You’ve probably heard about the proposed overhaul at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The issue has surfaced after several months of news reports over the safety of products from China ranging from pet food and toys to pharmaceuticals and baby cribs.

In a sense, the proposed changes are reactionary. With all the problems with products coming to light, Congress wants to increase funding and staffing levels. With so many more imported goods coming into this country in recent years, perhaps these changes should have been made long before now.

But the fact that officials are talking about taking action is a good thing. The debate in Congress and the White House shows that officials in Washington take the matter seriously enough to hopefully make some positive changes.

Interestingly, the concern about safety issues with imports has sparked some interest in U.S.-made products. But more often than not, consumers appear to be as willing as ever to take their chances with imported goods. According to a recent story in the New York Times, China reported that it exported $878 billion in goods in the first nine months of 2007, up 27% from the same period last year.

One could argue that this is because people simply don’t pay attention to where goods are made. They simply want the best deal possible and pick what’s on the shelf without the first thought about country of origin. But anyone who has read, seen, or heard about the demise of manufacturing in the U.S. already knows that most goods are made overseas. 

Because of this, they will likely start asking questions, particularly if they have children who are more susceptible to things like lead paint in toys and yes, furniture.

Some industry folks Furniture/Today has spoken with on the subject take the approach most of us take about auto or plane wrecks we see or read about — those things happen to other people. In the furniture industry, we hear things like “we use the best finishing companies with the highest standards” and “our suppliers tell us the products are safe.” Case close, no more questions asked.

But a recent headline at furnituretoday.com should have more people in the industry, wholesalers and retailers alike, asking more questions and demanding to know if the products are, in fact, safe. It read, “Children’s furniture recalled for lead in paint.”

This should set off some obvious alarms. If a product can be recalled for design or construction flaws, what’s to say it can’t be recalled for the finish or even some element in the substrate? It’s an issue that wholesalers and retailers should be asking their suppliers about on a daily basis. Anything less is shortsighted and bound to result in further recalls that can damage the image and profits of any company selling the goods.

This is not to say that companies are not taking safety steps, such as product testing. One youth furniture manufacturer, John Boyd Designs, was giving out lead testing kits at the ABC Expo in Las Vegas in September.

There are bound to be more proactive steps like this that the industry is taking to deal with product safety. If so, we’d love to hear about them. What can you tell us your company is doing to halt this problem in its tracks?