A range of safety checks conducted by consumer watchdog Which? have revealed that a number of baby sleeping bags pose serious safety risks that could cause a child to choke, suffocate or overheat.
Of the 15 sleeping bags tested – all of which came from both trusted high street retailers and online marketplaces – 12 failed the Which? safety tests.
All nine sleeping bags from online marketplaces such as AliExpress, Amazon Marketplace, eBay, Etsy and Wish failed at least one of the Which? tests, with seven of these posing major safety risks to babies’ lives.
Which? also claimed that sleeping bags bought from JoJo Maman Bébé, Aldi and Grobag also failed its safety testing by failing at least one of the tests. Only three bags – from Asda, John Lewis and Mamas & Papas – passed all of the safety requirements.
The safety problems identified included neck openings that are too wide, inaccurate tog ratings and a lack of key safety information in the instructions.
Following the investigation, Amazon, AliExpress and eBay have removed all of the baby sleeping bags that failed its tests from their sites, although Which? points out that its findings raise serious questions about the limited responsibilities online marketplaces have for ensuring products sold on their sites are safe.
“Parents will find it completely unacceptable that our investigation has found such a high number of dangerous products that could pose a potentially life-threatening risk to their baby,” said Natalie Hitchins, Which? head of home products and services.
“Consumers must be able to trust that if they buy a product in the UK from a well-known retailer or online marketplace that it will be safe and meet the safety standards required in this country.
“The government must step in to make online marketplaces legally responsible for the safety of the products sold on their sites. We also expect retailers to remove any unsafe products from sale.”
