Major retailers including Amazon, Target and Walmart have banned water beads sold to children amid calls to ban colorful absorbent balls sold as toys that can be fatal if swallowed. discontinue sales of.
Consumer Reports reported on Wednesday that retailers, along with Etsy and Alibaba, are increasing sales of children's water beads after pressure from safety and consumer advocacy groups and policymakers. Sales and marketing have ceased.
The development comes a month after the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned that the beads can expand many times their size once they enter a child's body. The agency's chairman also expressed support for a bill to ban the product.
Expanded water beads, which are often purchased for older siblings, have been found in the stomachs, intestines, ears, noses and even lungs of infants and young children, Consumer Reports said. The CPSC estimates that from 2016 to 2022, Watersbees was involved in approximately 7,800 emergency room visits.
The beads have also been subject to recalls, the most recent involving a water bead activity kit announced in September and sold exclusively at Target. The recall comes after a 10-month-old infant died in July after swallowing beads. 10 month old child He was seriously injured in Maine late last year.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Amazon, along with Etsy, Target and Walmart, confirmed the new policy in an email to CBS News. Alibaba announced in a press release in October that it would ban sales of water beads to the United States.
“For safety reasons, Amazon will no longer sell water beads marketed to children, including toys, art supplies, and sensory play items. We are committed to making sure you are safe. We are dedicated to developing and updating our policies, evaluating listings, and continually monitoring our stores to prevent unsafe or non-compliant listings. We have a team to do that,” the retailer said.
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Target also said it will no longer sell water beads marketed to children 12 and under in its stores and online.
“Given heightened safety concerns, we will no longer sell water beads to children,” a spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch in an email.
A Walmart spokesperson said the company has “already taken steps to remove” inflatable water bead toys and crafts from its stores and online.
An Etsy spokesperson confirmed that water beads are banned on the platform, saying in an email: “He is not permitted to sell these items on Etsy, regardless of marketing or use.”
Congressman Frank Pallone, D-N.J.; Bill submitted in November “Walmart, Amazon and Target all sell these things in different forms,” he said at a press conference, proposing a ban on selling water beads to children.
“I recently did a search on Amazon and got 3,000 results, so it's very widespread,” he added.
