Amazon and TikTok Shop are carrying jewelry marketed as sterling silver that is largely made of cadmium, a toxic metal tied to kidney cancer, lung cancer, osteoporosis, and liver damage, according to a Sunday Times investigation. Independent testing found an Amazon-sold ring composed of more than 92% cadmium, exceeding the UK ceiling of 0.01% by roughly 9,000 times, while a charm bracelet from TikTok Shop seller Perform Pearls came in near 3,300 times over. The UK’s Office for Product Safety and Standards already intercepted and destroyed a batch of Amazon jewelry at the border this year over dangerous cadmium levels. U.S. rules are far patchier, with no nationwide cap on cadmium in adult jewelry and most state laws limited to children’s products, though California caps all jewelry at 300 ppm.
