Biden Administration Announces New Actions Cracking Down On De Minimis Shipments Of Unsafe, Unfairly Traded Products
September 13, 2024, The White House
The Biden Administration is taking new actions to enforce protect American consumers, workers, and businesses by addressing the significant increased abuse of the de minimis exemption. The administration action, in particular, addresses China-founded e-commerce platforms, and strengthens efforts to target and block shipments that violate U.S. laws. The Administration is using executive authority to stop the abuse of the de minimis exemption. The Administration also calls on Congress to pass legislation this year to reform the de minimis exemption comprehensively to further protect American consumers, workers, and businesses.
New KID report and consumer survey reveal need for improvements in children’s product recall process
September 12, 2024, KID
Kids In Danger (KID), a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting children by fighting for product safety, released two new reports looking to better assess recall effectiveness. The first report, Recall Reality: Are They Failing our Children?,examines trends regarding the effectiveness of children’s product recalls issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Following a product recall, all recalling companies are required to agree to a Corrective Action Plan (CAP). This includes any remedial actions taken to mitigate the potential hazard, including outreach, remedy, and destruction of recalled products. KID’s new report looked at monthly progress reports required by the CPSC to track the recall process and progress of these CAPs. In a companion report, KID also reviewed survey data on consumer attitudes towards recalls and their response to recall notices. The survey responses, gathered from parents and caregivers, reveal critical gaps in the current children’s product recall process.
Recall Reality: Are They Failing our Children? Report
Why Leadership Teams Fail
September 2024, Harvard Business Review Sept-Oct 2024 Magazine
In pursuit of strong performance, CEOs often overlook a critical factor in organizational success: the health of their leadership team. That’s a big problem, because a dysfunctional team can be a serious drag on strategy execution. To learn more about the problems that affect leadership teams, the authors interviewed more than 100 CEOs and senior executives in a multiyear research program. They identified three main patterns of dysfunction: the shark tank; the petting zoo; and the mediocracy. This article helps leadership teams diagnose their dynamic and find ways to improve it
New Batteries Regulation: Taking Stock Of The New EU Battery Requirements
September 11, 2024, Retail & Consumer Product Observer
More than a year ago, the EU Batteries Regulation entered into force. In approximately one year’s time, the EU Batteries Regulation is set to repeal the 2006 Batteries Directive, with some exceptions. During the 2024 summer, a number of the new requirements under the EU Batteries Regulation have begun to apply. With these points in mind, it is an opportune time to take stock of the new requirements being phased-in under the EU Batteries Regulation, consider the most recent requirements which begun to apply last month and assess the significant, and growing, impact the EU Batteries Regulation is having more generally.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission Requires Amazon To Notify You Of Recalled Or Defective Products
September 9, 2024, WFMY2 News
When you buy from Amazon, the convenience is there. However, not all products for sale are sold by Amazon. That is a big distinction. Recently, the Consumer Product Safety Commission unanimously determined that Amazon may ultimately be liable for notifying you about unsafe or defective products and providing cash refunds or replacements that were purchased through the Fulfilled by Amazon program. The decision focused on more than 400,000 units of faulty carbon monoxide detectors, noncompliant children’s pajama sets and dangerous hair dryers sold through Amazon’s FBA program. According to the CPSC, all of these are “defective and pose a risk of serious injury or death.”
University Of Cincinnati Report: Shows Scientists Are Getting Clearer Picture Of Impact Of PFAS
September 9, 2024, University of Cincinnati News
PFAS are a large, complex group of synthetic chemicals that have been used in consumer products since the 1950s. Now scientists are getting a clearer picture of just how dangerous these chemicals are. PFAS can cause increased cholesterol levels, lower immunity and some cancers. Now a new study out of the University of Cincinnati shows that exposure to PFAS may impact young girls. “We found that PFAS delayed the onset of puberty,” said Susan Pinney, PhD, professor of epidemiology at the UC College of Medicine. Eighty-five percent of the young girls in the study had measurable levels of PFAS in their blood — impacting the same hormones that delay the onset of puberty, which could in turn make these girls more susceptible to breast cancer, infertility and endometriosis.
CPSC Urges Those In The Path Of Hurricane Francine To Take Steps To Prevent CO Poisoning And Other Post-Storm Hazards
September 11, 2024, cpsc.gov
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is urging those in the path of Hurricane Francine to take steps to protect themselves and their families against carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, fires and other post-storm hazards. Consumers need to be especially careful when storms knock out electrical power. CO poisoning from portable generators can kill whole families in minutes.
AHFA Announces First Annual Furniture Safety Week
September 2024, American Home Furnishings Alliance
The American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) announces the first annual Furniture Safety Week will be October 7-11, 2024. This initiative is designed to engage all segments of the home furnishings industry in public conversation about home safety and potential hazards that involve residential furniture.
PFAS In Consumer Products: State Legislative Activity Summer Roundup
September 13, 2024, Arnold & Porter Consumer Products & Retail Navigator
The amount of activity regarding the regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer products and packaging is dizzying, and the summer of 2024 offered no reprieve for industry.
CPSC Online Sellers Safety Guide
September 2024, cpsc.gov
Are you a small business owner, handmaking products at home, like stuffed toys and clothing, to sell online? Are you a small importer or drop shipper, bringing into the United States, various kinds of products to sell in online platforms and marketplaces? Are you reselling secondhand goods in online thrift stores or on other third-party platforms? If you said yes to any one of those questions, then you’re in the right place. The CPSC Online Sellers’ Safety Guide offers business owners various resources and information, including helpful FAQs, to help them make, import, or sell safe and compliant consumer products.
