REPORT. Training Symposium. Greetings! 2016 Annual Meeting & February 29 March 3, 2016 Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel.

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1 DECEMBER 2015 REPORT Greetings! 2016 Annual Meeting & Training Symposium The Challenge of Change: Collaborating Today for a Safer Tomorrow February 29 March 3, 2016 Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel in THIS ISSUE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR S COLUMN ANNUAL MEETING & SYMPOSIUM INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM 4 CPSC INTERVIEW 5 Al Kaufman President We have had quite an eventful year at ICPHSO in addition to a very successful annual symposium last February in Orlando and terrific conferences in Wayne, New Jersey and Billund, Denmark, Marc Schoem has joined us as our first full-time Executive Director, and we are in the midst of transitioning to a new association management company. As the days grow shorter and cooler, our thoughts now turn to the 2016 Annual Symposium, to be held in Washington, DC February 29 March 3. Please mark your calendars, and we anticipate registration to open within the next few weeks, so watch your inbox for a notice that this has happened. This year s program will be better than ever, covering topics as diverse as green chemistry and the Internet of Things, in addition to the ever-popular CPSC day and a repeat of the international track and tutorials that were so well-received in Nancy Cowles, our President-Elect and symposium chair, has been hard at work with the symposium planning committee to finalize the slate of excellent offerings. As you are aware, ICPHSO is a unique organization comprised of regulators, consumer representatives, manufacturers, retailers, and others, all working together to advance the state of consumer product safety. ICPHSO does not advocate on specific issues, and exists solely to educate and inform stakeholders by providing a neutral forum where these disparate interests can come together to learn from each other, exchange ideas, and find common ground in the quest to make consumer products as safe as possible. If you are a member, we thank you. If you are not, please join us-we need your support as well as your ideas and energy. Please also support our mission by joining us in Washington, and encouraging your colleagues to do the same. Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season, and I look forward to seeing you in Washington! Alan P. Kaufman President, International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization Continued on page 4 ICPHSOREPORT DECEMBER2015 1

2 REPORT Executive Director s Column Sunset Hills Road Suite 130 Reston, Virginia P F Executive Director mschoem@icphso.org P ICPHSO REPORT Copyright 2015 ICPHSO Editor: Kenneth Ross Send article submissions or suggestions to: kross@icphso.org ICPHSO & SOCIAL on Twitter Visit ICPHSO on LinkedIn ICPHSO is dedicated to providing forums for the exchange of ideas and information It s been a little over a month since I assumed the position of Executive Director of your organization and I am happy to report that my transition is progressing at a very rapid Executive Director rate. We are working on a number of items that will serve to strengthen ICPHSO in the coming months. This includes finalizing plans for the upcoming Annual Symposium in Washington, DC, February 29 March 3, 2016, an enhanced and improved website and further clarification of membership benefits. I continue to be impressed by the enthusiasm shown by the many volunteers working to enhance the safety dialogue among all stakeholders in the safety community and look forward to working with you even more closely in the future. Watch for s in the next couple of weeks for information on 2016 Symposium registration, enhanced sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, and how to strengthen our scholarship program so that we can ensure all voices are represented during our training meetings. The planning Committee under the leadership of incoming President and Planning Chair Nancy Cowles developed a 2016 Symposium that should appeal to all segments of the safety community with a full opening day that includes Congressional staff discussion, CPSC lab tours and tutorials which should provide the needed background and foundation for the rest of the Symposium. Please don t hesitate to contact me at mschoem@icphso.org with any ideas or suggestions you have about ICPHSO activities. on health and consumer product safety and regulations. I look forward to seeing you all in Washington, DC, February 29-March 3, The quarterly ICPHSO REPORT is a compilation of contributions from stakeholders in the global consumer product safety community. We encourage and welcome a healthy discourse on product safety issues. Executive Director, International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization ICPHSO maintains a non-partisan and inclusive approach, and opinions expressed in articles are those of the authors, and are not intended to reflect the opinions of ICPHSO, its Board or its membership. ICPHSO reserves the right to edit submissions to ensure appropriate length and content. ICPHSOREPORT DECEMBER2015 2

3 Planning for the 2016 ICPHSO Annual Meeting & Symposium is in full gear. The Symposium theme The Challenge of Change: Collaborating today for a Safer Tomorrow gives a hint of the wide range of topics. A full schedule, registration, exhibitor and sponsorship information is available at You will not want to miss it! 2016 Annual Meeting & Training Symposium Nancy Cowles Symposium Chair 2016 Annual Symposium The symposium will be in Washington, DC in at the Renaissance Downtown Hotel, in the heart of the District from February 29 March 3, We are taking advantage of our DC location with tours of the CPSC Lab, local dining and a Congress & Product Safety Panel on Monday morning. Here is a Sneak Peek: (find full details on the website) Monday Starting with a panel with Congressional staffers and other product safety experts, we will move into tutorials in the afternoon on this pre-symposium day. Tours of CPSC s lab will also be available on a first come/first served basis. Tutorials will cover a wide range of subjects, on many levels offering real learning opportunities for all attendees. We think everyone can find one to dive deep into a topic such as Selling in China, Understanding RAPEX, Product Safety Newsroom Report, Consumer Product Chemical Screening and Your Recall is Posted, Now What? Tuesday The symposium officially kicks off with an interactive plenary on the Anatomy of a Product Safety Crisis. The day includes many more sessions and a Keynote address at lunch we will fill in the blanks as soon as we have confirmation. Look at the agenda (LINK) for many more details. As is our tradition, Wednesday starts with CPSC sessions. If you want to know what to do when a field investigator shows up, What is the CPSC Robot?, or how to get consumers to respond to your recall, this is your opportunity to hear and interact directly with CPSC staff. CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye will cap off it with a keynote address. In the afternoon, we have both an International Track, anchored by a Global Regulators Panel; and ABA Legal Track answering your questions about product safety, CPSC and the law. Thursday is the final day offering additional panel discussions as well as a keynote address. We also hope to hear about innovative design solutions as a response to last year s call from the CPSC Chairman to tackle emerging and long-standing hazards through his Chairman s Challenge. If you have an example, Marc Schoem at mschoem@icphso.org. In addition, we will have many amazing sponsors and exhibitors to provide valuable services and information. The Challenge of Change: Collaborating Today for a Safer Tomorrow February 29 March 3, 2016 Renaissance Washington, DC Downtown Hotel Questions or ideas? Contact me at nancy@kidsindanger.org. See You in DC! Nancy Cowles Symposium Chair ICPHSOREPORT DECEMBER2015 3

4 From page 1 Successful 2015 International Symposium ICPHSO Built Toward Greater Alignment in Product Safety and Focused on New Technologies at the ICPHSO 2015 International Symposium In Billlund, Denmark On October the ICPHSO 2015 International Symposium was successfully held in Billund, Denmark at the headquarters of the LEGO Group. As a truly international event it drew around 180 attendees from government regulators, standard developers, manufacturers, retailers, industry associations, test labs, consumer organizations, academia and professional advisors from around the world. The overall theme of the Symposium was Building Toward Greater Alignment in Product Safety and keynote speakers Patricia Adkins, Executive Director, US Consumer Product Safety Commission; and Despina Spanou, Director for Consumers, DG Justice and Consumers, European Commission, set the scene during their opening addresses. Their key priorities as international regulators in the product safety arena were identified as follows: pencouraging innovation while ensuring the highest levels of product safety pcollaborating at an international level on product safety issues, and pmonitoring the online marketplace to consistently achieve the highest levels of product safety. These themes were recurrent throughout the symposium which focused on the emergence of new technologies including wearable technology, 3D printing and LED lighting and nanotechnology as well as topics in relation to alignment of product safety enforcement, child safety best practices, product traceability and risk assessment. The unique challenges faced by companies and regulators when innovative products are placed on the market were explored, including: pthat new technologies present new hazards and risks p the lack of regulation applicable to new technology phow regulators and standard developers approach the development of legislation/standards when new technologies emerge. Meanwhile, Jeff Weiss, Senior Advisor for Standards and Global Regulatory Policy Office of the Secretary, US Department of Commerce, spoke about the nexus between trade and product safety in the digital economy and touched on new developments in the US regarding product compliance. With the emergence of new technologies, the importance of effectively capturing injury data is greater than ever. In her keynote address, Christel Schaldemose, a Danish Member of the European Parliament, spoke of the Parliament s commitment to have included in the new EU legislation on product safety, an obligation to create and maintain a pan- European Injuries database. The new world, and the new digital economy, require all stakeholders to rethink the normal, usual or accepted way of doing things. The regulatory landscape needs to adapt, and this was summed up by Despina Spanou, when she said there is a need to future-proof legislation. We hope to see an approach to regulation and product safety in the coming years which facilitates both innovation and consumer confidence. We expect that the discussion on these themes will continue, at the ICPHSO 2016 Annual Meeting & Training Symposium to be held in Washington, DC, 29 February to 3 March 2016 For further details on this event visit: ICPHSOREPORT DECEMBER2015 4

5 When and why did you join the CPSC? I joined the CPSC in February of 1992 after many years working for the Department of Defense and graduating from the University of Maryland. I learned about the CPSC as a child when my mother worked for the CPSC in the Economics office. She use to talk about all the recalls the agency would do and the most distinct memory I have was the asbestos in hairdryer issues. As a teenage girl I found this most troubling. How would I style my Farah hair without a hairdryer! In all seriousness it was her interest in working at the CPSC, which led me to apply to the agency when I felt I could make a difference in protecting consumers. What jobs have you had at the CPSC? I started in the Office of Epidemiology as a Program Analyst and after several years moved to the Office of Compliance as a Compliance Officer focusing on hazards with products that were unreported to the Commission. I was promoted from there to the Director of State and Local Programs in Field Operations working with our State Designees and was then promoted to the Director of Field Operations. After several years of running that organization I was asked to start up the Import Surveillance Program in That program went from a Division to a thriving Office that works with US Customs on a daily basis at ports around the country. While serving in this role I was asked if I would consider taking on the role of Deputy Director of Compliance and Field Operations. I am thrilled to be working again with the staff in the Office of Compliance and Field Operations. It is a rewarding place to be. Carol Cave Deputy Director, Office of Compliance & Field Operations US Consumer Product Safety Commission Interview Which of these experiences and roles have had the most impact on your perspective as a regulator and product safety advocate? Each role has contributed to my perspectives as a regulator and product safety advocate. As a Program Analyst I gained valuable knowledge is assessing and evaluating risk of injury to consumers. As a Compliance Officer taking that same risk knowledge and developing cases for product hazards or classes of product hazards to improve future product development to prevent further injury or death to consumers was immensely satisfying. As the Director of the Office of Import Surveillance I had the pleasure to work with other federal partners, importers, trade associations, and testing laboratories and realized the importance of hearing differing points of view for solving challenging problems. It is the combination of these roles that allows me to consider various perspectives as we approach product safety. In your new role as Deputy Director, what objectives or agenda have you set for the next year and beyond? As many know from my work with US Customs, I am big on risk based decision making and will look for ways to increase the speed and effectiveness of our work involving products presenting high risks to consumers. I also intend to work closely with industry to improve the effectiveness of their consumer product recalls. I hope to align priorities for the office and work with CPSC staff to execute operational efficiencies and enforcement policies. How do you see ICPHSO s role in product safety and do you have thoughts on how we might work with the CPSC to help it achieve its objectives? I have has the pleasure of working with ICPHSO since early 2001 and have always felt the organization made positive contributions towards product safety, especially in the areas of education and training. Similar to how CPSC works with the trade community on the Import side of CPSC, I feel ICPHSO can work to provide education and training to a vastly untouched importing community that is unfamiliar with CPSC laws and regulations. We are an extremely small agency, with a huge mission and leveraging partnerships is critical to our success of making products safer for consumers. ICPHSOREPORT DECEMBER2015 5