Ikea Implements Tip-Over Awareness Sales Requirement
January 28, 2021, Furniture Today
Home furnishings retail giant Ikea has announced new sales protocols for its U.S. stores, designed to alert consumers of the need for wall attachment on chests of drawers and other clothing storage units in order to prevent tip-overs. Customers at all U.S. stores must now acknowledge the need to attach the product to the wall and provide their name and e-mail address before the sale can be finalized.
Toy Association Continues Fight Against Counterfeit Toys
January 27, 2021, Toy and Hobby Retailer
As the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates the online shopping trend, the fight against unsafe counterfeit toys sold through e-commerce platforms is more urgent than ever – and a top priority issue for The US Toy Association and its 1,000 member companies. “The Toy Association and our members have been continually advocating for the removal of illicit counterfeit toys and play products from online marketplaces,” stated Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of The Toy Association.
Work-Life Balance Is A Cycle, Not An Achievement
January 28, 2021, Harvard Business Review
Despite evidence that working long hours can be harmful to employees and employers, many people still struggle to overcome their assumptions, and their ingrained habits, around work hours. What does it take to free yourself from these patterns?
CR Finds Problem With USI Electric MPC122S Smoke & CO Detector
January 26, 2021, Consumer Reports
The USI Electric MPC122S Smoke/ Carbon Monoxide Detector might alarm too quickly, too late, or not at all, when exposed to carbon monoxide, according to tests conducted by Consumer Reports. It’s one of 14 smoke and CO detectors CR recently tested.
Hong Kong Mask Producer Arrested For Sale Of Face Coverings With Bacterial Count 12.5 Times Beyond Safety Limit
January 28, 2021, South China Morning Post
Hong Kong customs has arrested the director of a mask manufacturer and a chain cosmetics store manager over face coverings which were found with a bacterial count exceeding safety limits by 12.5 times, prompting the brand to withdraw the items from sale.
CPSC Spreading Word About TV Tip-Overs And Child Safety
January 28, WLKY TV
Tip-over furniture sends 11,000 children to the ER every year. That includes falling TVs. And with the Super Bowl right around the corner, that means TV sales are about to boom. If you are buying one and you have kids, now is the time to think about safety and making sure your new TV (or the ones you have right now) are anchored.
Biden Administration Looks Set To Target ‘Forever Chemicals,’ As 3M Warns About Onerous Regulation’
January 26, 2021, Market Watch
President Biden’s administration looks poised to crack down on a group of “forever chemicals” that have been linked to a range of health problems, a move that could put companies like 3M and DuPont on the hook for billions of dollars in cleanup costs.
Proposition 65 Notices of the Month – 2020 Prop. 65 Roundup: Over 3,500 Notices Sent
January 28, 2021, JDSupra
2020 was an unprecedented year of crisis throughout the world with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay-at-home orders, quarantines, remote work, and Zoom-school did not slowdown Proposition 65 plaintiffs, however. Throughout the course of the year, citizen plaintiff groups sent over 3,500 Notices of Violation (“Notices”) to companies doing business in California up and down the supply chain—from manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, to everyone else in between—alleging that products sold in California required the all too familiar “Proposition 65 warning label” because of the alleged presence of chemicals in the products.
Doctor’s ‘Toilet Roll Test’ Makes Checking For Choking Hazards Easy
January 26, 2021, Today
A pediatrician in Ohio is sharing her simple way to check for choking hazards. In a video that has gone viral on TikTok, Dr. Nkeiruka Orajiaka demonstrates how she uses a toilet paper roll to determine if a toy is too small for children from birth to age 3.
New Vision On Counterfeit Liability In World Trademark Review
January 27, 2021, World Trademark Review
The USPTO had reopened its comment period regarding secondary trademark infringement liability in the e-commerce setting. One organisation to make a submission so far is the American Apparel & Footwear Association, which is calling for legislation to hold online platforms liable for counterfeit goods sold on their sites. “The foundation of our trademark system predates e-commerce and is not equipped to address the online counterfeiting issues experienced today.”
FDA Targets Mexican-Made Hand Sanitizers
January 28, 2021, AARP
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed all alcohol-based hand sanitizers from Mexico on a countrywide “import alert” that will allow federal agents to detain shipments until the products are determined to be safe to bring into the U.S.
Mattel Earns Perfect Score on Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index For 2nd Consecutive Year
January 28, 2021, OAOA
Mattel, Inc. has, for the second consecutive year, received a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ+ workplace equality. Mattel joins the ranks of more than 760 major U.S. businesses that also earned top marks this year. The results were released today by The Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Honoring Our Heroes
SPSP Website
SPSP makes a permanent home for the salute poster at its website.
