Alert over 'dangerous' copycat dolls on sale

COUNTERFEITS SEIZED IN BLACK COUNTRY AS ΤΟΥ CRAZE SWEEPS WORLD

- EMMA DUNN News Reporter

MIDLAND parents have been issued a warning after more than 2,000 “dangerous” counterfeit Labubu dolls were seized across the UK.

The viral plush toys, quirky fang-toothed “monster elf” figures made popular by Chinese toymaker Pop Mart, have become a global obsession.

However, in recent weeks, Trading Standards teams have confiscated thousands of unsafe fake Labubu dolls.

Over 2,000 were seized from 13 retailers in North Tyneside within a single month, with additional seizures in Greater Manchester, Humberside, North Somerset, and Scotland.

Parents are advised to look for genuine characteristics such as nine teeth on ‘The Monsters’ series and a holographic POP MART sticker - a scannable QR code linking to the official Pop Mart website.

The dolls, produced by Pop Mart, retail from £18 but some sell for as much as £215.

Christine Heemskerk, Chartered Trading Standards Institute lead officer for product safety, warned:

“Fake dolls are poorly made in unsafe manufacturing premises.”