Virtual ICPHSO Symposium Addresses Global Product Safety Issues

March 2, 2021 | The International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) held its 2021 Annual Symposium virtually from February 22 through February 26, offering the 550 who attended best practices and resources to help companies understand requirements and ensure product safety compliance in the ever-changing global marketplace.

The Toy Association participated in the symposium for the 28th consecutive year as one of the founding members of ICPHSO, and multiple Toy Association members contributed to the planning and programming.

“While physically distant this year, the ICPHSO Annual Symposium continues to play a critical role in bringing product safety professionals together to collaborate on how best to operate and ensure safety on a global scale,” said Joan Lawrence, senior vice president of standards and regulatory affairs at The Toy Association. “For The Toy Association, it also provides the opportunity to network with likeminded groups on the issues that are most important to our members.”

The four-day symposium included plenary and breakout sessions led by experts from government, consumer groups, industry, and academia. Topics ranged from defining and reducing consumer “misuse” and product safety for private labelers, to tips for manufacturers and retailers to combat unsafe counterfeit products and safety considerations for emerging technologies such as AI and the role of social media in product safety. A session sponsored by Amazon also explored how the company is using smart technology to better assess safety and compliance of products on its platform.

On day three, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Acting Chairman Robert Adler delivered a keynote address, in which he spoke of the agency’s expectations under the Biden Administration and his priorities for the remainder of his term (ending in October 2021). He emphasized his wish to increase the CPSC’s underfunded operating budget and seek legislative changes that would provide for a less cumbersome rulemaking process for the agency and amend Section 6(b) reporting requirements, which he said “muzzle” the agency’s ability to notify consumers of potential product hazards.

In addition, while all symposium sessions try to look at product safety through a global lens, a few sessions were specifically aimed at product safety regulation in certain markets and regions outside the U.S. These sessions addressed product safety activity in the EU, Canada, and China and the impact on those markets and the global market as well.

Created in 1993, the ICPHSO is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing forums for the exchange of ideas and information on health and safety issues related to consumer products manufactured and marketed in the global marketplace. ICPHSO members represent U.S. and global government agencies, manufacturers, importers, retailers, trade associations, certification/testing laboratories, law firms, academia, standards writing organizations, consultants, media, and consumer advocacy groups.