Why consumer product safety matters more than ever in a global and digital marketplace

Unsafe products can have devastating consequences for individuals, families and communities, resulting in death, injury, property damage, medical costs and lost earnings. Based on existing estimates from Australia, the European Union and the United States, the OECD approximates that unsafe products could cause close to 30 000 deaths, over 5 million injuries, and close to USD 220 billion in costs across OECD countries every year. That figure includes healthcare costs and losses related to premature death and quality of life but excludes property damage and the lost value of unsafe products that consumers are unable to get refunded. There are also indirect costs to businesses due to product recalls, for example reputational damage and time spent away from productive activities, as well as unfair competition for firms facing higher costs to ensure their products comply with safety requirements. 

The OECD'S GlobalRecalls portal hosts more than 54 700 recall notices from more than 50 jurisdictions and provides one of the most comprehensive pictures of product safety alerts available. Since its launch in 2012, the single most recalled product category in the portal is toys and games - a sobering reminder that the consumers most at risk are often the youngest and most vulnerable. Since 2021, however, beauty and hygiene products have emerged as the top product category, underscoring shifting risk patterns over time. Many recalled products originate from global manufacturing hubs, which points to a fundamental truth: in today's supply chains, safety is a shared responsibility that no single country or company can manage alone. International information sharing and coordinated enforcement are essential.

The rapid shift to online shopping has made market surveillance significantly harder. An OECD sweep of e-commerce websites across 21 countries and partner economies in 2021 found that 87% of banned or recalled products inspected were still available for purchase online, often from suppliers in other jurisdictions and via online marketplaces. Across all products inspected, the sweep revealed a 79% average rate of non-compliance or potential non-compliance with product safety standards and laws, covering bans and recalls, mandatory or voluntary safety standards, and safety labelling. Digital business models, combined with global supply chains, have enabled unsafe products to reach consumers without sufficient accountability throughout the supply chain. 

Online marketplaces have an important role to play in stemming this trade. This includes ensuring banned and recalled products are not available on their sites and implementing measures to facilitate seller compliance with product safety laws. Product safety pledges, through which online marketplaces take action that goes beyond their existing legal obligations, offer one promising avenue. The OECD's policy guidance on consumer safety pledges provides a shared framework for this across countries. Some of these pledges point to the role of AI in scanning for unsafe listings, matching products against the GlobalRecalls portal, and notifying consumers about recalls in a personalised and timely manner. 

One hazard has risen sharply up the product safety agenda: lithium-ion batteries. Found in everything from smartphones and laptops to e-bikes and micro-mobility devices, these batteries carry risks such as overheating and thermal runaway, which can lead to fires or explosions.  Yet, many consumers remain unaware of potential risks. The OECD's awareness campaign "Power your life. Safely," launched at the 2024 Consumer Policy Ministerial meeting, aimed to educate consumers and businesses on the safe use, maintenance and disposal of lithium-ion batteries.  

Simple steps make a real difference: using the correct charger, checking for recall notices before purchasing, and following local disposal guidelines when a product reaches the end of its life. The batteries themselves are a reminder of a broader point: the chemical substances inside everyday consumer products can pose serious risks that are not always visible to the naked eye and remain poorly understood by consumers. 

Products incorporating AI, IoT and immersive technologies offer significant product safety benefits, such as real-time hazard detection, predictive maintenance and automated safety alerts. But these new products can also pose challenges that require regulatory co-operation with a number of areas, including for example consumer policy, online safety, privacy, health, and AI governance. 

Tangible evidence of harms is already emerging. For example, software flaws have caused connected e-scooters to brake abruptly, while connectivity failures have caused smart ovens to turn on unexpectedly. AI chatbots can foster emotional dependence through personalised, human-like dialogue, and their use has been linked to exacerbated mental health problems. Immersive technologies carry documented risks too, from cybersickness affecting 30-75% of users, to a sharp rise in VR-related emergency room visits. 

 In response, some jurisdictions — notably the EU through its General Product Safety Regulation — have begun updating laws to explicitly cover mental health impacts and intangible digital components. Ensuring regulatory frameworks keep pace and different regulators working in relevant areas co-operate is essential to maintaining consumer trust. 

Strong product safety regulatory practices safeguard consumers, give confidence and certainty to businesses, and foster fair competition. As the OECD has noted, ongoing vigilance and proactive measures are vital, and addressing evolving risks while considering their impact on different consumer groups will ensure regulations remain effective and help bolster consumer trust. 

World Consumer Rights Day is a chance to demand that the rights of all consumers are respected and protected, and to raise awareness of developments that may undermine those rights.