The ingredient lists dotting the aisles of Target could soon get a makeover, one aimed not only at making the lists easier to read, but reducing the amount and types of chemicals used. [More]
manufacturers
Amazon Cuts Shipping Time For Overseas Manufacturers
By 9.8.16
When ordering a product from another country, say, China, you might expect to wait a few weeks or even a month for the product to show up on your doorstep. If you order from Amazon, it’ll arrive in five days. Or at least that’s the new deadline the e-commerce giant has recently given the makers and suppliers of small items. [More]
Fiat Chrysler Hates Being Single; CEO Talks Mergers, Even Though No One Seems Interested
By 4.18.16
Four months ago, Fiat Chrysler proclaimed it was quitting the dating scene after being snubbed by General Motors. But ever the hopeless romantic, the carmaker’s CEO is once again pining to be in the arms of another manufacturer. [More]
Fiat Chrysler CEO: Forget About All That GM Merger Talk
By 1.11.16
A month after Fiat Chrysler said it would drop its hostile bid to merge with General Motors, the carmaker’s chief executive says he’s officially shelved talks of consolidating with any other manufacturer for the rest of his tenure at the company. [More]
Lawmaker Questions Airlines, Plane Manufacturers On Cybersecurity Measures
By 12.2.15
Eight months after a government report found that airplanes with WiFi connections may be vulnerable to cyber attacks and seven months after a hacker claimed to have commandeered a United Airlines flight via the plane’s in-flight entertainment system, one lawmaker wants to know just what airlines are doing to protect their computer systems — and passengers. [More]
Honda, Takata Sat On Commissioned Study Showing Chemical Could Cause Airbag Ruptures
By 10.21.15
While Takata’s shrapnel-shooting airbags have affected millions of vehicles from 11 automakers, Honda is perhaps the one car manufacturer that has felt the brunt of the deadly defect: not only has the company recalled millions of cars, its models have also been responsible for all eight deaths linked to the defect. And now, a new report suggests Honda and Takata kept quiet on a study that questioned the propellent used in the airbags for years. [More]
Takata Recall Likely To Expand Beyond 11 Automakers Currently Affected
By 10.20.15
Just two days before regulators are set to hold yet another public meeting regarding options to speed up replacement of defective shrapnel-shooting, Takata-produced airbags linked to eight deaths and hundreds of injuries, the head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed it would likely expand the recall beyond the 11 automakers already involved. [More]
Thirteen Manufacturers Recall 1.3 Million Bikes Over Quick-Release Lever Crash Hazard
By 9.30.15
Thirteen companies are recalling nearly 1.3 million bicycles equipped with front disc brakes and quick-release levers that can cause the front tire to lock up or completely separate from the bike, posing an increased risk of injury to riders. [More]
Why Don’t Device Manufacturers Just Start Leasing Phones To Consumers?
By 9.2.15
When phone carriers like Sprint and T-Mobile are happy to rent phones to customers, and Apple is the one phone manufacturer with its own network of stores to sell phones directly to consumers, what’s there to stop Apple from just leasing phones to customers directly? Even carriers would like this idea better, since they could sell iPhone leases instead of needing to buy them from Apple first. Everyone wins… but would consumers like this idea? [More]
Toy Manufacturers Try To Block Online Injury Report Database
By 2.22.11
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is set to launch a database in the next few weeks that tracks reports of injuries resulting from strollers and cribs. A group of children’s product manufacturers are trying to coax lawmakers to stifle the database and roll back other health regulations. [More]
Are Cellphone Exclusivity Deals Bad For Consumers?
By 6.16.09
Yesterday, four U.S. Senators sent a letter to FCC acting chairman Michael Copps requesting an investigation into whether exclusivity deals between handset makers and national carriers are ultimately good for consumers, and they plan to hold a hearing on the issue on Wednesday, June 16th. They join a growing number of people and organizations, including the Rural Cellular Association (RCA), who say exclusivity deals benefit no one but the carriers and manufacturers.
Chicago Considering A Partial Ban On Bisphenol-A Products
By 2.12.09
Chicago might become the first place in the United States to partially ban the sale of products that contain Bisphenol-A (BPA), the chemical that some studies have shown may have harmful effects on humans. They’re proposing to forbid the sale of any BPA product intended for children. Canada banned the chemical last year, but the FDA has so far come down on the side of manufacturers.
By 6.20.08
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It’s been a few weeks without a BPA story, so here goes: Four parents in Ohio have sued Evenflo, Avent America, Handicraft, Playtex Products, and Novartis for using bisphenol A in their baby products. They’re seeking class action status. [Washington Post]
Asbestos Found In Several Products
By 11.28.07
Lead-tainted toys are old news! This Christmas, the new new thing is asbestos-tainted toys and other products.
