Milton Keynes City Council Trading Standards is working to raise awareness about a ‘shocking rise in unsafe toys on sale through online marketplaces’ by providing educational talks in local libraries and family centres.
The council’s Toy Safety Matters initiative, which is being run in partnership with the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA), highlights the dangers posed by toys that fail to meet UK safety standards. Recent research by the BTHA found that 85% of toys they purchased from online marketplaces are not compliant with UK safety standards, putting children at risk of serious harm or injury.
High-risk toys include those containing magnets, button batteries and other small parts which present a choking hazard, as well as cords or other materials which can present risk of strangulation.
As part of the Toy Safety Matters campaign, the Milton Keynes Trading Standards team has held 20 educational talks in libraries and family centres around the city and given advice to hundreds of local people. The team also created a short video explaining the dangers of unsafe toys and setting out what to look out for to keep children safe.
Councillor Mick Legg, Cabinet Member responsible for Trading Standards at Milton Keynes City Council, said: “Toy safety should never be taken for granted. With support from the British Toy and Hobby Association, we’ve been helping local families better understand the risks of unsafe toys so they can make informed decisions, especially when shopping online. The scale of unsafe toys being bought in the UK is shocking and it’s not worth taking a risk with children’s safety.”
The BTHA, which represents responsible British toy manufacturers, is calling on the government to ensure that the upcoming Product Regulation and Metrology Bill prevents online marketplaces from facilitating the sale of dangerous toys into the UK. Its latest ‘Still toying with children’s safety’ report analysed 75 toys purchased from online marketplaces including Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay, TikTok, Shein and Etsy, and found that 85% were unsafe and 8% were illegal, with just 7% of them being compliant.
CTSI has also called for tighter controls on online marketplaces, with its ‘Mind the gap between the chain and the platform’ report identifying loopholes which put the public at risk. The Institute is calling for the government to introduce clear legal duties on online marketplaces to ensure that they are responsible for the safety of goods sold on their platforms.
