Bira and Toy Retailers Association urge shoppers to buy safe as counterfeit toy investigations rise

Bira has joined forces with the Toy Retailers Association to warn shoppers against buying toys through unregulated online marketplaces, after new figures revealed a sharp rise in counterfeit toy investigations by Trading Standards.

The warning follows the publication of the Intellectual Property Office's latest Trading Standards Survey report, which found that 67% of responding local authorities had investigated counterfeit toys in the year to March 2026, making toys the third most commonly investigated category of fake goods after cigarettes and tobacco (89%) and clothing (69%). The report also found that 64% of local authorities had observed links between counterfeiting and organised crime groups, around a third higher than the previous year.

Bira and the Toy Retailers Association (TRA) said the findings should serve as a warning to consumers as the busiest toy-buying period of the year approaches, with growing concern centred on third-party sellers operating through online marketplaces.

Natasha Crookes, Director General of the Toy Retailers Association, said: "Counterfeit toys are a low risk when buying in-store from reputable retailers. Consumers should always take extra care when buying toys from online marketplaces, which are not regulated in the same way as trusted high street and UK retailers. Our advice is simple: shop with a reputable retailer that has a clear returns policy, and if a price looks too good to be true, it probably is."

The TRA has also highlighted wider concerns over the accountability of online marketplaces, given that estimates currently suggest that at least 15% of toys bought in the UK come from third-party sellers on these platforms. According to a 2026 study by the British Toy and Hobby Association, 90% of toys tested from major online marketplaces failed UK toy safety regulations, with 86% of those failures posing a genuine danger to the child using them.

Both the TRA and Bira are calling on the government to use the upcoming Product Regulation and Metrology (PRAM) regulations to close this gap and place clear legal responsibility for product safety on marketplace operators.

Both organisations agreed that the current system allows online platforms to profit from third-party sales while avoiding the legal obligations that traditional UK retailers must meet, and are united in calling on the government to change the law without delay.

Image credit: volurol/stock.adobe.com