Retail Compliance: Three New Product Safety Rulings To Watch
 

Free Webinar For NRF Members To Clarify 3 Specific CPSC Regulations, Including A Recently Issued Interpretive Rule Regarding Children's Products

Dec. 3, 2010 -- In 2008, Congress passed sweeping changes to consumer product safety laws under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This came as the result of the numerous toy recalls to due lead that occurred in 2007. Even though the law was passed over two years ago, the Consumer Product Safety Commission continues to issue new regulations and interpretations that impact retailers – both large and small – and their product suppliers. These include new testing and certification requirements for children’s products, allowable lead limits for children’s products, bans on the use of certain phthalates in children’s products, as well as a host of other new onerous requirements.

Here are three specific CPSC regulations or interpretations that have recently been issued which can be complicated for retailers in their quest to ensure compliance:

* A recently issued new interpretive rule regarding what constitutes a “children’s product” subject to lead and other CPSC regulations. While the CPSC was supposed to simplify what consumer products should be considered a “children’s product”, the interpretative rule has unfortunately made the determination more complicated for retailers and product manufacturers.

* A final regulation just issued on the CPSC’s Consumer Product Safety Incident Database sets forth the operational details of a new database that is intended to post all of the product-related injuries or potential product hazards reported to the agency by consumers and others. While the database is congressionally mandated, there are significant concerns about the implementation of the database and who is allowed to file reports and how accurate the information is that’s coming in.

* Perhaps the most significant issue for retailers, the CPSC has set forth pending final regulation on new testing and certification requirements for all consumer products subject to one or more mandatory CPSC safety standards (otherwise known as the “15 month rule”), which the CPSC is expected to issue in the next few months.

To assist retail companies in their compliance efforts, NRF will hold a free webinar for members on December 9 at 3:00p.m. ET featuring Joe Mohorovic, Vice President of Intertek Consumer Goods, and Quin Dodd, Partner with the Washington office of Mintz Levin, PC. Mohorovic and Dodd will also discuss how these and other developments at the CPSC will impact your business in the weeks and months ahead. Both speakers served as former Chiefs of Staff at the CPSC and are well versed in the laws and activities of the agency.

Retailers are under increasing pressure to ensure that the consumer products they sell, especially children’s products, are of the highest quality and meet all applicable U.S. health and safety requirements. This is especially true for imported consumer products. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has set new safety standards and other mandates that have created significant problems and confusion for retailers and manufacturers. It is critical for retailers to fully understand what is required under this comprehensive and often times confusing law so as not to end up with products which could be subject to a costly recall.

SOURCE: National Retail Federation Retail's BIG Blog