Amazon is Compelling Sellers to Comply with Child Product Safety
Amazon is currently enforcing child product safety and compliance requirements on sellers, even when sellers and manufacturers insist that their products are designed exclusively for adult use. To meet the regulations, sellers are obligated to provide evidence to Amazon that their products have undergone testing for requirements such as lead, cadmium, or phthalates.
A seller who specializes in adult backpacks stated, “Amazon requires all backpacks to comply with its policy on children’s educational supplies. Even the backpacks I sell for seniors have to comply.”
The seller further pointed out, “A simple search for backpacks on Amazon now only yields Amazon’s own brand or other well-known brands like Jansport and Adidas. All small sellers have disappeared!”
Other sellers also reported similar issues described by the aforementioned seller, with some sellers facing consequences due to sensitive words like “student” in their product descriptions. On June 27th, another seller who sells adult backpacks shared a warning they received on an Amazon discussion board:
“I wanted to notify you that your product has been identified as a children’s educational supply > backpack. A backpack is a bag made of plastic, fabric, nylon, or other material that includes buckles, zippers, hooks, or drawstring closures used for holding textbooks and supplies. Backpacks typically have two straps worn over the shoulders or a single strap worn across the chest to secure the backpack to the back.
Amazon requires all children’s educational supplies to be tested and comply with the following regulations, standards, and requirements:
CPSIA Section 101 (Lead)
CSPA RCW 70.240.020 (Phthalates, Cadmium)
16 CFR 1500.50
Choking Hazard Warning.
The appropriate warning statement must be displayed on the detail page of the components (Danger Warning).
Customer safety is our top priority. We reserve the right to request additional information at any time to verify the safety and compliance of products.”
An Amazon manager also asked sellers on the discussion board for supporting evidence “indicating that the product is designed specifically for adult use.”
The manager requested sellers to provide more information, which included the following:
“You would typically get this information from your supplier or manufacturer, depending on how and where you source your product. If they don’t have documentation or aren’t providing documentation, you can have them independently tested.
If you need support finding testing facilities, you can use our Service Provider Network and search for the testing institution you need. We also have help pages on this service that provide more information on the Amazon Service Provider Network overview.”
Another seller commented that their supplier did not have product safety documents of this kind since these backpacks were classified for adult use, not for children.
Additionally, on June 13th, a seller on the Amazon forum wrote, “A regular business backpack that has been listed for a year has been randomly delisted by Amazon, asking for compliance documents for children’s educational supplies. But my product has nothing to do with children’s products. What should I do?”
On June 10th, another seller posted on Reddit, saying, “Amazon has labeled a food storage product as a children’s product and is asking them to provide laboratory test proof, but it is not a children’s product.”
In 2019, Washington state authorities conducted an investigation into children’s products on Amazon and found that dozens of children’s educational supplies sold on Amazon’s third-party platform exceeded the allowable limits for toxic metals such as lead and cadmium. To address this issue without facing legal action, Amazon signed a legally binding nationwide agreement that prohibits sellers from selling children’s school supplies and children’s jewelry on the Amazon website without laboratory reports or other proof of product safety.
From sellers’ comments, it is evident that Amazon is intensifying the scrutiny of child product compliance. With the back-to-school season approaching, AMZ123 advises sellers to ensure the safety and compliance of their products to avoid the risk of delisting and substantial losses.
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