World · Europe · 4 hrs ago
Which? finds 171 potentially dangerous baby swim floats on online marketplaces
Which?
found 171 potentially dangerous baby swim floats listed on six major online marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay and Vinted.
The UK consumer group searched for products similar to floats covered by safety alerts in Britain and overseas.
Some floats have canopies that can catch the wind, potentially making them tip over and trap a baby underwater.
Other designs use inflatable rings around a baby’s neck, which Which?
says can pose drowning risks.
The concern matters because babies can drown if a float overturns or submerges them, and a float is not a replacement for close adult supervision.
The marketplaces said they removed listings flagged by Which?
and were checking for similar products.
Which?
wants the UK government to make marketplaces more responsible for the safety of products sold by third-party sellers.
Which? found 171 potentially dangerous baby swim floats listed on six online marketplaces.
The products were found on Amazon, AliExpress, eBay, OnBuy, Shein and Vinted.
Which? said canopies can make floats unstable in wind, while inflatable neck rings may pose risks to babies.
The consumer group called on the UK government to make marketplaces more responsible for products sold by third-party sellers.
Marketplaces said they had removed listings flagged by Which? and were reviewing their safety measures.
- Who
- Which? investigated the listings; the products were offered by third-party sellers on online marketplaces.
- What
- It found 171 potentially dangerous baby swim floats for sale.
- When
- The investigation was reported on 15 and 16 October 2026.
- Where
- Amazon, AliExpress, eBay, OnBuy, Shein and Vinted.
- Why
- Which? said some floats could tip over or pose other risks, including drowning; it urged the UK government to require stronger marketplace safety measures.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission warned consumers to stop using Relaxing Baby Swim Floats.
Which? searched six online marketplaces for products similar to those covered by safety alerts.
The Mirror and Daily Mail reported Which?’s findings of 171 potentially dangerous floats.
AliExpress said it removed the flagged UK listings and was introducing additional safety measures for baby swimming floats.
- Potentially dangerous floats found
- 171
- Marketplaces searched
- Amazon, AliExpress, eBay, OnBuy, Shein and Vinted
- Neck-ring floats found
- 33 examples
- UK government recall site
- At least 14 alerts for swim floats with canopies
- Similar products linked to a US death
- 25 looked similar to one involved in the death of a two-year-old in the US
2 sources
What people are saying
Babies’ lives are potentially at risk because online marketplaces continue to operate what we see as an irresponsible business model that allows anonymous third-party sellers to list almost anything and face no consequences.
We’ve seen time and again that they will not do enough to prevent the sale of unsafe products unless they are forced to.
Babies should be closely supported in the water at all times, with constant and active adult supervision.