Amazon responsible for hazardous 3rd-party products and recall, federal agency says

Amazon is responsible for recalling hundreds of thousands of hazardous third-party products that were sold on the global e-commerce company’s website, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced Tuesday.

The 400,000 products subject to recall due to being defective or not meeting federal consumer product safety standards include faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protection and children’s sleepwear that did not meet flammability standards. 

“Amazon failed to notify the public about these hazardous products and did not take adequate steps to encourage its customers to return or destroy them, thereby leaving consumers at substantial risk of injury,” the agency said in a press release.

Amazon, which the CPSC says has $575 billion in revenue, was determined to be the “distributor” of the products sold by third-party sellers using the “Fulfilled by Amazon” program. 

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“Amazon must now develop and submit proposed plans to notify purchasers and the public about the product hazards, and to provide refunds or replacements for these products,” the CPSC said. 

Amazon said it would appeal the order and present its case in court.

“When we were initially notified by the CPSC three years ago about potential safety issues with a small number of third-party products at the center of this lawsuit, we swiftly notified customers, instructed them to stop using the products, and refunded them,” a statement from an Amazon spokesperson to FOX Business said. “We stand behind the safety of every product in our store through our A-to-z Guarantee, regardless of whether it is sold by Amazon or by one of our selling partners. We have proactive measures in place to prevent unsafe products.”

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The CPSC sued Amazon in July 2021, forcing the company to recall hundreds of thousands of hazardous products sold on its platform.

In response, Amazon had removed a “vast majority” of such products from its store and refunded customers, but said it only provides logistics services to independent merchants and is not a distributor.

Late last year, the agency warned consumers to stop using toy magnets from Chinese seller Doraemon, which were being sold on Amazon.com, following seven deaths from ingestion.

Amazon is not the only retailer that has come under fire for selling products that are not safety certified.

Last November, both Amazon and Walmart were called out by New York Fire Department Commissioner Laura Kavanagh after a non-safety certified lithium-ion e-scooter battery was determined to be the cause of a fire that claimed the lives of three family members.

Reuters contributed to this report.