I am happy to announce commitments from Jo-Ann Stores, Kohl’s, and Shein that they will stop selling water beads to children.  If ingested by children, water beads can be deadly.

On December 20th, I sent letters to Jo-Ann Stores, Kohl’s, Hobby Lobby, Wish, and Shein, asking them to protect kids by getting water beads off their shelves.  Doing so would bring them in line with other major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target, which recently announced they will do the same.

On December 27th, Kohl’s agreed stop selling all water bead products, stating that:

Jo-Ann Stores made the same commitment:

And Shein confirmed that they are no longer selling water beads “in the form of toys, educational materials, and/or art materials designed, intended, or marketed to children under the age of twelve.”

However, Hobby Lobby and Wish have not responded with a commitment to discontinue selling water beads.  They have failed to keep up with their competitors, as they have not made similar commitments to safety.  Corporate greed can be deadly.

CPSC is aware of at least one child who died after swallowing a water bead, and a second child was seriously injured after ingesting the same product.  I urge all retailers to decide that the risk these products pose to young lives is too great to justify their continued sale.