Product Safety Executives Discuss Leading Retail Issues

INDUSTRY EXPERT PRESENTATIONS

• Independent agencies, like CPSC, are not statutorily required to comply with Executive Orders, however, CPSC has historically complied with key rulemaking Executive Orders (e.g., EO 12866, EO 13272, and EO 13563). 
• For Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, the CPSC’s Office of Compliance and Field Operations has established several milestone goals including: 1) Establishing screening criteria and conduct industry surveillance for new authorities (i.e., infant support cushions, nursing pillows, and button cell or coin cell batteries in toys); 2) Enforcing safety standards for clothing storage units, adult portable bedrails, ATVs, and hazardous substance packaging that is not child resistant. 

• With individual cities and states (e.g., Chicago, New York State) implementing requirements for micro-mobility products, Congress has introduced and the CPSC has confirmed plans for formal federal regulations. 
• Risk management rules regulating chlorinated solvents (e.g., Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Perchloroethylene (PERC, PCE)) in consumer products under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) have recently been finalized, with effective dates that go into effect as early as June 2025.
• The one-time retroactive EPA PFAS Recordkeeping and Reporting Rule requirement under TSCA Section 8(a)(7) which applies to chemical substances, mixtures and articles, opens this summer on July 11, 2025, for 6 months, closing January 11, 2026. 

PEER TO PEER BENCHMARKING

• Chemicals Management 
• CPSC eFiling 
• CPSC Regulatory & Enforcement Activities  
• Other Regulatory & Enforcement Activities (Non-CPSC)
• State Regulations 
• Recalls & Recall Risk Assessment/Mitigation 
• Managing Incident/Complaint Reporting 

ICPHSO CONFERENCE SESSION SPOTLIGHTS

• ICPHSO Board of Directors: Kim Mason, Five Below (President), David Kosnoff, Walmart (recently retired) (President Elect), Danni Cugini, Harbor Freight Tools (Vice President). 
• ICPHSO Board Members: Rebeca Sharpe, Best Buy; Erin Bradley, Costco; Vladimir Brajkovic, IKEA; Mark Fellin, Melissa & Doug.
• Market Surveillance and Product Recalls: Linking Policy to Action in Case of Online Sales – RILA CPC Strategic Partner, Silvia Lai, UL Solutions spoke on a panel discussing the challenges market surveillance authorities have faced, and how these challenges will be mitigated by the GPSR; how providers of online marketplace will contribute to solve past challenges; and how consumers will benefit from a clearer set of rules on online sales. 
• Across the Recall Ecosystem: Leading Practices, Challenges & Lessons Learned – Erin Bradley, Costco and RILA VP, Regulatory Affairs, Susan Kirsch, participated in a discussion reflecting on recall challenges, including the decision-making process around issuing a recall, determining remedies, recall execution and ultimately announcing and ensuring consumer participating in a recall, and more. 
• The Growing Impact of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Regulations on Products and Packaging – Andy Dabydeen, Canadian Tire participated in a session that focused on the importance of EPR regulations & programs; provided visibility into future regulations; and shared ideas on how to address the EPR requirements.
• Open Meeting: ICPHSO Strategic Committee Reports - Levi Smith, Bass Pro; Kim Mason, Five Below; and Danni Cugini, Harbor Freight Tools, shared their experiences participating in ICPHSO’s Strategic Committees and the vital role they play within the organization. 
• Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Reporting and Recalling at the CPSC - RILA CPC strategic partner Cheri Falvey and her colleagues from Crowell & Moring hosted a session diving into tips and best practices for avoiding common pitfalls in reporting and recalling at the CPSC. 
• ESG and Product Safety – Vladimir Brajkovic, IKEA, participated in a panel focused on the overlap between ESG and safety requirements and the challenges and opportunities it presents for 2025. 
• Gamechangers – Evan Friedler, Wayfair, participated in a discussion looking at some of the most recent landmark legislation which has or will have big impacts to the consumer technology product safety landscape.
• "Warning! This product will..." Recommendations from Experts for Dealing with Proposition 65 – RILA’s Susan Kirsch, moderated a panel that reviewed the chemicals that are commonly named in Prop 65 suits across different product categories and provided updates on recent Prop 65 developments.
• Keynote - Ronald Masciantonio, Executive Vice President, and General Counsel, Five Below, delivered a lively and engaging keynote address focused on the disconnect of viewing product safety compliance as a cost center. Masciantonio instead urged the audience to turn that notion on its head and reframe product safety compliance to be a driver of consumer sentiment, culture, and brand loyalty. 
• Love 'Em or Hate 'Em, PFAS are Forever: The Good, The Bad, The Forever – RILA CPC Strategic Partner Warren Lehrenbaum, Crowell & Moring and RILA’s Susan Kirsch participated in a panel discussion that dove into unique retail considerations, practical tips for adapting product safety compliance programs to meet evolving PFAS regulatory requirements, as well as how the CPSC may be able to use the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) Section 8(a)(7) reporting obligations for PFAS, to begin regulating PFAS in products. 
• Aligning Compliance and Sustainability Goals Through Smart Chemical Testing Strategies - Deepak Jadhav, New Balance, participated in a session exploring how businesses can effectively align their compliance and sustainability goals by leveraging smart chemical testing strategies. 
• One Product - Many Variations – Evan Friedler, Wayfair, participated in a session that delved into how to effectively navigate the multiple layers of data that shape a product’s journey to market, and provided practical tips for managing the complexities of compliance in today’s demanding regulatory environment. 
• Americexit: Understanding the Increasing Divisions in the United States as Individual U.S. States Add Their Own Product Safety Requirements – Anders Persson, IKEA, participated in a discussion comparing the European Union’s General Product Safety Regulation (GSPR) with the ever-changing series of United States’ federal and state requirements, and how companies can keep up with the changes as they seek to market and sell in the vast American market. 
• Women Leaders in Product Safety – RILA Strategic Partner, Cheri Falvey, Crowell & Moring, participated in a panel alongside other women who have helped shape the safety landscape to explore the attributes it takes to be a consumer product safety leader. 
• Reese's Purpose: When a Product Safety Concern Becomes a Product Safety Requirements – Danni Cugini, Harbor Freight Tools, moderated a panel discussion on the journey a product safety concern travels through, as it is implemented into law and followed by industry. 
• Stronger Together - Harnessing the Power of Advocacy and Manufacturing for Product Safety – Kevin Rejent, Energizer and Tim Hamilton, Lowe’s, participated in a panel discussion on how advocates and manufacturers can collaborate to enhance safety and develop innovative products. 
• Exploring How Product Safety Impacts Public Health Internationally - Vladimir Brajkovic, IKEA participated in a panel discussion highlighting differences in approaches to key issues such as recalls, regulations and consumer behavior, as well as ways to measure impact and encourage more collaboration between stakeholders and jurisdictions.
• Mentor Program Report Out - Sarah Bakken, Target, shared on what the ICPHSO mentorship program students had been up to all week! 

Tags

• Consumer Product Compliance
• Legal Affairs & Compliance
• Product Safety