CPSC chairman Brown announces yet another `initiative'.

The chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Ann Brown has launched yet another "initiative" to draw attention to her tenure and to strengthen CPSC's clout with industry.

Speaking at a meeting of the Defense Research Institute, a group of product liability attorneys, in New Orleans Oct. 5, Brown announced the "Product Safety Circle" and the "top ten list" of safety principles companies should adopt designed to reduce the number of product defects that lead to recalls.

Brown said 32 companies had already joined the "circle" and pledged to adopt the principles outlined by CPSC as good corporate safety practices. The companies also agreed to name a senior product safety official to oversee implementation of the practices, and agreed to publicize their own safety innovations and share them with others.

Commissioner Mary Gall was the lone vote against the adoption of the new Brown-sponsored initiative. Gall said in a statement that such activity by the agency is inappropriate, since it would create an "elite" group of companies compared to average companies who "merely" comply with federal safety regulations.

"The public has a right to expect a more even-handed approach from a regulator to the members of the community it regulates," Gall said.

Commissioner Gall also faulted the "Product Safety Circle" scheme as apt to bring criticism on companies for failing to adhere to all the practices, even though there is no legal obligation involved.

"My experience in the Commission has been that practices that start out as inspirations end up as requirements," she said. Moreover, Gall noted that the Commission staff has no expertise in the area of corporate management, and should not attempt to dictate good business practices.

"The Commission is at its best when it acts as a `cop on the beat,'" she said.

Nonetheless, Brown is promoting the Product Safety Circle and its "top ten" principles:

1. Build safety into products.

2. Do product safety testing for all foreseeable hazards.

3. Keep informed about and implement latest developments in product safety.

4. Educate consumers about product safety.

5. Track and address your products' safety performance.

6. Fully investigate product safety incidents.

7. Report product safety defects promptly.

8. If a defect occurs, promptly offer a comp-rehensive recall plan.

9. Work with CPSC to make sure your recall is effective.

10. Learn from mistakes--yours and others'.

Brown said that CPSC would continue to monitor the safety performance of the companies in the marketplace, and reserves the right to remove a company from the circle if it is "broadly disregarding the pledge or failing to operate in the spirit of the initiative".

One insider at CPSC remarked that this latest initiative would likely suffer the same fate as some of its predecessors--the Special Investigations Initiative, and the Safe On-Line Shopping Project. In both cases, the observer noted that the goal--to find more defective products that were not being promptly reported to CPSC by manufacturers and retailers--had not been achieved.

But 32 companies signed on as members of the Product Safety Circle by the time Chairman Brown made her speech in New Orleans.

Not surprisingly, the vast majority of the companies who have joined have had big troubles with CPSC. Nearly all have had significant recalls and many paid enormous civil penalties in connection with alleged non-reporting of hazardous products.

For example, Product Safety Circle member Burger King had problems with CPSC during its recall of Pokemon balls in December 1999. Members Fisher-Price, Hasbro and Mattel all were linked to toy recalls. McDonald's had three recalls, and paid a $4 million civil penalty for failure to report playground injuries under a previous agreement with the government. Hasbro paid a $400,000 civil penalty in connection with an infant carrier, and Toys "R" Us paid a $60,000 penalty for a reporting violation.

Most recently, Product Safety Circle member L.L. Bean paid an enormous $750,000 civil penalty for a delay in reporting an alleged defect in its backpack child carriers, which resulted in only one significant injury.

Binney and Smith, which to the Monitor's knowledge has never had a recall, agreed to reformulate its crayons after CPSC tested them for possible asbestos contamination. Even though no hazardous contaminants were found, Binney and Smith reformulated its Crayola Crayons so that not even any so-called "transitional fibers" would be present.

Attorneys familiar with CPSC say the "top ten list" of safety principles are common sense guidelines that most good companies already follow. But it is apparent that the companies who joined Ann Brown's "Product Safety Circle" are doing so to seek favor with the lady who wields powerful regulatory authority over their businesses. By doing so, they give the agency even more leverage in negotiations over regulations or recalls.

Underwriters' Laboratories Launches Public Information Campaign

CPSC Monitor reported in December 1999 that certain high level officials at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) had taken aim at the good name of Underwriters' Laboratories (UL) citing allegations that some of its listed products were not safe.

The allegations appeared in a front-page story in the Washington Post Nov. 24. Commissioner Mary Gall lost no time charging that the negative article was "planted by individuals at the highest levels of the agency (CPSC)."

Gall said the Post article was a deliberate attempt to discredit UL and promote CPSC.

UL officials were stunned by the attack. The integrity of UL's record on product safety is its most valuable asset. If consumer confidence in UL's role in assuring safe products is shaken, the value of the UL mark would be diminished and private sector standards and certification would be threatened.

So UL has determined to protect and enhance its good name by launching "Working for a safer world," a campaign to increase consumer knowledge of the role of the private sector group in product safety.

UL sponsored a 30-second television commercial on four U.S. cable TV networks, starting last July. The TV spots feature UL employees telling the story of how UL tests for safety. "We want to make sure that everyone understands what it means when they see the familiar UL in a circle on products," said UL Vice president of Global Marketing and Sales Stuart Paul.

The "safer world" campaign will include print ads that will appear in business publications.

UL has done market research to determine how consumers regard its role in safety. Seventy-two percent of consumers with young children said they would pay more for products with a safety mark that indicates they meet safety standards and were rigorously tested. Sixty-six percent are familiar with UL, and 69% say they would pay a higher price if a product had a UL mark.

In other areas, UL reports some new developments. UL is establishing an Energy Verification Service (EVS) for manufacturers which will help consumers choose products that can help save energy dollars.

UL's EVS coordinator Lenore Berman explained the new system by saying that "lighting products, heating and cooling equipment, electric motors, ice makers and household appliances are some of the products that are currently being regulated for energy efficiency."

Products evaluated for both safety and energy efficiency will be authorized to use the UL EVS mark. Some products will be verified for energy efficiency only, and will bear a different label with specific wording about its compliance with a particular energy standard.

ANSI Recognizes UL as an `Audited Designator'

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has awarded UL new status as an "Audited Designator" which means UL is authorized to self-designate UL Standards for Safety as ANSI standards. UL joins only four other standards developers as audited designators.

This means that UL will no longer have to submit its standards to ANSI's Board of Standards Review before publishing documents as ANSI standards, reducing the amount of time for approval and publication by up to 60 days.

The Monitor congratulates UL for achieving this status, and for recognizing the need to keep consumers informed about the role of the private sector in safety standards.