Smart Companies Must Do More Than Meet CPSC Regulations
In the past two months, we’ve seen and heard more of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) than we had for our entire lives. Most recently, the agency has come under fire for what some see as a deadly delay in issuing a recall for a baby crib.
This September, Congress conducted a series of hearings examining the disappointing role of the CPSC in the recent recall of toys imported from China. By now we’ve all seen in stark living color that the CPSC appears simply unable to live up to the enormous job assigned to it by Congress.
All of this puts more pressure than ever on consumer product companies. Today, they must be smarter about protecting not only consumers, but also their products and their brands. No longer is saying ‘our products meet CPSC standards‘ a sufficient assurance of safety or quality. That’s because consumers now question whether the CPSC can adequately protect them.
American consumers demand accountability and responsibility–and when they can’t get it from the CPSC, they will look directly to the product manufacturers. Consumer product companies must step up to the proverbial plate and voluntarily fill in the gap between what the public demands and what the CPSC has the resources to regulate. Adhering to the ‘letter of the law’ won’t cut it anymore. In order to earn and maintain consumer confidence, you must take your corporate responsibility (and especially your communication about it on the Internet and in the news media) to the next level.
Smart companies will appoint Chief Safety Officers and hold them responsible for overseeing the safety and quality of products. They will also enumerate the steps the company has taken to ensure the safety of their products. Most of all, they will demonstrate that they are listening to customer complaints with swift action –not with mere words of concern or with coupons. Stricter self-regulation and accountability will be essential for consumer product companies in the 21st Century.
