Jewellery sold as sterling silver on Amazon and Temu found ‘to contain toxic chemicals’

Jewellery advertised as sterling silver on popular online shopping sites was found to contain toxic chemicals, according to reports.

BBC’s Watchdog on the One Show bought 25 pieces of jewellery, ranging from a bracelet for £1.55 to earrings for £1.99, from Amazon, eBay, Temu, Etsy and Onbuy.

Experts examined the 25 items and found eight contained illegal levels of cadmium, while only two could be classified as sterling silver, according to the broadcaster.

The UK Health Security Agency classifies cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, as a category one carcinogen, particularly carcinogenic to humans when ingested or inhaled. While its legal limit is 0.01 per cent, some of the jewellery tested reportedly had up to 10 per cent.

The BBC found that of the eight items found to have breached the limits, three were purchased from Amazon, three from Temu and one from each of OnBuy and Etsy.

As part of its investigation, the BBC also analysed the jewellery of one consumer who bought a necklace advertised on Etsy as handmade sterling silver, which irritated her neck. They found the necklace had traces of nickel, but in one part of the chain the concentration was as high as 11 per cent.

An Amazon spokesperson said that the company had contacted customers who bought products flagged by the broadcaster and asked them to dispose of the products in question. Customers were told they could seek a refund.

“We take safety extremely seriously, and we immediately removed these products,” the spokesperson said. “All sellers on Amazon must comply with our policies and UK law and regulations. We protect every purchase in our store with our A-to-Z Guarantee so that customers can shop with confidence.

“If customers have concerns about an item they've purchased, we encourage them to contact our Customer Service directly so we can investigate and help resolve their issue.”

Only precious metals compliant with REACH requirements and hallmarking legislation are allowed on Amazon’s marketplace, they said.

A Temu spokesperson said the platform “requires sellers to comply with applicable product safety and compliance requirements as a condition of selling on our platform. This includes complying with restrictions on hazardous substances, accurately describing product materials and providing relevant test reports and compliance documentation.

"The products were removed through our ongoing monitoring before we received the original enquiry from the BBC. We have arranged additional testing by an independent laboratory and are reviewing similar products to identify and address potential risks.

"We enforce these requirements through a combination of seller checks, continuous listing monitoring, public feedback and proactive takedowns of non-compliant products. When violations are identified, we remove the products and take appropriate action against sellers based on the seriousness of the breach."

An eBay spokesperson said: “eBay strictly prohibits misleading listings and requires all items to be described accurately.

“To ensure buyers can shop with confidence, anyone who receives an item that does not match its description may be covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee, and we encourage them to contact us for support.”

The ecommerce platform asserted that none of the listings that the BBC purchased on eBay contained illegal levels of cadmium. Listings identified by BBC Watchdog were removed, and eBay contacted the sellers to remind them of their responsibility to ensure items are accurately described.

Sterling silver is a commonly used precious metal alloy, typically made of 92.5 per cent pure silver and 7.5 per cent other metals, usually copper. Before any silver item can be hallmarked in the UK, it must be independently examined by an authorised UK Assay Office to confirm that it meets the required legal standard.

This process sees specialists analyse the metal content using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to ensure it contains the minimum level of silver declared by the maker. Only items that pass these tests are eligible to receive a hallmark, such as the sponsor’s mark, fineness mark and the assay office’s mark.