FROM U.S. TO CHINA: CONTROLLING AND SAVING THE HOVERBOARD INDUSTRY
>China’s hoverboard makers are banding together to try to save the industry
March 6, 2016, quartz.com
More than 100 Chinese hoverboard sellers, assemblers, and component suppliers have formed the Hoverboard Industry Alliance in order to respond to product bans and restrictions announced in various countries spanning the globe, and to work with organizations that set standards for safety and patents in the U.S., China, and elsewhere. In 2015, the industry exported $4.6 billion in hoverboard sales. Making money on the latest fad was the easy part; turning hundreds of manufacturers used to cut throat competition into a reliable, organized supply chain will be harder.
>Columbia University bans hoverboards over fire hazard; restricts drones
March 11, 2016, New York Daily News
The university has banned hoverboards and restricted drones from all over its campus properties, the university announced in a recent e-mail notification. Students caught violating the ban could face disciplinary action. Hoverboards now join a lengthy list of consumer products that are banned on the campus, ranging from candles and deep fryers to electronic cigarettes and fog machines.
>Blog: Hoverboard regulations attempt to balance safety and fun
March 9, 2016, regblog.com
With some online retailers reporting a sale every 12 seconds on CyberMonday, the hoverboard won acclaim as one of the most popular holiday season purchases in recent years. Subsequent incidents, allegations, and actions by local, state, and federal officials in the U.S., as well as other countries around the globe, have changed that assessment. A Philadelphia blogger reviews the status of one of 2015’s most controversial products of the year.
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Health Canada assesses monetary penalties against company under Canadian Product Safety Act for first time
March 14, 2016, The National Law Review
Administrative penalties were assessed against Orange TKO Industries of Calgary. The company failed to comply with an order of the Minister of Health to recall an all-purpose cleaner that did not meet labeling and child resistant packaging requirements for consumer chemical products. While Health Canada has no authority to assess penalties for late reporting, unlike the CPSC, penalties can be assessed for not complying with an order from the Minister of Health. The penalty assessed was $75,000 Canadian dollars.
Product recalls hit all time high fueled by car and food scandals
March 14, 2016, theguardian.com
The number of product recalls in the United Kingdom increased by 26% to 310 in 2014/15 from 245 the previous reporting period, according to a London law firm. The number of car recalls rose to a total of 39, a 30% incrase from the previous period, led by the GM potentially faulty ignition switch problem and Volkswagon’s emission testing scandal using software to cheat diesel emissions tests. Horsemeat found in food, and plastic found in Mars candy bars were cited as fuelling the increase in food recalls, and hoverboards were cited in a product safety alert leading the list of recalls in the consumer product area.
Tool helps companies use safer chemicals in products
March 8, 2016, environmentalleader.com
A group has released the GreenScreen for Safer Chemicals Hazard Assessment Guidance, a tool that adds information for using the GreenScreen List Translator as a first step in identifying hazardous chemicals in products. Clean Production Action (CPA), an advocacy organization that promotes sustainable products and chemicals notes that the Translator scores chemicals based on information from more than 40 hazard lists developed by authoritative scientific bodies, including the EU’s REACH Regulation (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) categorizations and chemical hazard classifications by countries using the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS)
Top ten ethics & compliance predictions & recommendations for 2016
March 7, 2016, jdsupra.com
A global survey by an ethics and compliance organization has yielded a list of predictions and recommendations for what this means to companies and organizations. Among the predictions are the rise of the millennial mindset, and transitioning to a more global center of gravity for ethics and compliance. Responses to these predictions are increased training and orientation programs for staff and board members, keeping key-decision makers involved and up-to-date, and getting help to stay informed about the legal and regulatory landscape.
Australia: Thermomix is “absolutely safe”: Company releases statement following burns incident
March 7, 2015, hospitalitymagazine.com.au
In October 2014, the company posted advice to the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) product safety recalls Australia website that stated in rare circumstances a “potential product defect” relating to the Thermomix TM31 sealing ring “could lead to a scald or burn.” Recently a Perth mother experienced second-degree burns to her chest and body alleging a faulty seal on the product was responsible for the incident.
Crumb rubber concerns downplayed: school districts reluctant to address turf fields until definitive health hazard shown
March 9, 2016, smdailyjournal.com
Local California school officials harbor some concerns about the synthetic turf, but school districts in the South San Francisco area have no plans to prohibit use of the fields in place until hard and fast evidence is presented that clearly defines the risks students may face. By the end of the year, a study of the potential health risks of crumb rubber is anticipated from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Center for Disease Control, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Maine towns declare food sovereignty, claim ‘home rule’ trumps state, federal regulations
March 7, 2016, bangordailynews.com
Sixteen Maine towns in seven counties have declared food sovereignty with local ordinances giving residents the right to produce, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of their own choosing. The movement for local control started after state and federal authorities passed laws in 2010 curtailing what local farmers could sell directly to consumers. A judge has ruled in a state case that such local ordinances are only valid when not preempted by state law.
UK: Brexit move ‘could raise compliance issues’
March 9, 2016, prw.com
With the UK plastics industry effectively declaring itself against the idea of the UK leaving the European Union, the importance of the regulatory framework is emerging as an important reason to preserve the country’s members. The UK referendum looms on June 23, and some are posing an option based on following Norway’s rout and joining the European Free Trade Association’s European Economic Area, which requires members to implement some but not all EU legislation.
