The International Housewares Association has become a member of the Buy Safe America Coalition to support transparency and accountability on e-commerce platforms.
IHA joins a group of retailers, consumer groups, wholesaler-distributors, manufacturers and law enforcement officials that make up the Buy Safe America Coalition with the intention of protecting consumers and communities from the sale of counterfeit and stolen goods.
According to a study cited by Buy Safe, over 75 percent of millennials buy designer homewares online, however, over half of the sample group stated they are not able to confidently identify non-genuine products online.
“The housewares industry is not immune to the counterfeiting operations that capitalize on inadequate third-party seller vetting procedures. Criminals selling knockoff kitchen products pose a serious threat to consumer safety, especially those peddling electronic merchandise,” stated Michael Hanson, Buy Safe America Coalition spokesperson, “We are proud to welcome the International Housewares Association to the coalition and look forward to working with them on keeping American consumers safe.”
We are proud to welcome the International Housewares Association to the coalition and look forward to working with them on keeping American consumers safe.
-Michael Hanson, Buy Safe America Coalition spokesperson
Further discussing the importance of Buy Safe America Coalition, Sean Daly, IHA vice president, member & buyer relations, said, “Consumers trust that utensils, kitchen supplies, and other household items they purchase from International Housewares Association member companies are safe for use. The criminals hawking counterfeit merchandise on e-commerce platforms not only undermines this well-earned trust but also place unwary online shoppers in harm’s way.”
In order to combat these issues, the Buy Safe America Coalition is asking Congress to pass the INFORM Consumers Act to modernize consumer protection laws and require online marketplaces to collect and verify business information from sellers, and for high-volume sellers to provide contact information to consumers.
