U.S. authorities have warned that a knockoff of the character “Labubu,” a Chinese company Pop Mart’s character that is gaining explosive popularity worldwide, posted on social media by famous celebrities such as Lisa of Black Pink, could cause a child suffocation accident.
On the 18th, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warned that the “Lavu couple,” which refers to the Labubu ‘s imitation, is easily broken and small pieces from the process can pose a choking risk to children.
“These counterfeits are dangerous, illegal, and can never be used in American households,” said Peter A. Feldman, interim chairman of the CPSC. He added, “Protect your children and buy (the product) from a trusted vendor.”
CPSC investigators identified Labubu knockoffs from shipments coming from China and asked the authorities to seize thousands of products.
In addition, the CPSC introduced some ways to distinguish counterfeit products.
First of all, he cautioned that a large discount product could be a fake. He then explained that genuine dolls include hologram pop mart stickers and QR codes that connect to the official pop mart site. He added that the latest genuine Labubu dolls have UV stamps on one foot.
They also said that counterfeit dolls are too bright in color or have different number of teeth. Genuine dolls have nine teeth.
Meanwhile, La couple is a character designed by Hong Kong-based Art Toy writer Rong Ka-shing and is a “monster fairy” characterized by long ears like rabbits, mouth resembling sharks, and big eyes.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
