3 minute read From this week, microplastics and the risks to human health is on the global consumer product safety agenda. In International Product Safety Week 2026, held in Brussels, Belgium, participants will hear why microplastic exposure from everyday products is a growing concern. The International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organisation (ICPHSO), International Symposium […]
3-minute read It’s the news that nobody wants to hear, let alone businesses that sell consumer products, but micro and nano plastics (MNPs) exposure is a rapidly emerging risk. It is a threat to consumer health like no other and is an issue that will impact many areas of business. While some scientists say the […]
A major new mandatory labelling standard under the Australian Consumer Law comes into effect on 4 May 2025. The Consumer Goods (Toppling Furniture) Information Standard 2024 aims to reduce injuries from toppling household furniture. A mandatory product standard like no other, suppliers have been scrambling to gear up – in some cases with limited opportunity to […]
26 September is international Compliance Officer Day. Yes, it’s a thing. Working away behind the scenes are thousands of people whose job it is to not just check that the letter of regulations are met, but also the spirit. In consumer product safety, compliance officers work hard to ensure all products are safe for users […]
More than 100 products have been recalled in Australia for breaches of the mandatory safety standards on button batteries! Next week marks two years since the standards were mandated. Yet there have still been more than 40 products recalled so far in 2024. Clearly not enough is being done to ensure compliance – by importers, […]
So. Soccer popularity is at an all time high across Australia. Our women’s soccer team, the Matildas, have gone gangbusters in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The semi final ‘crushed all-time television ratings records’. This massive profile will generate large numbers of new young and adult players to the sport. But I still have a […]
4 minute read The forces involved when cars crash are beyond most peoples’ imagination. I remember once seeing a video that showed the impact of a 60kph car crash is comparable to a person falling from a four-storey building. We all know children must be properly strapped into a car restraint that’s right for their […]
It’s international Button Battery Awareness Day on 12 June. The day was set up in the USA by Reese’s Purpose, after 17 month-old Reese Hamsmith died from a button battery lodged in her oesophagus. The day is also marked this year by similarly bereaved Australian button battery safety advocates, Bella’s Footprints. There’s so many aspects […]
3 minute read Do you think of product safety as part of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)? ISO 26000 Standard Guidance on Social responsibility includes consumer product safety as a core part of ESG. ESG performance is increasingly being embedded into strategies and operations of organisations everywhere – including associations. If your association covers the […]
3 minute read I recently took a walk on a warm autumn afternoon, ending up at a local park. Dogs, kids and teenagers were out enjoying the sunshine. But I was dismayed to find, dotted across the park, more than a dozen soccer goals not anchored to the ground. Anchoring soccer goals is a vital […]