Navigating a Shifting Landscape
The U.S. pet industry is booming—an estimated $143.6 billion market in 2023, with over 152 million American households that own at least one pet. Alongside this growth, however, comes increasing scrutiny regarding the safety of pet products. Recent high-profile incidents, such as Petmate’s nationwide recall of Pet Zone pet toys due to non-compliant button cell batteries, have highlighted not only the risks to pets and households, but also the potential for significant financial and reputational harm to companies.
Patchwork Standards and Growing Expectations
Currently, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) focuses regulatory enforcement on pet products that cause injury to a person. Nonetheless, the lines are increasingly blurred: children frequently interact with pet toys, and some industry leaders have taken the step of voluntarily testing their products to children’s safety standards. Indeed, even absent CPSC’s formal regulation of pet products, the agency oversaw the Pet Zone recalls out of concern for children’s safety, likely based on the agency’s authority to protect consumers from potential button cell battery hazards.
Amid this regulatory uncertainty, industry standards are beginning to take form. Voluntary leadership is emerging through the work of groups like ASTM International’s subcommittee on pet products, which is developing safety specifications for both pet toys and in-car pet restraint systems. According to ASTM, the absence of international safety standards for a market segment worth nearly $3 billion (pet toys alone) is a risk for all stakeholders. As more retailers demand compliance with the kinds of standards used for children’s products, voluntary adoption of these specifications may become the norm—and, in practice, a prerequisite for access to major retail channels.
State and International Pressures
While the federal role remains limited, the regulatory environment is shifting at both the state and international levels. States like New York have introduced legislation banning close to 100 chemicals in pet products to respond to the “hundreds and probably thousands of pets have been injured or killed through exposure to pet products containing pesticides.” Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly. Abroad, the EU under the General Product Safety Regulations requires that pet products are mechanically and chemically safe for normal use and foreseeable misuse, supported by product testing; in Japan, pet product manufacturers are already complying with voluntary pet or child safety standards for product design and testing. This international regulation may influence the U.S. to harmonize with foreign markets and retailer expectations.
How Pet Companies Can Stay Ahead
In this evolving environment, relying on the absence of clear federal regulation is not a viable long-term risk management strategy. Companies should take concrete steps now to protect their business interests and strengthen consumer trust:
- Invest in Product Design and Testing: Consider aligning with voluntary standards, especially those developed by ASTM or modeled after children’s safety standards, as a benchmark for pet product safety.
- Engage Retail Partners: Open dialogue with retailers to understand their emerging expectations—retailers are increasingly using their own safety and durability benchmarks as gatekeepers to the market.
- Monitor Field Data: Establish systems for tracking incident reports and product performance in the field, both to identify risks early and to demonstrate a proactive safety posture.
- Risk Assessment: Even in the absence of regulation, benchmark your risk assessment against standards for analogous consumer products. If a safety incident occurs, failing to do so increases company risk and exposure.
The Bottom Line
The convergence of public concern, evolving industry practices, and emerging regulatory efforts—both at home and abroad—means that pet product companies need to be proactive. Acting now to adopt best practices not only mitigates financial and reputational risk but also positions your company for continued competitiveness and credibility as standards in the pet industry continue to develop.