Voluntary Standards

Through collaboration with voluntary standard organizations (like ANSI, ASTM, CSA, UL, and others) safety standards are developed for consumer products. In many cases, these standards bring industry groups, government agencies, and consumer groups together to agree on best consumer product safety practices. Read more about what this may mean for manufacturers, and how standards can be used to help lead towards the development safe consumer products.

The Voluntary Standards Summary Report is published twice a year and shows, among other things, product or product areas associated with the voluntary standards work, the name of the employee leading each activity, the name(s) and designation(s) of the standards associated with the product, the purpose of staff’s involvement, the reporting period activity, and staff’s next actions associated with the voluntary standard. The report is issued at the middle (mid-year report) and end (annual report) of the CPSC fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30.

View all Voluntary Standards Activities Reports

Consumer Participation is Welcomed

The development of a voluntary standard requires consumer input. Achieving a balanced perspective on a committee is often a challenge because consumer participants are difficult to recruit. If you are a consumer and you want to contribute to a voluntary standard or hear more about the development of an individual standard, please contact the Consumer Ombudsman.

Consumer Ombudsman