Unsafe and Unhealthy Products in US Markets: What You Need to Know - Essay Sample

Introduction

It does not occur to most Americans that the products they buy every day might be unsafe or unhealthy. The perception that the products in the market are safe and healthy has primarily been informed by robust consumer protections which were fought for by various advocates and made into law by the Congress. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with implementing the law. However, despite the laws and regulations unsafe and unhealthy products occasionally find their way into the market. Such products can adversely affect the final consumers. For instance, before the enactment of the law, high levels of lead were found in children's product exposing them to various health hazards (Weintraub, 2018). The consumers, consumer watch groups, as well as other advocacy groups have a huge role to play in ensuring the safety of the products in the markets. This paper seeks to explore how these groups can influence corporations to produce safer and healthier products.

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Consumers

Information is the most important tool that consumers can use to influence corporations to produce products that are safer and healthier. When consumers have the necessary information regarding the safety of the products, they can voice their opinions when they feel that specific standards have not been met. Moreover, when the corporations ignore their concerns, consumers can choose to boycott the products by a particular corporation. These means can effectively help influence the corporations to produce healthier and safer foods (Karabasil, et al., 2091).

Consumer Watch Groups and Other Advocacy Groups

Consumer Watch Groups possess the most power in determining the safety of products. Other than influencing corporations to produce safer and healthier products, they can also lobby and push for enactment of laws that promote the safety of products. Consumer advocacy broadly refers to any action taken by either an individual or a group of people aimed at promoting and protecting the interests of the consumers. These groups use various means to ensure that the products that get to the consumers are healthy and safe. Exposing unsafe products is probably the oldest means used by the groups. Other tactics used include boycotts and letter-writing campaigns. When these means fail, the advocacy groups can use lawsuits to make the corporations comply with the existing laws.

Advocacy groups are more effective than consumers since they can counteract the more significant political and financial capability of the targeted corporations. Efforts by advocacy groups can significantly dent the standing of any organization making this group the most potent. Moreover, advocacy groups can effectively push for the enactment of laws and regulations that require the corporations to comply with specific standards on the safety of their products. For instance, periods of aggressive consumer advocacy in the last century led to the enactment of various federal legislations and establishment of agencies that have helped keep the corporations in check through the years (Inc., 2018).

Conclusion

This paper has shown that the country has come a long way in ensuring that the health and safety of the products that consumers end up with are maintained. However, regardless of the rules and the agencies, some corporations still produce unsafe products. Consumers and consumer watchdogs are some of the groups that can effectively influence corporations to make their products healthier and safer. Consumers can achieve this through boycotts. On the other hand, advocacy groups can file lawsuits and push for the enactment of laws to control the corporations. Therefore, consumer advocacy groups are a more potent option as compared to individual consumers.

References

Inc. (2018). Consumer Advocacy. Retrieved from www.inc.com: https://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/consumer-advocacy.html

Karabasil, N., Boskovic, T., Dimitrijevic, M., Vasilev, D., Dordevic, V., Lakicevic, B., & Teodorovic, V. (20917). Food safety - the roles and responsibilities of different sectors. In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (Vol. 85, p. 012023). IOP Publishing.

Weintraub, R. (2018, August 27). The Groundbreaking Impact of the Consumer product Safety Improvement Act. Retrieved from consumerfed.org: https://consumerfed.org/the-groundbreaking-impact-of-the-consumer-product-safety-improvement-act/