Recently, the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) and ASTM International held a workshop to discuss the recently updated age determination guidelines from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The age determination guidelines are a resource provided by the Commission to help manufacturers and consumers understand the age ratings on children's products and toys and to ensure that products are properly labeled. The Commission then devises a categorical list of recommended age ratings. The recommended ratings are used by manufacturers and help determine the type and severity of tests products undergo to detect hazards prior to market release.
The workshop featured remarks from CPSC Acting Chairwoman Buerkle as well as other leadership from the Commission and key industry stakeholders. In her opening remarks, Acting Chairwoman Buerkle stressed the importance of receiving comments on the draft guidelines from the public and particularly from those engaged in the marketing and/or manufacture of children's products and toys. These statements underscore the Chairwoman's commitment to increasing CPSC's engagement with the broad stakeholder community.
The draft guidelines released last month update the previous guidelines released in 2002. Since 2002, toy technology has evolved, introducing new types of toys into the market. Additionally, the drafters of the guidelines identify that consumers' purchasing behavior and children's access to toys have likely changed as well. The guidelines consist of four levels: play categories, toy subcategories, age groups, and toy characteristics. The play category level serves as the primary structure of the Guidelines and is organized into seven main groups. One play category in particular, "technology play," accounts for the most significant technological development in toys: audiovisual and digital screen devices.
As part of the research process for updating the Guidelines, CPSC and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD) conducted parent surveys to gather information about where parents obtain toys for their children and what they consider before giving toys to their children. These surveys indicated that parents rely on internet reviews as the primary source of information. Additionally, 62 percent of respondents indicated that they view toy labels as only "somewhat accurate." These results suggest parents look to sources outside of manufacturer advertising. And importantly, these results indicate that the primary source of toy information is outside of CPSC influence.
Perhaps the most notable takeaway about the workshop was what issues were absent: namely, the issues of new technology, enforcement, and possible international issues.
While the expansion of the "technology play" category was addressed in passing, there was no substantive discussion of classifying emerging technology products such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence devices, advanced technology screen devices, or connected technological devices and toys. This is interesting given the how ubiquitous this technology is. In February, at the NY Toy Show, these "new and improved" toys were everywhere. And next month, the CPSC's is hosting an entire hearing on Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices. Clearly, CPSC's approach to the risk, and by extension age-appropriateness, of connected devices is still a work in progress.
Additionally, the workshop was silent on the issue of enforcement. Stakeholders were not given any indication of how these revised guidelines will be enforced.
The revised guidelines also present an interesting issue in relation to international cooperation. In February of this year, CPSC, the Department of Health of Canada, and the Consumer Protection Federal Agency of the United Mexican States signed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) committing to increase cross-border cooperation. The MOU intended to memorialize cooperative efforts already under way as well as to facilitate future joint activities, all with the goal of benefiting the flow of consumer products throughout North America.
Next month, CPSC, Health Canada, and the Consumer Protection Federal Agency of Mexico, will hold the 4th North America Consumer Product Safety Summit on May 4, 2018 at the CSPC's headquarters in Bethesda. The goal of the Summit is to continue momentum in the trilateral cooperation among the three product safety regulators. Stakeholders should watch closely to see if issues around these proposed revised age guidelines are discussed because harmonization of standards and coordinated approaches to safety are key components of these types of discussions.
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