A Which? investigation found that a third of the children’s sunglasses it had purchased from online marketplaces such as Amazon, AliExpress, eBay, and Temu do not provide the required protection and are unsafe.
Researchers bought 20 pairs of children’s sunglasses online and found UV protection levels were “dangerously low” for two of them, despite claims they offered full protection. Other pairs also offered significantly different protection from one lens to the other.
Several models also either made misleading claims about their ability to block UV rays or had inconsistent UV filtering capabilities.
They include: Several models including Cute Cat Kids’ Sunglasses UV Protection (£1.59 from Amazon), Classic Vintage Holiday Sunglasses UV400 (£3.99 on eBay), Kids’ Aviators (£1.16 from AliExpress), Kids £1 Sunglasses (from Temu) and red heart-shaped sunglasses (£5.28 from eBay).
All of the sunglasses tested were found to be missing key information, labels and markings, such as CE or UK Conformity Assessed markings (UKCA), which are required for them to be legally sold in the UK. As a result, none of the 20 pairs of sunglasses bought from online marketplaces could be sold legally in the UK, Which? said.
Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy Rocio Concha said that “with summer holidays approaching, it is understandable that parents will want to buy their children sunglasses, and kids and parents alike might be tempted by some of the cheap and trendy options sold online”.
“Our research shows many of these models are so ineffective as to be dangerous for children to wear and this is a consequence of online marketplaces having no real responsibility or incentive for taking safety seriously.
“The Government’s Product Regulation and Metrology Bill must be strengthened to include legal responsibilities for online marketplaces to ensure the products they sell on their sites are safe, with heavy fines for those that fall short of the required standards.”
An Amazon spokesman said: “Safety is a top priority, and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies.
“We continuously monitor our store and take action to maintain a safe selection for our customers, including removing non-compliant products and reaching out to sellers, manufacturers, and government agencies for additional information.
“The products in question have been removed.”
AliExpress also said it had removed the items that failed the Which? tests, adding: “AliExpress takes product safety very seriously and we have strict rules and policies in place to ensure a safe online shopping environment.”
A spokeswoman for eBay said: “Consumer safety is a top priority. We proactively keep our site safe and prevent prohibited listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms for unsafe listings, and AI-supported monitoring by our team of in-house specialists.
“If we find an unsafe product, we remove it immediately and alert buyers, which is the exact approach we took on April 4 2025, before Which? contacted us.”
Temu said: “We take product safety very seriously. All three flagged listings have been removed from the platform pending further review.”
TikTok said: “The safety of our customers is of our utmost priority, and we have strict measures in place to ensure that our sellers comply with regulations and safety standards.
“These listings have been removed from our platform.”
Shein said: “We take product safety very seriously and are committed to offering safe and reliable products to its customers. We immediately removed the items from our site as a precaution while we investigate.”
