It’s a new day at CPSC. With a new chairman, Inez Tenenbaum, appointed in June 2009 and the greater resources and authority through the CPSIA passed in 2008, CPSC is “now turning to a fresh page and scripting our own future” in the words of Chairman Tenenbaum today in a speech at the International Consumer Product Health & Safety (ICPHSO) meeting. Tenenbaum spoke forcefully about the agency’s dedication to improving product safety, implementing the CPSIA and protecting American consumers, especially children. Here are a few excerpts and you can read the full speech here.

“I say the state of product safety in the United States in strong and getting stronger.”

“When you look at where we have been and where we are headed, you can see why we are agency on the rise. You can see it in the determination of CPSC staff

  • working in the marketplace to catch unscrupulous makers and sellers of children’s clothing with drawstrings,

 

  • working late into the night to complete new rules on tracking labels and product registration cards, and

 

  • working on weekends to stop online auctions of recalled products.”

“I have seen CPSC’s crib safety experts step up and say now is our time. Now is the time to create a state-of-the-art crib standard and not let special interests hijack the process. And thanks to the work of CPSC staff – with a little encouragement from me to ASTM – we are now on the right path to creating a safer sleep environment for our most vulnerable consumers.”

“I will continue to have an open door in the year ahead. But I am looking to work with people who come to the table with solutions and creative approaches to safety, not those who delay progress or fail to respond quickly to problems.”

“We at CPSC are not a tired agency, but tireless in our pursuit of safety. We at CPSC are not subsumed by unintended consequences, but consumed with matters of consequence.”“To honor the families who have lost their children like the Lineweavers, Davis’, Keysars, and hundreds of other families, we must make every child’s sleep environment a fortress of safety.

While we are on the subject of cribs, I have a message for manufacturers, a message that actually applies to makers of any consumer product. I say no more to the tired tactic of blaming parents in the press when CPSC announces a recall that involves a death.

Take responsibility and show respect to the grieving family, yes, even if they are pursuing litigation. Those who tread into this arena when CPSC has found your product to be defective will be called out.”

Kids In Danger applauds this new CPSC and looks forward to working together for safer products for children.