After more than five months of eager anticipation, the CPSC community finally knows who will be leading the agency, assuming confirmations go as smoothly as expected. President Biden announced on July 2, 2021 that he will nominate Alexander Hoehn-Saric for Chair and a seat on the Commission. Hoehn-Saric is currently Chief Counsel to the House
Product Safety
CPSC Staff to Hold Webinar on AI in Consumer Products

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and related technologies have the potential to dramatically change the nature of consumer products, and a variety of agencies are considering the implications of these technologies. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff has announced plans to hold a public webinar on Tuesday, March 2, 2021, from 9am to…
Interested in Environmental Marketing?

Interested in environmental marketing? Do you make and sell plastic products? Partner Sheila Millar discusses a bill likely to become law in California that further restricts environmental marketing claims for plastic products sold in California. AB 2287 would expand restrictions on plastic degradability claims by effectively banning marine degradable claims. Read the full article.
CPSC Continues Enforcing PPPA Requirements During COVID-19 Crisis

With millions of children home due to school closures, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently issued checklists with guidance on keeping homes safe during this period. Protecting children from accidental ingestion of potentially harmful products found in the home featured prominently in these documents. CPSC’s current focus on poison prevention continues a recent trend…
FTC and FDA Warn Companies About Coronavirus Treatment Claims


As fears escalate over the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), scared consumers may be more susceptible to claims by companies offering cure-all remedies. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are aware and looking out for consumers. The two agencies sent joint warning letters to seven companies – Vital Silver, Quinessence…
EPA’s Nancy Beck Nominated to Head CPSC

Some months after Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official Nancy Beck was rumored to be the President’s choice to serve as Chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the news is now official. The White House announced Beck’s nomination on March 2, 2020.
Beck’s nomination, if approved by the Senate, would bring the CPSC back…
FTC Gives Energy Labeling Rule a Facelift


The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s Energy Labeling Rule has a new look. Following a public comment period, the FTC issued amendments to the Energy Labeling Rule that reorganize the Rule’s product descriptions and categories to make them clearer and simpler for stakeholders to understand and apply. But the FTC’s changes are cosmetic – the agency…

E-Vapor Industry Coalition Formally Opposes CPSC Novel Interpretation of CNPPA that Immediately Requires Flow-Restricted Packaging for E-Liquids


As previously reported on Keller and Heckman’s “The Continuum of Risk” blog, earlier this year, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that it was now reading the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act (CNPPA) to require nicotine e-liquid bottles to meet the “restricted flow requirement” in 16 C.F.R. § 1700.15(d), in addition to having…

Will NAS Report Prompt CPSC to Reconsider OFR Stance?

In 2015, a group of NGOs filed a petition with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), asking CPSC to ban additive, non-polymeric organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs) in four product categories: infant, toddler, or children’s products; upholstered furniture; mattresses; and plastic electronics’ casings. The petitioners argued that the entire chemical class is toxic and poses…
Sheila Millar and Boaz Green Author Law360 Article “CPSC Is Shifting Toward Voluntary Standards”

Sheila Millar discusses CPSC’s activities in 2018 and gives her predictions on possible agency actions in the coming year in the Law360 article “CPSC Is Shifting Toward Voluntary Standards” (Feb. 6). Law360 featured the article in its newsletter sections for Consumer Protection, Cybersecurity, and Product Safety. To read the full article, click here. For…