Who doesn’t love a good TikTok or Amazon bargain, but are you really prepared to put your child’s life at risk for it?
With the rise of online shopping, the reality is a lot of us are oblivious to the dangers of buying from unknown brands, and sellers off TikTok, Amazon, Temu etc
These unknown, mystery companies and TikTok sellers will all undoubtedly claim their products are safe, and has this certification or has passed that safety test to meet UK/ EU & US safety standards, but who’s really checking?
Prepare to be SHOCKED!
Being a parent turned business owner, I can tell you first hand that no one is checking. Shockingly many of these sellers/ companies just accept or go by whatever their supplier (esp. if importing from China) tells them and never verify those safety claims or test reports.
If there is one thing I’ve learnt as a business owner specialising in baby & infant products, is that some things may be classed as 'safe’ or quality check 'passed', but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a good product or safe 😱
This is because unknown to the general consumer there are different levels of safety testing's, and the requirements vary from country to country, as does how much or how little a company needs to comply with just to get a ‘pass’.
For example, as someone who owns a motorbike, here in the UK you can buy a bike helmet for £35 or for £500. Both can be road legal, but what differentiates the £35 helmet from the £500 besides the brand name is the quality, the material used, and the level & sophistication of the safety testing carried out on it.
The £35 helmet may pass a basic safety test to deem it ‘road safe’ scoring 14/100, but it wouldn't pass an advanced test that the £500 helmet may have undertaken scoring of 79/100.
So just because you see two products that on the surface look the same and serve the same function, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s quality, longevity or safety record is the same.
In a similar way the same can be said about a lot of the baby & children’s products you see in the market today especially those being sold on Amazon, and TikTok etc. Yes they may be a bargain, but are you really prepared to put your child’s life at risk for it, just because that nice chap or that nice sales girl in the TikTok video said it was safe? How do you know, and more importantly how do they know?
What good is a FDA, CE or UKCA marking on a packaging box if no official or governing body is verifying that claim. Also, a product may be classed as safe in one country but may be deemed as unsafe in another.
Therefore it is imperative that as parents we don’t just blindly trust any company, or pick up any baby & kids products we see on Amazon, TikTok or any other 3rd party Marketplace without making sure we are buying from a credible and reputable source.
At ONCE UPON A DUA when it comes to product safety and testing, we don’t compromise, rather we go the extra mile.
Take for instance our silicone baby bibs, they are 100% food grade silicone and free from BPA (Bisphenol A) as well as being free from BPS, PVC, Lead and Phthalates. We are actually one of the few companies in the world that test all our silicone baby products for BPS, Lead and Phthalates whereas most stop at BPA and FDA.
The research on BPS may still be new and developing, but as early reports have indicated that BPS can be just as harmful as BPA, we at ONCE UPON A DUA have ensured all our silicone products get tested and is 100% free from BPS even though there is no current requirement to do so, and this is an additional and expensive cost for us to take on. At ONCE UPON A DUA we don’t compromise when it comes to the safety or quality of our products, and no parent should have to either.
As parents it is imperative you don’t just blindly trust any brand or pick up any baby & kids product you see on Amazon, TikTok or any other 3rd party Marketplace without making sure you are buying from a credible brand or company.
ONCE UPON A DUA is about creating a legacy and a brand name that can be trusted and relied upon. We have invested heavily in our products and processes as we are in it for the long run, and we are here to stay. Our brand stands for gift-worthy, high-end quality, and beautiful aesthetics that are safe for a child and can be appreciated by all family members. As parents and business owners we see it as our duty to maintain trust by being credible – we don't just say it; we do it.
So committed are we to our safety and quality cause that at ONCE UPON A DUA we choose to work in partnership with the UK Government Office of Trading Standards to prove our commitment to regulatory compliance and trading fairly.
Not many brands or companies chose to go down this route because of the additional costs involved, but we do because we care about our brand reputation and this is our way of building trust, credibility and transparency, not just in our brand, but in everything we say and do.
We don’t stop there either. To give our parents even further peace of mind, we also go above and beyond by subjecting our products to independent product testing in addition to our manufacturers own testing to make sure our products are truly safe. We never just take our manufacturers word for it or rely solely on their product safety test certification reports.
We have partnered with 3 of the top leading, internationally accredited testing and certification companies in the world to carry out our independent product testings and certifications.
Should we find one of our manufacturer is using the same testing & certification company, to keep our testing’s truly independent, we use another from the top 3 we work with to make sure all product tests are truly independent and that the findings from the manufacturers safety test reports match with our independent ones.
In doing so we are proud to manufacture our products with the utmost safety and quality, thus giving our parents, customers and their families peace of mind.
From our family to yours,
Ash
