A sweeping investigation into the digital marketplaces where millions of parents shop has revealed significant safety lapses, with products for infants and young children that are banned by federal law still appearing for sale. The new report, titled “Marketplace Safety by Design,” conducted by the non-profit consumer advocacy organization Consumer Reports, scrutinized over 100 listings for baby products on four major platforms: Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Temu. The findings exposed systemic gaps that could place vulnerable consumers at risk. In a significant development, direct engagement following the report’s release has spurred immediate action, with Amazon and Temu committing to both immediate and future enhancements to their safety protocols, marking a crucial step toward greater consumer protection in the rapidly expanding world of e-commerce. This initiative underscores a growing demand for accountability from online retailers that function as vast, third-party seller platforms.
Uncovering Systemic Flaws in E-commerce
The impetus for this deep dive into online marketplace safety stems from a critical observation that U.S. product liability and safety laws have failed to evolve in tandem with the modern e-commerce landscape. With the proliferation of third-party sellers, the lines of responsibility have blurred, often placing an undue burden on consumers to verify the safety of their purchases. This legal and regulatory lag is increasingly at odds with public expectation. A recent nationally representative survey highlighted a strong consensus on this issue, revealing that 84% of U.S. consumers firmly believe that online retailers should be held just as responsible for the safety of products sold on their platforms as traditional brick-and-mortar stores. As projections indicate that third-party sales will constitute nearly 59% of global e-commerce by 2027, establishing clear and enforceable safety guidelines is becoming not just a moral imperative but a fundamental business strategy for building and maintaining consumer trust and long-term loyalty in a competitive digital market.
The evaluation focused on three high-risk product categories for children where federal safety standards are mandatory: full-size cribs, pacifiers, and children’s pajamas, where non-compliance can lead to severe harm. A concerning discovery was the availability of explicitly banned goods; federally prohibited padded crib bumpers, known to pose a serious suffocation risk, were found listed for sale on both Amazon and Temu. Similarly, hazardous water beads, which are restricted by the corporate policies of several retailers due to severe ingestion dangers, were available on Walmart and Amazon. Following direct outreach, all three platforms promptly removed these dangerous listings. Beyond explicitly banned items, the investigation found that numerous product listings were deficient in providing essential safety information. Key details mandated by safety standards, such as required age ranges, weight limits for cribs, and explicit safety warnings, were frequently missing. This absence of critical data prevents caregivers from making fully informed decisions. Furthermore, some products misleadingly claimed to be “CPSIA Certified,” a non-existent designation that can falsely reassure consumers about a product’s regulatory compliance.
Varied Responses and Proactive Measures
The corporate responses to these findings varied significantly, highlighting a clear divergence in platform accountability and willingness to engage with consumer safety advocates. Amazon and Temu were the most responsive, entering into direct dialogue with Consumer Reports and committing to concrete, systemic changes to their safety protocols. The e-commerce giant Amazon updated its listing standards for pacifiers to ensure that mandatory strangulation warnings required by federal law are prominently displayed on all relevant product pages. For children’s pajamas, Amazon enhanced its platform by adding more detailed sizing information and creating a dedicated safety page to educate consumers about flammability risks. Temu implemented a suite of significant improvements, launching a new, more user-friendly “Product Safety Alerts and Recalls” center to make vital information more accessible. The platform also introduced a system for personalized recall notices, which will be sent to customers based on their specific purchase history, and created a publicly accessible prohibited products list.
In stark contrast, the engagement from other major retailers was more limited. Target outlined some general commitments to safety but did not participate in an in-depth dialogue with the consumer advocacy group at the time of the report. Walmart’s response was the most reserved; the company acknowledged receipt of the findings but did not commit to any specific actions or systemic changes. This disparity in action underscores the proactive steps taken by Amazon and Temu to address the identified safety gaps head-on. Both companies have also committed to implementing additional changes, which are detailed in the report, with an expected completion date by the end of March 2026. Temu, in particular, heightened its seller requirements for specific product categories, now mandating that merchants conduct BPA testing for pacifiers and submit verification documents to fortify its vetting process and enhance safety disclosures for both crib and pacifier listings on its site.
A New Blueprint for Marketplace Accountability
Leveraging its comprehensive findings, Consumer Reports issued a set of both short-term and long-term recommendations for industry-wide adoption, which were encapsulated in its Digital Marketplace Product Safety Framework. The organization called on all digital marketplaces to integrate safety “by design” directly into the architecture of their platforms. This approach involved the implementation of standardized safety information fields on all product listings to ensure consumers have access to consistent and complete data. The framework also recommended the use of visual guardrails, such as icons or alerts, to flag potential hazards and draw immediate attention to critical warnings. Furthermore, the recommendations stressed the importance of ensuring complete recall transparency, making it easy for consumers to find and understand recall information. Finally, the report called for increased accountability for all sellers operating on these platforms, proposing more robust vetting processes and stricter enforcement of safety policies. These measures were designed to proactively protect consumers from hazardous products and to empower them to make safer purchasing choices for their families.
