Labubu dolls: a warning to look out for unsafe pretend dolls

“Look out for fake Labubu dolls” is the warning being issued to Nottinghamshire residents by Trading Standards officers.

The recommendation comes after a lot of counterfeit dolls have been seized by Nottinghamshire County Council’s Trading Standards workforce in latest weeks, with many of those discovered to pose a choking danger to kids attributable to small breakable elements.

Other questions of safety recognized with the counterfeit dolls embrace poor stitching, which exposes the stuffing and poses a suffocation danger, incorrect or absent security labelling, and an absence of particulars of the accountable firm for purchasers to contact ought to a difficulty happen.

Parents and kids trying to buy dolls this summer time are suggested to:

·       Check packaging – give the packaging a re-assessment and make it possible for it shows a CE or UKCA mark together with the title and tackle of a UK primarily based provider.

·       Look for directions – when inspecting packaging, search for security warnings and directions for secure use as real merchandise will show these.

·       Be cautious of low-cost items – Labubu dolls are in excessive demand and so if a value appears too good to be true or is decrease than anticipated, then it probably isn’t real.

·       Purchase solely from respected sellers – shopping for from trusted toy retailers and authorised retailers means you’re extra prone to be buying a real product.

Councillor Dawn Justice, Cabinet Member for Public Health and Communities at Nottinghamshire County Council, mentioned:

“We have seen the Labubu dolls craze develop throughout the UK however sadly we all know that scammers will do something to mimic fashionable merchandise and capitalise on this recognition.

“We know that folks and kids could also be trying to buy one of many coveted dolls and so we’re asking anybody trying to purchase a Labubu doll to only take a couple of additional moments to verify rigorously earlier than shopping for. Genuine packaging could have clear good high quality graphics, daring colors and textual content with even spacing between phrases. Genuine dolls are properly proportioned, rounded with finely detailed stitching and stitched in labels.

“Fake dolls show a lot of security considerations together with small elements and uncovered stuffing and they’re typically offered at a a lot lower cost than these that are real. The real dolls retail round £13.50 however could be upwards of £1,000, relying on the precise doll, and its rarity. With all this in thoughts, our recommendation is that if one thing appears too good to be true, then it most likely is.

“If you are concerned that you have purchased a fake Labubu doll or think that you have seen counterfeit dolls on sale in Nottinghamshire, please contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on  0808 223 1133 or visit their website www.citizensadvice.org.uk.”