Recently, eBay Senior Director of Regulatory Policy Mike Carson attended the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization (ICPHSO) annual meeting to join a panel discussion. Titled “Keeping Consumers Safe in a Sustainable World: Scoping of Key Issues”, this panel of regulators, academics and industry representatives discussed the intersection of product safety and sustainability in the circular economy. This unique collaboration focused on one of the most important policy issues facing the international product safety community today: ensuring consumer product safety by design in the green and digital transition. As a growing number of domestic, regional and international initiatives are being developed to foster sustainable consumption, product safety should be carefully balanced with the objective of making products more durable, recyclable, and repairable.

As a part of the panel discussion, Mike highlighted eBay’s ongoing proactive efforts to prevent listings/sales of harmful products on the eBay site, using education, filters and the deployment of AI technology. Mike also highlighted the eBay Refurbished Program as an example of a way to promote sustainable reuse of products in a safe and compliant manner through vetted sellers that restore and test products to 100% functionality.

The panel was well attended and successful in highlighting some of the risks and challenges that lie ahead while discussing policy options that deliver the right benefits for all stakeholders committed to safe, sustainable, and thriving markets for consumer products. eBay would like to thank the ICPHSO for holding this event and allowing us to participate in this important panel.