2026 will be a significant year for retailers and e-commerce companies, with significant changes on the horizon that will affect the entire industry and ecosystem. In this alert, we highlight the top issues retailers and e-commerce companies should be aware of and ready to tackle in 2026. Click here to continue reading the full version
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
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
In May 2025, the Trump Administration, asserting Executive authority, terminated the three Democratic Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. On June 13, 2025, a Maryland district court aborted the without-cause termination while a legal challenge proceeds, leaving the Commissioners in place. No longer.Continue Reading Commission In Limbo: SCOTUS Decision Puts CPSC Democrats Back Out of Action
Register now to join Crowell & Moring partners Joanna Forster, Cheri Falvey, Clay Marquez, Meghan McMeel, Stefan Meisner, and counsel Shauneida Navarrete as they discuss significant legal changes in the first half of 2025 that impact retailers/e-commerce in the United States. The webinar will take place on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET. Continue Reading Register Now! H2 2025: What Retailers/E-Commerce Need to Know Webinar
On July 14, 2025, the FTC announced its enforcement action against telemedicine company NextMed over charges it used misleading prices, fake reviews and deceptive weight-loss claims to sell GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. The FTC has now settled its charges that NextMed used deceptive practices to lure consumers into buying their weight-loss membership programs that had hidden terms and conditions. With the rise of both authentic and counterfeit GLP-1s throughout the nation and the proliferation of the availability of GLP-1s from telemedicine/telehealth companies, online pharmacies and medspas, this announcement is a sign that the federal government will actively monitor these entities to ensure consumers are getting genuine, authentic GLP-1s, that consumers are making informed decisions about weight-loss drugs, and that consumers are not being deceived and duped in the frenzy over GLP-1s.Continue Reading FTC Uses Its Consumer Protection Powers to Regulate Sellers of GLP-1s
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
Merger consent orders have returned to the FTC, with the agency’s latest decision highlighting how the current leadership is evaluating divestiture proposals. The FTC has approved a proposed consent agreement in Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.’s (ACT) acquisition of retail fuel outlets from Giant Eagle, Inc. that paired standard retail divestitures with a “prior notice” requirement that
On June 16, 2025, the first-ever sentences were handed down in a criminal prosecution for failure to report under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). Judge Dale S. Fischer of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California sentenced two former Gree USA, Inc. (Gree USA) executives to 38 and 40 months in prison, respectively, for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and for failure to report information related to defective dehumidifiers under Section 15 of the CPSA.Continue Reading Corporate Executives Are Sentenced in First-Ever Criminal Prosecution for Failure to Report Under the CPSA
Despite other sweeping changes to the federal government under the Trump administration, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA), passed under former President Biden, remains good law. Below, we report on recent trends in FDA’s implementation and enforcement of MoCRA in the early months of Trump’s presidency.
FDA is continuing to monitor the cosmetic industry’s compliance with MoCRA. On March 13, 2025, FDA released data summarizing the number of active facility registrations and product listings submitted pursuant to MoCRA’s requirements.Continue Reading MoCRA Under the Trump Era: A Look at FDA’s Monitoring and Enforcement Two Months In