Is ‘Proposition 65 Lite’ coming to New York?
April 5, 2019, JD Supra
Will we be seeing toxic chemical warnings on consumer products from the Big Apple to Buffalo?  If New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gets his way it looks like we will and he can say, “I did it my way”.  As part of his January, 2019 Executive Budget, the governor has proposed a toxic chemical warning scheme that contains striking similarities to California’s Proposition 65 law.

Senators seek documents relating to Britax stroller settlement
April 4, 2016, The Washington Post
Two Democratic senators said they plan to seek documents from the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s acting chairwoman about her role in the agency’s safety investigations after a Washington Post story detailed how regulators backed off from a threat to recall a popular jogging stroller despite hundreds of accidents.

CPSC Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle’s statement from CPSC regarding the Britax settlement regarding the BOB jogging strollers
April 5, 2019, cpsc.gov
The acting Chairman speaks out against claims of siding with industry in the matter of Britax BOB jogger strollers. “The Washington Post article concerning the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s settlement with Britax is misleading. Comments by former commissioners or others do not change the facts. The safety agenda of this important agency has remained the same,” she says.

CPSC, Canadian, Mexican Consumer Safety Counterparts Create Consensus Recommendations on Product Testing
April 4, 2019, cpsc.gov
Three product safety agencies of North America, technical staff of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Health Canada, and Mexico’s Consumer Protection Federal Agency (PROFECO) have developed consensus recommendations to improve test methods for ensuring the safety of alternating current (AC) chargers and universal serial bus (USB) chargers.

Judge: Amazon not liable for house fire allegedly linked to hoverboard
April 2, 3019, Northern California Record
A federal judge sided with Amazon in a dispute with two customers who alleged a hoverboard led to a fire that destroyed their house and killed their dogs.In an opinion issued March 19, Judge Jon Tigar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted Amazon’s motion for summary judgment against David and Kim Carpenter, who sued the online retailer in connection with a hoverboard they bought as a Christmas present for their daughter in November 2015.

Questions and Answers on the Safety Gate for dangerous products
April 5, 2019, European Commission
The EU answers questions about its Safety Gate program, the renamed European Rapid Alert System for non-food dangerous products. This system is a building block of the Single Market. It ensures that information about unsafe products withdrawn from the market, rejected at imports and/or recalled from consumers anywhere in Europe is quickly circulated between Member States and the European Commission, so that appropriate action can be taken everywhere in the EU.

Medical emergency: Dangerous but most common objects children accidentally swallow in the UAE
April 4, 2019, Gulf News
Over the last two years, a total of 258 cases have been reported in Abu Dhabi in which children had ingested foreign objects, according to a medical official. While coins made up the majority of ingested items, more and more children are swallowing multiple magnets and this can lead to major internal injuries, said Dr Nafea Alyasi, paediatric gastroenterology fellow at the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City.

Toy seller gives safety shows to children as Officer Phil
April 422019, Reading Eagle
A man who buys and sells collectibles couldn’t remember the name of another who does the same. He described the dealer as a guy who dresses funny and is into toys. “I think he’s a clown or something,” the man said. The “funny dresser” is Mike McDade. His real job is using his skill as a magician, puppeteer and ventriloquist to present safety shows to young children in grade schools in 23 states.

City aims to fight weeds without chemicals
April 3, 2019, Morgan Hill Times
As lawsuits are piling up against the makers of the herbicide Roundup and some cities and counties in California are banning its use, the City of Morgan Hill continues to use a generic versionon a limited basis in city parks. Public Services Director Chris Ghione, in response to questions from the Times, said he is confident that the city uses the herbicide sparingly and in a safe manner in accordance with strict government safety standards.

Brexit: ‘New checks developing’ to avoid hard border
April 4, 2019, BBC
European Commission vice-president Jyrki Katainen was giving more details of the EU’s no-deal planning. The EU has strict rules for checking imports of animals and food products at its borders. But Mr Katainen said: “We need to find new ways to check compliance of our product standards. “This work is continuing. I’m sure we will manage to finalise the process by the time it is needed.”

EU Regulators accuse BMW, Daimler, Volkswagen of colluding to block emission fighting technology
April 5, 2019, The Washington Post
BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen colluded to suppress the development of emissions-fighting technology during their annual “circle of five” confabs, breaching antitrust rules, European regulators charged. The European Commission said the coordinated effort zeroed in on emissions systems for gas- and diesel-powered passenger vehicles from 2006 to 2014. Those discussions took place during technical meetings attended by representatives of the German automakers, as well as Volkswagen’s Audi and Porsche units, regulators allege.

New Jersey AG: ‘We’re taking on DuPont’ over contamination, PFAS
March 28, 2019, The Inquirer
Two days after New Jersey environmental officials ordered five companies to pay what will likely be hundreds of millions to address chemical contamination caused by the discharge of PFAS compounds, the state’s attorney general sued some of the companies over cleanup.
In two lawsuits filed in Superior Court, the state alleged DuPont and Chemours sent the harmful chemicals flowing into the air, water, and soil, and asked the court to force the companies to pay for investigating and restoring the contaminated sites.

Toy companies fined $150,000 for selling unsafe toys following Commerce Commission investigation, unannounced retail store visits
March 28, 2019, New Zealand Herald
Three toy companies have been fined a combined $150,000 for selling unsafe toys. Joint Future Wholesale Limited trading as Joint Future was fined $88,000 for six charges relating to the supply of more than 3500 units of a toy piano, toy rabbit and trike, which did not meet the compulsory safety standards for toys designed for infants. Toys designed for children aged 36 months and under are required to meet a mandatory standard to reduce the risk of choking or ingesting small parts.

EPA issues first TSCA section 6 rule in thirty years
March 28, 2019, National Law Review (Beveridge & Diamond PC)
Until today, EPA had not adopted a final risk management rule under section 6 of the Toxic Substances Control Act in 30 years. That drought has ended, now that EPA has published a final rule restricting consumer use of methylene chloride for stripping paint and coatings.

How big tech designs its own rules of ethics to avoid scrutiny and accountability
March 28, 2019, Phys.org
“Digital ethics and privacy” shot into research and advisory company Gartner’s top ten strategic technology trends for 2019. Before that it barely raised a mention. In the past year governments, corporations and policy and technology think tanks have published data ethics guides. An entire cohort of expert data ethicists have magically materialized. Why this sudden interest in data ethics?

Case Study: Fire Service “total recalls” campaign led to permanent safety improvements
March 27, 2019, PR Week
The three-year London Fire Brigade (LFB) campaign centered on accidental fires caused by faulty white goods, using public affairs, media relations and communications techniques, resulted in changes to safety standards and consumer advice from manufacturers, and the government setting up a new body to monitor them. The campaign arose after LFB analysed data from fires in the home involving white goods such as tumble dryers, fridges and freezers, and found that call-outs to these types of incident were the equivalent of one a day.

Parents ‘living in hell’ after baby monitor cord strangles one-year-old daughter to death
March 28, 2019, Yahoo News
A U.K mother is warning parents of yet another hidden household danger after the death of her one-year-old daughter. Danielle Duggan of Shipdham, England is in mourning after her daughter, Jessica Lacey, was strangled to death after the cord of her baby monitor became entangled around her neck.

Industry guide to futon flammability requirements in Canada – Summary
February, 2019, Health Canada
This guide provides information about the safety requirements that apply under the Mattresses Regulations to futon mattresses (“futons”) that are manufactured, imported, advertised or sold in Canada, in particular information regarding: Flammability requirements for futons, Summary of the test method, How chemical flame retardants, futon materials and construction influence the flammability characteristics of futons, Informing consumers on fire safety. Information in this guide also applies to mattresses in general.

ACCC: Rules drafted on how to access data under consumer data rights
March 29, 2019, ZDNet
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released a draft document detailing the rules that would guide the implementation of the nation’s new Consumer Data Right (CDR). The CDR will allow individuals to “own” their data by granting them open access to their banking, energy, phone, and internet transactions, as well as the right to control who can have it and who can use it.

New cross-border e-commerce regulations
March 28, 2019, China Business Law Journal
Several Chinese authorities, including the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs (GAC), the State Administration of Taxation and the State Administration for Market Supervision, jointly issued a Circular on Improving Supervision of Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Imports, which took effect on 1 January 2019. The GAC subsequently issued a Circular [2018] No. 194 to implement the aforementioned regulation, also effective on 1 January 2019 (both circulars are collectively referred to as the New CBE Regulations).

Toy Association engages with medical community and educators on safe, fun play
March 28, 2019, Toy Association
The Toy Association staff traveled from coast-to-coast throughout the month of March to engage in constructive conversations with medical professionals, play scholars, and education workers about the toy industry’s long-standing leadership in toy safety and the many skill-building benefits of play. As a sponsor of the annual Advanced Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) Assembly held in Anaheim, California, The Toy Association provided information to physicians, nurses, and child life specialists about the toy industry’s history and record of safety work and enlisted the pediatric medical community’s assistance in disseminating toy and play safety information to patients and caregivers.

How the car industry hid the truth about diesel emissions
March 22, 2019, The Guardian
John German had not been looking to make a splash when he commissioned an examination of pollution from diesel cars back in 2013. The exam compared what came out of their exhaust pipes, during the lab tests that were required by law, with emissions on the road under real driving conditions.  Nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollution from the Jetta’s tailpipe was 15 times the allowed limit, shooting up to 35 times under some conditions; the Passat varied between five and 20 times the limit. German had been around the auto industry all his life, so he had a pretty good ideawhat was going on. This had to be a “defeat device” – a deliberate effort to evade the rules.

Make Spring time a safe time
March 20, 2019, PR Newswire
It’s spring again! That means families can enjoy more outdoor activities as well as do some spring cleaning around the home. As you remove old clutter and make room for new items, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is encouraging consumers to spring clean for safety.  Follow these tips to keep you and your family spring time safe!

E-scooters, hoverboards – the tech transforming travel
March 19, 2019, BBC
Electric scooters and other new modes of transport could be allowed on Britain’s roads under a wide-ranging review. It is currently illegal to ride powered scooters – which can travel up to 30mph – on public roads or pavements, but the government has said the traffic laws are “a barrier to innovation” and is considering changing them. That’s the headline anyway. The Department for Transport has subsequently played down the possibility of reform in the short term.

Charms Race: How tech is becoming the lead character in today’s movie toy launches
March 20, 2019, Toy News Online
Films today have become a battleground for technology and explosive entertainment, and with that has come a greater expectation from the toys that tie it all together. Robert Hutchins takes a look at how tech is fast becoming the lead character in today’s movie toy launches

Own It and #PreventPoison: CPSC, Health Canada, and PROFECO Observe National Poison Prevention Week March 17-23, 2019
March 15, 2019, cpsc.gov
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) marks National Poison Prevention Week (NPPW), March 17-23, 2019, encouraging consumers to “Own It” and focus on poison proofing their homes. During Poison Prevention Week, CPSC is collaborating with product safety agencies north and south of America’s borders to raise awareness about unintentional poisonings. CPSC, Health Canada, and Mexico’s Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor (PROFECO) are working together to make North America the safest continent for consumer products.

State considers financially punishing cities that ban sunscreens harmful to coral reefs
March 22, 2019, First Coast News
A measure by the State of Florida would financially penalize local cities that ban chemicals in certain sunscreens that harm coral reefs. This move is strongly supported by one senator from the First Coast.
Lauren Estes was surprised to hear about the move. She owns Mangrove Surf Shop in St. Augustine. She developed and now sells a reef safe sunscreen.

The politicization of youth
March 21, 2019, National Review
Full disclosure: I am not licensed to practice psychology, though I’m about to do it anyway. We say that parents try to “live through” their children. Their hopes and dreams, thwarted ambitions, unrealized goals — all of these are loaded onto their offspring in a set of impossibly heavy expectations in order to have their children become just like them, only better. Here, though, with these parents, it seems to be reversed. They don’t want their kids to be like them; they want to betheir kids.

3 Key Shifts Changing Business for Product Innovators
March 20, 2019, EBN Online
New product development (NPD) and new product introduction (NPI) practices have shifted drastically over the last decade as companies increase the pace of innovation to survive and prosper in the face of customer demands for greater performance at a lower price, increased global competition, and more stringent regulatory requirements.

Recreational off-Highway Vehicles (ROVs) Market – Actionable Insights and Analysis by Key Regulations, Technology Roadmap
March 22, 2019, University Chronicle
The report finds that off-highway recreational vehicles market has also been negatively impacted by product recalls and notable faults in prominent brands. The US$ 27.25 million civil penalty on Polaris Industries for failure to notify the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and American Honda’s decision to recall nearly 65,000 recreational off-highway vehicles due to fire and burn hazard have led to a significant dent in consumer confidence. The increasing spate of product recalls and performance issues can create impediments to growth, finds the study.

Global science, technology, engineering, and mathematics STEM toys market current industry status
March 22, 2018, Redfield Report
Rising application of Al in STEM toys to drive market growt, where Hasbro, Learning Resources, LEGO Group, Mattel, Spin Master are considered leaders.. The application of artificial intelligence (Al) in STEM toys has grown over the last few years. Al-powered STEM toys are becoming popular, especially among working parents. This is because these toys act as learning companions for children and offer customizability for a range of lessons in core STEM disciplines and coding

Boeing to mandate 737 MAX safety feature missing on Lion Air and Ethiopian jets
March 22, 2019, ABC Australia
Boeing plans to make standard a safety featurethat might have warned of problems that possibly played a role in Ethiopian and Indonesian plane crashes that killed almost 350 people, two officials briefed on the matter say. Boeing will mandate a previously optional cockpit warning light as part of a software update to the 737 MAX fleet that was grounded in the wake of the fatal crashes, said the officials, who asked not to be identified.

Lumber Liquidators to pay regulators $33 million in flooring scandal settlement
March 12, 2019, Reuters
Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc has agreed to pay a $33 million criminal penalty to settle federal charges it misled investors about the safety of its laminate flooring made in China and sold to U.S. customers. The settlements announced by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday came four years after Lumber Liquidators was alleged to be selling products with illegally high levels of formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.

Johnson & Johnson must pay $29 million to California woman who blamed baby powder for  cancer
March 14, 2019, Los Angeles Times
Johnson & Johnson must pay about $29 million to a dying California woman who blamed asbestos-tainted talc for causing her cancer. The jury decision is the company’s latest loss in nationwide litigation over its iconic baby powder. Jurors in state court in Oakland held J&J responsible for Teresa Leavitt’s mesothelioma, a cancer linked to asbestos exposure. The panel, which included a lawyer and a state court judge, also found that the world’s largest maker of healthcare products didn’t warn Leavitt that its baby powder was tainted with the carcinogen.

CPSC Acting Chair Buerkle’s priorities include IoT furniture safety
March 14, 2019, JD Supra (Morrison and Foerster)
At a recent product safety conference, Ann Marie Buerkle, Acting Chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), announced CPSC’s priorities for 2019. These include technology—both for consumers and within the agency—as well as window coverings and furniture tipover. Buerkle surprised the audience with a stern warning that any clothing storage not complying with ASTM’s F2057-17 standard will be deemed to have a defect that could pose a substantial product hazard.

Baby mattresses seized in Hong Kong over infant cot death fears after brands fail consumer watchdog tests
March 14, 2019, South China Morning Post
Customs officers in Hong Kong seized four types of cot mattresses after tests initiated by the city’s consumer watchdog revealed a risk of suffocation, because they were not firm enough. While the Customs and Excise Department urged parents to pick mattresses with appropriate firmness, it did not name the brand or make of the seized products. In a report released by the Consumer Council on Thursday, it said four out of eight cot mattresses it tested had failed to meet European safety requirements.

EPA bans deadly paint stripper chemical from consumer use, doesn’t ban commercial use
March 15, 2019, U.S. News and World Report
The Environmental Protection Agency on announced that it would ban consumer use of a chemical in paint strippers that has reportedly been linked to dozens of deaths in the past four decades. The final rule bans the manufacture, import and distribution of consumer products with the chemical, methylene chloride. It does not apply to commercial use, however.

Sutton: Anna Karetnikova showed callous disregard, said judge
March 15, 2018, Guardian
A Sutton mum who showed a “callous disregard” for children after being caught selling fake superhero costumes online has been spared jail. Anna Karetnikova, who operated as an Amazon and eBay business seller from her home in Osborne Place, was convicted after being prosecuted by the council’s trading standards team. One of the mum-of-two’s fancy dress costumes had a “sharp piece of wire” puncturing the fabric, which could have caused a “severe” eye injury.

U.S. SEC sues Volkswagen ex-CEO over alleged emissions fraud on investors
March 15, 2019, Reuters
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing Volkswagen (VW) and its former chief executive Martin Winterkorn over the German automaker’s diesel emissions scandal, alleging a “massive fraud” on U.S. investors. VW was caught using illegal software to cheat U.S. pollution tests in 2015, triggering a global backlash against diesel that and has so far cost it 29 billion euros (£24.78 billion).

Five ways companies can be nimble
May 17, 2018, Knowledge at Wharton
Companies need to become intelligence-driven, and that is achieved by understanding and acting upon five types of agility, notes Baba Prasad, CEO of the Vivékin Group, a management consulting firm in Durham, N.C., and in India. He discusses these concepts in his book Nimble: Make Yourself and Your Company Resilient in the Age of Constant Change. Prasad spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about his book in a recent interview.

Internet of Things: Proposed federal legislation and potential federal vs. state conflict
March 15, 2019, The National Law Review (Drinker Biddle and Reath)
Legislation aimed at improving the security of devices that are part of the Internet of Things was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives this week. The Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2019 would establish standards for federal government agencies that purchase IoT devices for use by the federal government. The proposed law, spearheaded by Senators Mark Warner (D. VA), Cory Gardner (R. CO), Maggie Hassan (D. NH), and Steve Daines (R. MT), would call on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop standards addressing, at a minimum, secure development, identity management, patching, and configuration of IoT devices.

Smart products and consumer concerns
March 15, 2019, Deccan Herald
Over the years, the issues bothering consumers have diversified and multiplied. New technologies have changed the entire life style of the consumers. The recent addition is smart products and devices. Smart products connect to each other and to the internet via different communication connections. They offer consumers the promise of convenience, efficiency and personalised services. For consumers in developing countries, smart products, particularly smart phones, are a boon.

CPSC calls for compliance on bedroom furniture tipover hazard
February 27, 2019, Woodworking Network
In a letter addressed to manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of residential bedroom furniture, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that products failing to comply with the industry’s voluntary stability standard, ASTM F2057-17, will be regarded as a “substantial product hazard.”
“CPSC received numerous reports of child fatalities that occurred between 2000 and 2017 associated with clothing storage unit tip-overs,” CPSC deputy executive director DeWane Ray stated in the letter. “We believe many of these deaths could have been prevented if the clothing storage units complied with the current ASTM F2057-17 standard.”

How people rationalize bad choices
March 1, 2019, Insurance Journal
When a reward is tempting enough, people will break their own moral codes to gain the desired prize. Afterward, they’ll tell you exactly how they were justified: “It wasn’t as if anyone was harmed,” “I was only borrowing …,” “My boss told me to” or “It’s our customers’ responsibility to read the fine print.” It’s a rationalizing process called “moral disengagement” that Darden Professors Sean Martin and Jim Detert have studied. People are self-interested, but we don’t like to face that about ourselves because we also have a strong need to see ourselves as good people, they argue, so we unintentionally, and quite effortlessly, use a series of cognitive maneuvers to justify self-interested choices that don’t align with who we say we want to be or what we want others to think about us.

Brexit—Where do we stand at end of February, 2019
March 1, 2019, National Law Review (Squire Patton Boggs)
The UK’s progress towards leaving the European Union has been a tortuous and turbulent affair. It has been marked by Prime Minister Theresa May’s Government suffering repeated heavy defeats in Parliament, which would normally have led to a change of policy if not of Government, but carrying on with its Brexit stance unchanged. So you could be forgiven for assuming that a series of votes initiated by backbenchers at the end of February in which the Government suffered no defeats would also signal no change. Not so.

Exclusive: UK chemicals industry says Brexit could cost sector £500 million
February 28, 2019, EuroNews
UK chemicals companies face being shut out of a common EU products registry after Brexit and would need to pay around half a billion pounds to set up a British counterpart, the head of the Chemicals Industry Association told Reuters. The sector – which includes companies such as Ineos, Johnson Matthey, Croda and Synthomer – is bound to the European Union by an especially dense web of laws and safety standards as well as supply chains which loop back and forth repeatedly across the English channel. If the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, it will immediately be excluded from a strict set of EU laws on safety and production of chemicals called REACH and locked out of a Helsinki-based data registry underpinning trade called ECHA.

Upcycling plastic bags into battery parts – ACS Headline Science (video)
January 23, 2019, You Tube
Researchers reporting in ACS Omega have developed a new approach to upcycle plastic bags into battery parts. ACS Headline Science shows how the inexpensive new method could help convert plastic waste into useful carbon-containing materials. “Amorphous Carbon Chips Li-Ion Battery Anodes Produced through Polyethylene Waste Upcycling” – Vilas Pol, Ph.D. (corresponding author)

Canada gets closer to right-to-repair law
March 1, 2019, CBC
When Michael Coteau’s daughter dropped his Samsung Galaxy S8 this past fall, cracking it all over, the Ontario Liberal MPP kept using it for a while. “But then it started irritating my ear, because the glass was kind of breaking apart,” he said. It’s greener to repair such a device than recycle it and buy a new one — Nicole Mortillaro has pointed out how environmentally damaging it is to manufacture mobile devices. Recycling and disposal is also energy intensive, and many parts end up in the landfill. But manufacturers often make it expensive and difficult to get devices repaired.

Mandatory Reporting: Duty to report to the CPSC: Business rights and responsibilities
February, 2019, cpsc.gov
If you are a manufacturer, importer, distributor, and/or retailer of consumer products, you have a legal obligation to immediately report the following types of information to the CPSC. Failure to fully and immediately report this information may lead to  substantial civil or criminal penalties.  In this explanation of business rights and responsibilities, CPSC staff’s advice is “when in doubt, report.”

Compliance programs in Australia
February, 2019, ACCC.gov
Compliance programs help owners and managers to become more aware of the day-to-day operations of their business, therefore reducing the risk of supplying unsafe and non-compliant products. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission wants companies to know of the benefits to introducing a product safety compliance program to your business.

Meritas guide to defective products litigation in Italy
March 2, 2019, JD Supra
What claims may be brought for liability for defective products? Is liability based on fault/negligence, or strict liability, or both? A defective product claim may be brought in contract, in tort and/ or under Legislative Decree no. 206/2005 (“the Consumer Code”), which implemented in Italy the EU Product Liability Directive.

Testing, inspection and certification market production by major players…dynamic forces market forecast 2023
March 2, 2019, Sierra Leone View
“Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) Market Report 2019 to 2024” is the definitive study of the global Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) market. The content includes orientation technology, industry drivers, geographic trends, market statistics, market forecasts, producers, and equipment suppliers. The report firstly introduced the Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis

Safety concerns prompt NJ lawmakers to mull sales ban on baby walkers
February 14, 2019, NJ Spotlight
In New Jersey, a Senate panel approved legislation that would prohibit anyone from selling infant walkers in the state, a policy enacted by Canada more than a decade ago, as well as a number of counties and municipalities here in the U.S. Accidents involving baby walkers send roughly five infants to the hospital each day — some with serious, lasting injuries. And while the popular devices are safer now, some state lawmakers want to make the Garden State the first in the nation to ban their sale entirely.

Legislation introduced to prevent CO deaths
February 15, 2019, International Falls Journal
U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and John Hoeven, R- N.D., introduced bipartisan legislation to help prevent carbon monoxide-related deaths. The Nicholas and Zachary Burt Memorial Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act, named for two young brothers from Kimball, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning, would empower the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, to encourage tougher standards to help ensure carbon monoxide detectors are safe and reliable.

CPSC Commissioner Elliot Kaye’s Framework Statement on Internet Safety
February 13, 2019, National Law Review (Mintz, Levin)
Commissioner Elliot Kaye recently released a framework, which he co-authored with his Senior Science and Policy Advisor, Dr. Jonathan Midgett, that provides an “overview of technology-neutral best practices to ensure consumer product safety in the design and deployment of devices, software, and systems used with the Internet-connected consumer products.” This framework should prove useful to consumer product companies.

Illegal car seats on sale via online marketplaces
February 15, 2019, ITV News
Child car seats which are illegal to use in the UK are still available to buy from online marketplaces, a watchdog has warned. The seats, made of fabric, offer “almost no protection” in the event of a car crash and sell for as little as £8 on sites such as eBay, Amazon and AliExpress, Which? found. The consumer group said the seats clearly lacked the support needed to protect babies and toddlers despite being described in listings as suitable for newborns and children up to the age of five.

CPSC releases mobile app for product recalls
February 13, 2019, WHNT News
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) launched a new CPSC Recall App to make recall information currently on the website more accessible to consumers. The app is used to quickly search and find specific product recalls. “At CPSC we are looking for ways to improve how consumers can access information about recalls,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle. “I encourage consumers to download CPSC’s Recall App today, and let us know how we can make it better.”

California Holds That Internet Service Providers, Such As Yelp, Can Disobey Orders To Remove Defamatory Posts – So How Can Companies Remove False Reviews From The Internet?
February 15, 2019, National Law Review (Ryley Carlock Law, pc)
With so many consumers looking online to evaluate your company, a false negative review can have a dramatic impact on whether customers choose to buy from your company.  This puts significant responsibility on internet service providers (“ISPs”) that host online reviews to ensure that users do not post false content. But if the ISPs aren’t required to remove false reviews, what can a company do to protect its online reputation?

U.S. EPA Announces national “PFAS action plan”
February 14, 2019, National Law Review (Godfrey & Kahn)
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.EPA) acting Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, announced the U.S.EPA’s PFAS Action Plan. Wheeler stated that the Agency’s plan was the most comprehensive cross-agency plan introduced by the U.S.EPA. The Acting Administrator  highlighted five key elements of the PFAS Action Plan.

Connectivity and safety: The future of product safety (Dekra video)
In this short video, a consulting firm explains its approach to a safe, connected world through technology and the new requirements for safety applied to smart homes and appliances in the Internet of Things.

Forecast Report: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics STM Toys market set to booming evolution in Education sector by 2026-Global top leading players Hasbro, Learning Resources, LEGO Group, Mattel, Spin Master
February 13, 2019, Open PR
Growing application of Al in STEM toys to run market growth. The application of artificial intelligence (Al) in STEM toys has developed over the last few years. Al-powered STEM toys are becoming popular, especially amongst working parents. This is because these toys act as learning buddies for children and proposal customizability for a range of lessons in core STEM disciplines and coding.

ISO updates standard for phthalates in toys and children’s products ISO-8124
February 14, 2019, Open PR
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published ISO 8124-6:2018 in November 2018. This second edition of the standard covering the use of phthalates in toys and children’s products, replaced ISO 8124-6:2014 upon publication. ISO expanded the ISO 8124 series of standards for toy safety in 2014 to include a methodology for the determination of six phthalates. These were:

Samsung Settles Class-Action Lawsuit Over ‘Exploding’ Washing Machines
February 8, 2019, Consumer Reports
Samsung recalled about 2.8 million top-loading washers in late 2016, and now the manufacturer and three major retailers that sold these washers have agreed to a preliminary settlement of a class-action lawsuit. The recall involved high-efficiency top-loaders made between March 2011 and October 2016 and sold in the U.S. A full list of models is available on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s November 2016 recall notice. According to the CPSC, the top of the washer can detach from the body of the machine while in use, posing a risk of injury; nine related injuries were reported.

State legislatures take on PFAS as Trump EPA lags
February 8, 2019, Safer Chemicals
In an effort to fill regulatory gaps left by the federal government, states are stepping up to protect public health from harmful chemicals, according to an analysis by Safer States. The analysis found that at least 28 states will consider more than 100 policies to require companies to disclose what is in their products as well as limit exposures to toxic chemicals, including bans on PFAS in food packaging and firefighting foam as well as bans on toxic flame retardants.

Commentary: NY lawmakers must protect consumers from unsafe toys
February 7, 2019, Albany Times Union
Routinely, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission issues child safety warnings about certain toys to consumers. While these warnings offer important guidance for shoppers, there is no substitute for the regulatory enforcement that has been lacking under the current administration, particularly when the government shutdown was in effect. In the absence of federal oversight, it’s clear that we need New York state lawmakers to step up and protect consumers.

California Legislature Cuts Consumer Product Companies Some Slack with New Packaging Law
February 7, 2019, JDSupra (Morrison & Foerster)
On January 1 of this year, California’s food and consumer product companies got some welcome relief from the onerous provisions of California’s ‘slack-fill’ law, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 12606.  This law, which has been the basis of an increasing number of consumer class action and civil enforcement actions, has posed numerous compliance challenges for companies striving to understand exactly how “full” their packages need to be to avoid litigation.  By expanding the state’s ‘slack-fill’” exemptions, these changes resolve some of that uncertainty and create new ways for companies to ensure compliance.

Scooter madness in Austin puts safety concerns in high gear
February 6, 2019, News Medical Life Sciences
And Austin’s first scooter-related death occurred over the weekend. Police identified the scooter rider as Mark Sands, a 21-year-old UT student from Ireland, who died Saturday, just one day after suffering critical injuries when the electric scooter he was riding collided with a car. As many as 14,000 dockless electric scooters are on the streets of Austin, whose 326 square miles are home to almost 1 million people.

Report finds toxic levels of lead in spices that can be dangerous to kids
February 6, 2019, WINK News
They discovered the lead was likely coming from the batteries in the flashlights Damian liked to play with. He would put the flashlight in his mouth, and the lead would get in his bloodstream, leading his parents to get rid of the toys. Now, his parents said they are glad Damian was tested for lead. But their pediatrician, Dr. Annette St. Pierre-Mackoul, said that is not the only way children are being exposed to lead. “Hidden sources of lead is a big concern for a lot of children,” Pierre-Mackoul said.

Brexit: New UK product safety mark or CE mark, or both?
February 6, 2019, Womble Bond Dickinson
The UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking is the new UK product marking that, subject to parliamentary approval, will be used for certain categories of products being placed on the UK in the event of a no deal. As part of accelerated planning for a no-deal Brexit, on the 2 February 2019, the government published guidance on using the UKCA marking post 29 March 2018. The guidance does not cover construction products, medical devices or rail interoperability which have been dealt with separately.

Product Liability Safety Post-Brexit: Draft Legislation Published
February 6, 2019, Baker McKenzie
The UK Government has over 10,000 civil servants currently preparing for Brexit. Whilst the terms of Brexit remain uncertain, the Government is nevertheless pushing forward with proposals to make necessary legal changes. Below is a summary of the changes to the UK’s product liability and safety laws that will potentially be implemented on the day of Brexit. A draft statutory instrument amending UK product liability and safety laws has been put before Parliament for approval. The ‘Product Safety and Metrology etc. (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019’ (the “SI“), once approved, is due to come into force on the day of Brexit. A copy is available here.

Managing Product Complexity, Regulations and Requirements
February 6, 2019,  Engineering.com
The days of designing simple products are long gone, as most products today include electrical, mechanical and software components, with new materials, smaller package sizes and tighter tolerances. Many of these increasingly complex products would not be possible without the advent of product requirements management. So, what is requirements management and why is it essential for complex product design?

Upcycling Your Way To Sustainability
February 8, 2019, Forbes
As sustainability continues as a top trend in the retail industry, retailers and brands are adapting to stay relevant and offer sustainable solutions to their consumers. Customers are taking note: 93% of global consumers expect more of the brands they use to support local social and environmental issues, according to a report by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).