9 Out of 10 Children's Water Play Items from AliExpress and Temu Fail Safety Standards

These are summer children's water play essentials sold through overseas direct purchases on platforms such as AliExpress, Temu, and Amazon.

According to an investigation by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), 18 out of 20 items investigated, or 90%, failed safety standards.

A cute dinosaur-shaped children's inner tube contained 183 times the allowable limit of phthalate plasticizers, which can cause hormone disruptions and affect reproductive functions upon prolonged exposure. Notably, these substances were detected around the air inflation valve where children's mouths touch.

The thickness of this tube was less than half the standard requirement.

If subjected to a heavy load, it can easily tear or deflate.

Children's swimming aid items worn on the arms or body contained 117 times the allowable limit of phthalate plasticizers and even fell short of buoyancy standards, revealing a lack of the most crucial floating capability in water.

Harmful substances were also successively identified in children's shoes and clothing.

Raincoats contained more than 3 times the standard limit of lead, while summer sandals were found to contain 301 times the standard limit of phthalate plasticizers and more than 8 times the limit of lead.

As a result of investigating a total of 484 living and electrical appliances, including children's products, 1 out of every 5 items fell short of safety standards.

Because overseas direct purchase products are up to two to three times cheaper than products certified for domestic safety, many consumers have been using them recently.

[Interview / Choi Tae-sik, Senior Researcher at the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards: (Before purchasing), it is best to first check our Product Safety Information Center or Consumer24 to see if there is any hazard information, and make your purchase based on whether it is certified or test data.]

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards stated that it has recommended sellers of products failing safety standards to remove product information and requested the Korea Customs Service to block customs clearance.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
Reported by Kwon Ran | Video by Lim Woo-shik | Graphics by Choi Hye-ran | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.