What began as a harmless obsession with quirky plush toys has spiraled into a full-blown crisis for UK authorities.
Labubu dolls—those mischievous, rabbit-eared characters adored by celebrities like Rihanna, Dua Lipa, and David Beckham—have become the must-have item of 2025.
But behind their cheeky grins, a booming counterfeit market is causing chaos across Britain.
Counterfeit Craze Sweeps the UK
Within days of the official Pop Mart dolls going viral, criminals were flooding the UK with fake Labubus, nicknamed “Lafufus.”
From London to Pontypridd, these knockoffs have appeared in shops, pop-up stores, and online marketplaces, bypassing safety checks and regulations.
UK Border Force officials have already seized hundreds of thousands of counterfeit dolls shipped from countries including China, Hong Kong, and Turkey.
E-commerce platforms such as Amazon struggle to keep up, as rogue sellers simply create new accounts after being shut down.
The surge of fake dolls is more than a nuisance; experts warn it’s funding organised crime, human trafficking, and even terrorism.
Organised Crime and Dangerous Supply Chains
David McKelvey, former Scotland Yard detective and founder of private police force TM Eye, described the counterfeit trade as “high reward, low risk.”
Young children working in overseas factories, poor safety standards, and illicit profits all combine to create a dangerous ecosystem.
McKelvey explained that fake Labubus often travel via air cargo or shipping containers to storage units in the UK, then enter distribution networks across the country.
Local markets have long been hotspots for counterfeits, but online sales have made the problem even harder to control.
TM Eye prosecutes 80% of all counterfeit offences in the UK, yet experts say the trend-chasing nature of the criminals ensures fakes appear within days of any viral craze.
Warnings from Trading Standards
Trading Standards teams have been busy seizing fake Labubus nationwide.
From Pontypridd and Holyhead to Ayrshire, Lancashire, and London, authorities have confiscated thousands of counterfeit toys.
In North Tyneside, over 2,000 fake dolls were removed from 13 retailers in just three weeks.
Bexley and Westminster also reported seizures, with many dolls found to be dangerously fragile—eyes and limbs popping off with a simple squeeze.
Councillor Sandra Graham urged parents to report suspicious toys, stressing that the fakes do not meet UK safety regulations and could pose serious risks to children.
Westminster City Council leader Adam Hug called the counterfeit Labubus a “costly error” for those buying or selling them.
The Online Labubu Phenomenon
The appeal of Labubus lies in their collectible, “blind box” nature.
Customers don’t know which version they will get, creating a frenzy for rare editions.
Pop Mart has seen staggering growth, with sales tripling to £1.4 billion and profits soaring to £474 million in the first half of the year. Around 40% of sales come from outside China, highlighting the global craze.
But the popularity has its pitfalls. Shoppers queue for hours for new releases, and incidents of fights over limited stock have been widely shared on social media, including a brawl at Stratford’s Westfield shopping centre in May.
Staying Safe Amid the Doll Craze
Authorities urge consumers to purchase Labubus only from trusted sources to avoid unsafe knockoffs.
Kate Caffery, deputy director of intelligence at the Intellectual Property Office, emphasized that counterfeiting is both a local and global threat.
The counterfeit dolls are untested for safety, posing real risks to children.
As Labubus continues to dominate the toy market, the challenge for UK authorities is balancing a global trend with the need to protect consumers and combat organised crime—a reminder that even a small plush toy can have a big, and sometimes dangerous, ripple effect.