As online shopping becomes the new norm consumers should be aware of the product safety risks in the online marketplace. According to the OECD Global Awareness Campaign toys and games are one of the most recalled products and may pose serious safety risks to consumers, accounting for over 20% of recall notices published. The ACCC is co-leading the OECD Global Awareness Campaign on the safety of toys sold online, which aims to help consumers make an informed decision when buying toys online, and enhance sellers’ understanding about selling safe toys online and removing unsafe toys immediately from sale. See also the ACCC Checklist when buying and selling toys online.
As part of the CFA Standards Project, Consumers Federation of Australia supports a representative to the Standards Australia Technical Committee on Children’s Toys which recently adopted the ISO standard (with modifications for Australia and New Zealand) which reduces the risk and health hazards to children when playing with experimental sets involving hazardous chemicals, read more here. Find out about toys and mandatory (minimum requirements) standards, recalls (product presents a safety risk) and related bans on toys here.
The ACCC has also initiated the Australian Product Safety Pledge to protect Australian consumers from safety risks when shopping online by strengthening product safety measures across online businesses. It is a voluntary initiative which commits its signatories to certain product safety-related responsibilities and reporting on the outcomes and effectiveness of their initiatives, measured against key performance indicators. The current signatories to the pledge include: AliExpress; Amazon Australia; Catch and eBay Australia.