Recalling Dangerous Products

In 2010, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) officially recalled more than 60 different toys and children's products deemed to be unsafe.

U.K. law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain, which has tracked product recall figures since 2005, said that number of products recalled in the UK because of faults or health risks hit a record high in 2010 at 229.

Similarly, RAPEX, the EU rapid alert system for non-food consumer products, said that the number of dangerous consumer products flagged in their system rose by 7% in 2009 compared to 2008, with toys (472 notifications), clothing and textiles (395 notifications) and motor vehicles (146 notifications) accounting for 60% of all notifications.

Worse, it is too often the most innocent of all consumers who are victims: more than 250,000 American children went to the Emergency Room with toy-related injuries in 2009. What percentage of those accidents might be due to dangerous products?

RFID can play a role here, because it can make the process of recalling items faster and more efficient, all while fostering greater product responsibility in the first place.