Prop. 65 chemical warning law changes take effect. Is your business ready?
April 2, 2016, Environmental Leader
Companies that do business in California may soon have to comply with new regulations under the state’s chemical-warning law. The 30-year old law requires businesses to disclose the presence of chemicals known by the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm. A new regulation now in effect allows California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to develop a website that provides consumers with additional information about the Prop. 65 warnings, including the name of the listed chemical in the product or service, its concentration, and the estimated level of exposure.
China tax on overseas purchases set to kick in
March 31, 2016, The Wall Street Journal
China is tightening its grip on cross-boarder e-commerce, imposing a new tax system on overseas purchases that form a growing business catering to Chinese consumers with an appetite for foreign goods. In addition, a so-called parcel tax that is now imposed on foreign retail products that e-commerce firms ship into China, such goods sent directly to consumers will now be treated as imports, subject to tariffs and value-added and consumption laws. A willingness to pa more for branded, trusted products will be hurt least due to product safety concerns of Chinese consumers, according to a retail technology consultant.
Australian baby product’s “No ingredients from China” label ignites online debate
April 2, 2016, yibada.com
Bellamy’s Organic, a baby food product maker put this statement on one of its products, igniting on line debate among Chinese citizens according to a Global Times article: “This product does not contain any ingredients from China.” One on line comment posted: “The Chinese food safety (problem) seems notorious.” A company representative said that photos of the label appearing on line “were probably not taken during the recent period,” clarifying that current Bellamy products carry the label “ingredients are 100 per cent from Australia.”
CPSC Commissioner’s Corner:
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Somebody Always Pays:
Commissioner Adler discusses regulatory agency requirements for cost-benefit analysis and the impact this can have on the regulatory process and consumers.
CPSC’s departing General Counsel, Stephanie Tsacoumis:
Commissioner Buerkle salutes GC Tsacoumis’ professional accomplishments including handling negotiations with Gree for the largest civil penalty ever issued by the agency
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Ivanka Trump’s Chinese-made scarves are recalled
April 6, 2016, The New York Times
Donald J. Trump can now add his daughter’s line of Chinese-made scarves to his criticism of economic risks of manufacturing American products overseas. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 20,000 of the Ivanka Trump-branded scarves for violating the U.S. Federal Flammability Standard. The scarves are made entirely of rayon and are considered a safety risk. A CPSC representative had noticed the scarves on line and agency experts acquired samples for testing. So far there have been no reported cases of injuries from an igniting scarf.
Millions of families still left at risk from faulty dryers
April 5, 2016, The Telegraph
Millions of families are being left at risk from faulty dryers as government fails to use its powers to intervene in a national safety “crisis” the country’s leading trading standards officer has said. Manufacturers Hotpoint, Indesit, and Creda are trying to fix and replace 4.3 million faulty dryers after customers were notified of a wide spread defect last October. The dryers, in which excess fluff can catch the heating element and cause a fire, have been linked to dozens of recent fires and explosions in homes. A debate over reduced funding of government offices has resulted in a 40% reduction n the budget and staffing levels over the past 5 years at council standard training offices. Meanwhile, response levels to consumer calls of 10%-20% are criticized as “failing UK consumers.”
Gun Defects: No forced recalls, no oversight, no data
April 8, 2016, Bloomberg BNA
In the first of a 2-part series, Bloomberg examines the exception that guns hold from addressing gun defects that are now exempt from the definition of “consumer products” under the Consumer Product Safety Act. Class actions may be the only route for gun owners to get defects fixed if manufacturers don’t conduct voluntary recalls, a plaintiff’s attorney and consumer advocates say. Meanwhile, several House Democrats would like Congress to consider giving the CPSC the authority to regulate firearms, a politically difficult challenge caught up in the controversies surrounding guns generally.
Total Recall: Do consumers drop brands after products fail?
April 2, 2016, The Motley Fool
What is the impact on a company’s brand when a recall takes place? Luckily, there’s plenty of research on how recalls impact a company’s brand. Unsurprisingly, the effect all depends on how companies respond to customers after they’ve messed up. A 2020 report said that brands could actually build stronger loyalty with their customers after a recall so long as they respond responsibly.
All tiny magnet balls may not be dangerous
March 31, 2016, Courthouse News Service
An administrative law judge rule that tiny-magnet balls sold by a Denver-based company Zen Magnets are not inherently unsafe because they only pose a hazard when individuals do inadvisable things with them. The ruling by Administrative Judge Dean Metry, came after a U.S. District Judge ordered the firm to recall small but powerful magnets because of a Consumer Product Safety Commission conclusion that when more than one of the magnets are ingested they are attracted to each other in the digestive system, creating a substantial product hazard or even death. Judge Metry came to a different conclusion: “After considering the entire record, consisting of both documentary and testimonial evident, the ALJ fines (sic) the agency did not prove all SREMS (spherical rare earth magnets), as sold by the respondent, are substantial product hazards.”
EU tyre label under scrutiny-authorities begin 24-month project
April 8, 2016, Tyre Press
The absence of effective 3rd party testing control has been a criticism of European tyre labeling since its introduction in November, 2012. A two year project funded by the EU Commission aims to bring accountability into tyre labeling. Between March, 2016 and February, 2018 inspectors from 13 EU countries and Turkey will test the rolling resistance and wet grip performance of 150 tyre models to compare the actual characteristics with each model’s EU tyre label rating, a task that will involved checking some 15,000 individual tyres and inspecting 1,500 documents.
Watch Yourself: Is your business prepared for product liability issues?
March 29, 2016, business.com
Sometimes a company can be tempted to rush the process of bringing a new product to market. Research, analysis, product development, risk assessment, production and distribution all take time. Making a mistake during this process can be very costly. This blogger shares the steps that go into a proactive program to develop products that are safe, that include a litigation risk assessment.
