Counterfeit toy investigations rise as shoppers urged to buy safe

A retail body has joined forces with the Toy Retailer Association to warn shoppers against buying toys through unregulated online marketplaces.

The British Independent Retailers Association is urging consumers to be very wary of buying toys online through marketplaces after new figures reveal a sharp rise in counterfeit toy investigations by Trading Standards.

The warning follows the publication of the Intellectual Property Office Trading Standards Survey report, which found that 67 per cent of responding local authorities had investigated counterfeit toys in the year to March 2026.

This marked the toys the third most investigated category of fake goods after cigarettes and tobacco (89 per cent) and clothing (69 per cent).

The report also found that 64 per cent of local authorities had observed links between counterfeiting and organised crime groups, around a third higher than the previous year.

Andrew Goodacre (pictured), Bira’s CEO said: “Bira urges consumers to be very wary of buying toys online through marketplaces.

“We already see too many fake and dangerous products being sold online, and this issue of toys shows more regulations are needed to make marketplace owners accountable."