Safety First doesn't apply online; recalls hit record high
Online marketplaces are "product safety crisis," CFA charges
The United States is facing an unprecedented product safety crisis, with consumer protection officials issuing a record 376 recalls and safety warnings in the first seven months of 2025 alone, surpassing the entire previous year's total of 369.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reached the troubling milestone in mid-September, according to Acting Chairman Peter Feldman, exposing what consumer advocates say is a systemic failure in protecting American families from dangerous products sold through online marketplaces.
China-Made products dominate
The data reveals a stark pattern: nearly 66 percent of this year's recalls involve products manufactured in China, with a staggering 92 percent of those tied to major online platforms including Amazon, Walmart.com, Temu, Shein, and AliExpress, according to Feldman.
The recalled products pose serious risks to consumers. They include children's pajamas that violate flammability standards and could cause fatal burns, lead-contaminated faucets that poison drinking water, baby loungers creating suffocation hazards, and malfunctioning power tools.
In one of its recent weekly product safety roundups, ConsumerAffairs listed items including:
an oxygen test kit containing dangerous chemicals in a non-childproof bottle,
an unstable dresser that could tip over and injure someone,
children’s loungewear that doesn’t meet fire safety standards,
fire-prone lithium-ion battery packs, and
toy eggs containing excessive lead.
The Whack-a-Mole Problem
Consumer advocates point to a troubling cycle: when platforms remove dangerous products following CPSC warnings, sellers often simply relist the same items under different names or through different vendors.
In one example cited by the Consumer Federation of America, after the CPSC warned consumers in October 2024 about a cordless drill that posed explosion, fire, and death risks, Amazon removed the product listing. Six months later, Temu was still selling a nearly identical drill with the same branding through a different reseller.
The problem extends beyond U.S. borders. A recent Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue report found widespread availability of unsafe electronics, children's toys, and infant products on major online platforms across the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom, despite repeated government warnings and enforcement actions.
Rising volume, mounting risks
The surge in recalls comes as international low-value shipments have exploded to millions per day over the past decade. Consumer advocates argue the current enforcement model, built for a pre-internet era, cannot keep pace with today's global digital marketplace.
"US families deserve protection from dangerous products before such products even reach their doorstep," the Consumer Federation of America said. "US families deserve better than hoping their regulator can recall products quickly after the products have already caused harm."
Agency under pressure
The crisis intensifies as the CPSC itself faces political turbulence. The Administration fired all three Democratic commissioners in May 2025 and proposed eliminating the independent agency, transferring its functions to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Consumer advocates warn this would be disastrous timing. The CPSC was established as an independent agency in 1972 specifically to maintain what Congress called "cold neutrality" in protecting the public from powerful corporate interests.
Call for stronger regulation
The Consumer Federation of America is urging Congress to strengthen, not weaken, the CPSC by granting it enhanced authority over online marketplaces and requiring platforms to bear responsibility for product safety.
"CPSC's current enforcement model was not built for a global digital marketplace," the organization stated, noting the agency's foundational authorities date back to the 1970s, decades before online platforms and decentralized international sellers existed.
The group is calling for mandatory platform accountability, arguing that online marketplaces profiting from selling products to American consumers should ensure those products meet U.S. safety standards before they're listed for sale.