 pairs of sunglasses bought from online marketplaces could be sold legally in the UK, Which? said. Which? director of policy and advocacy Rocio Concha said: 'With summer holidays approaching, it is understandable that parents will want to buy their children sunglasses, and kids and parents alike might be tempted by some of the cheap and trendy options sold online. Our research shows many of these models are so ineffective as to be dangerous for children to wear and this is a consequence of online marketplaces having no real responsibility or incentive for taking safety seriously. 'The Government's Product Regulation and Metrology Bill must be strengthened to include legal responsibilities for online marketplaces to ensure the products they sell on their sites are safe, with heavy fines for those that fall short of the required standards.' Article continues below An Amazon spokesman said: 'Safety is a top priority, and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies. We continuously monitor our store and take action to maintain a safe selection for our customers, including removing non-compliant products and reaching out to sellers, manufacturers, and government agencies for additional information. 'The products in question have been removed. AliExpress also said it had removed the items that failed Which?'s tests, adding: 'AliExpress takes product safety very seriously and we have strict rules and policies in place to ensure a safe online shopping environment.' A spokeswoman for eBay said: 'Consumer safety is a top priority. We proactively keep our site safe and prevent prohibited listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms for unsafe listings, and AI-supported monitoring by our team of in-house specialists. If we find an unsafe product, we remove it immediately and alert buyers, which is the exact approach we took on April 4 2025, before Which? contacted us.' Article continues below Temu said: 'We take product safety very seriously. All three flagged listings have been removed from the platform pending further review.' TikTok said: 'The safety of our customers is of our utmost priority, and we have strict measures in place to ensure that our sellers comply with regulations and safety standards. These listings have been removed from our platform.' Shein said: 'We take product safety very seriously and are committed to offering safe and reliable products to its customers. We immediately removed the items from our site as a precaution while we investigate.'
