Jewellery sold as sterling silver on Amazon and Temu found to contain toxic chemicals
Summary
A BBC Watchdog investigation found that only two of 25 jewellery items advertised as sterling silver on five online marketplaces were genuine sterling silver. Eight contained cadmium above the legal limit, and tests found nickel in a necklace that irritated a buyer’s skin.Key Facts
- The BBC bought 25 items advertised as 925 or sterling silver from Amazon, eBay, Temu, Etsy and OnBuy.
- Laboratory tests found that only two items met the standard for sterling silver, which must contain at least 92.5% silver.
- Eight items contained cadmium above the legal limit of 0.01%; some had concentrations as high as 10%.
- The eight items with excessive cadmium came from Amazon, Temu, OnBuy and Etsy.
- Tests found nickel in part of a necklace bought by Meranda on Etsy; that part contained up to 11% nickel and only 8.9% silver.
- Cadmium can cause cancer and can harm people if they inhale or swallow it; nickel can irritate skin.
- Amazon, eBay, Temu and OnBuy said misleading listings were prohibited and that they had removed the items identified by the investigation; Etsy did not respond.
- Amazon issued recall notices, while OnBuy said it had offered refunds and begun a recall of an identified product.
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