Consumer Product Safety

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Day 4 marked the close of the ICPHSO 2026 Annual Meeting & Training Symposium in Orlando, Florida following a jam-packed week of education, exploration, and meaningful dialogue about the future of product safety and regulatory compliance in the U.S. and beyond. The day began with the traditional passing of the gavel to welcome incoming ICPHSO president Dani Cugini while acknowledging and celebrating the accomplishments of outgoing President Chris Harvey.  

Then, in a first ever for ICPHSO, participants were thrust into the Courtroom for a mock-trial experience, giving many product safety professionals their first inside look at the complexities and challenges of litigating safety and products liability issues. Crowell’s “court reporter,” Sean Ward, was on the scene with a riveting recap of all the action. As court was called to recess, Day 4’s short program concluded with a series of plenary sessions highlighting the consumer perspective and the need for inclusive and proactive safety solutions that recognize the dynamic challenges faced by vulnerable populations and ensure accessibility to safety information for all. 

Below is a closer look at select sessions from the final day of ICPHSO 2026. Continue Reading Day 4 of the ICPHSO Symposium: Courtroom Drama & Consumer Voices  

Innovation is a word that carries real weight in product safety. Is there an emerging “duty to innovate” — a duty to proactively adopt feasible, safer technologies — or is innovation simply a good practice that may also reduce risk? That is exactly what a panel of industry and legal professionals tackled at this year’s ICPHSO Annual Meeting & Training Symposium, with the goal of surfacing a practical toolkit for product safety professionals on when to push innovation, how to document feasibility and tradeoffs, and how to navigate regulatory momentum without stalling products that should go to market.

The panel brought together four voices with rare depth across law, engineering, and corporate governance: Kyran Hoff of GE Appliances, Meghan McMeel of Crowell & Moring, John McNulty of Google LLC, and moderator George Wray of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.

Here are the four key themes that shaped the conversation.Continue Reading Is There a Duty to Innovate? Key Takeaways From ICPHSO’s Most Timely Panel

What does Taylor Swift have to do with product safety? According to the panelists who took the stage for the first plenary session at the ICPHSO Annual Meeting & Training Symposium, quite a lot. As the opening lyric reminded the room, looking backward may be the only way to look forward.

Moderated by Molly Lynyak of ASTM International and featuring Joan Lawrence of The Toy Association, Cheryl Falvey of Crowell & Moring, and Dana Baiocco of Clyde & Co., the panel walked through more than five decades of product safety history — and drew some sharp lessons for where the industry goes next.Continue Reading The Product Safety Eras Tour at ICPHSO: Lessons from the Past, Challenges for the Future

Day one of the ICPHSO Annual Meeting & Training Symposium in Orlando, Florida made one thing crystal-clear: compliance is the floor, not the ceiling. From the call for open safety collaboration and human-centered design to urgent warnings about siloed post-market surveillance and the double-edged promise of AI, the message resonated throughout the room: product safety is a business imperative, a trust builder, and, increasingly, a competitive differentiator. Here is a closer look at the two themes that defined the conversation on day one.Continue Reading Day One at the ICPHSO Symposium: Compliance Is the Floor, Not the Ceiling

On December 12, 2025, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC or Commission) published a direct final rule updating the mandatory safety standard for bassinets and cradles to align with ASTM F2194-25, the latest version of the voluntary consumer safety specification.[1] The rule describes responsibilities for manufacturers, including importers, and incorporates the new ASTM standard by reference. While the rule does not expressly state responsibilities for retailers, under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, retailers may not knowingly sell products that violate the applicable safety standards,[2] nor can such products be lawfully imported into the US.[3]Continue Reading CPSC Finalizes 2025 Bassinets and Cradles Safety Standard

Register now to join Crowell & Moring for “Recall Execution Bootcamp: Practical Skills for Fast-Track Recalls,” a webinar that will cover the fundamental steps and considerations to execute a recall in a manner that minimizes business disruption and ensures compliance with regulatory expectations. This webinar will take place on Thursday, January 22, 2026 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET. Continue Reading Register Now! Recall Execution Bootcamp

Microplastics pollution has emerged as a significant issue as the public learns more about the presence of microplastics in the environment and how they may enter the human body. In recent years, Congress has considered measures to address microplastics pollution, including a bill requiring the Food and Drug Administration to study the health effects of…

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On August 5, 2025, the CPSC and the DOJ announced a defunct New Jersey importer of consumer appliances pled guilty to one count of willfully violating the Consumer Product Safety Act for its failure to report dangerous defects in portable air conditioners that had been linked to multiple fires and one death.Continue Reading When Silence Speaks: How Saying Nothing Led to a Defunct New Jersey Importer Pleading Guilty to Criminal Charges for Failing to Report to the CPSC

Printing machine in a printing shop
Printing machine in a printing shop

More than 200 businesses across California have been served with Notices of Violation (NOVs) of California’s Proposition 65 (“Prop 65”) for issuing thermal receipts at the register and using thermal labels and stickers in their stores. The targeted businesses include large and small retailers, restaurants, banks, gas stations, and grocers. This sudden influx of NOVs…

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On January 25, 2024, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), introduced the Consumer Advocacy and Protection (CAP) Act in the U.S. House of Representatives (HR 7096) and U.S. Senate (S 3667). The CAP Act aims to deter companies from committing safety violations by increasing CPSC’s penalty authority.

Under current law, manufacturers, importers, and distributors of consumer products are required to report immediately to the CPSC information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a product contains a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death. If violations occur, the applicable civil penalty is a maximum of $100,000 per individual violation and $15,000,000 for a series of related violations. These amounts were adjusted for inflation in 2021, reaching $120,000 per violation and $17,150,000 for a series of related violations.Continue Reading New Bill Could Mean Higher Penalties for Failure to Report Safety Concerns