AHFA’s 2024 Regulatory Summit, the industry’s preeminent conference addressing regulatory and legislative issues facing the home furnishings industry, is slated for August 7-8 at The Conference Center at Guilford Technical Community College. With a focus on recently implemented and soon-to-be-implemented product safety and environmental regulations, 2024 is the year of Compliance: Where the Rubber Meets the Road.
“Regardless of what happens in November, compliance is not going away,” warns Matt Howsare, chair of the product safety practice at Cooley LLP in Washington, D.C., and among the opening speakers at the 2024 Summit.
Howsare will join Christopher Kleine, vice president of logistics for Magnussen Home, in the Summit’s opening session. Kleine had less than 24 hours’ notice to prepare for the arrival of a
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission enforcement agent to Magnussen’s Ontario, California, warehouse and distribution facility last month. He says the value of Magnussen’s AHFA membership came to the fore in a hurry.
“No matter how many Regulatory Summits you’ve attended, it’s not until your company’s compliance program undergoes the scrutiny of CPSC auditors that the rubber really meets the road. So we’ll begin our 2024 Summit with the first-person account of undergoing a product stability compliance audit,” says AHFA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Bill Perdue.
Following Kleine’s description of the audit – which Magnussen passed without issue – Howsare will review “next steps” if non-compliance is discovered.
“They’re looking at everything. You don’t want to cut corners,” Kleine said he will advise Summit attendees.
Additional topics on the August agenda include the future of formaldehyde regulations, a Prop 65 refresher on the furniture safe harbor, how to complete your GCC (General Certificate of Compliance), a case study highlighting the effectiveness of AHFA advocacy, new testing for PFAS, insights to the EPA’s PFAS reporting rule, and what’s next on the PFAS horizon.
Building on last year’s successful break-out session format, both days of the Summit program include opportunities for a deeper dive into focused topics, among them the status of revisions to the tip restraint standard, an update on the proposed new recliner safety standard, environmental regulations impacting packaging, and avoiding delays and penalties under the Uyhgur Forced Labor Prevention Act.
Information on sponsoring or exhibiting at the Summit is available from Mike Padjen (mpadjen@ahfa.us). Registration is $225 for AHFA members and includes lunch both days plus a cocktail reception on Wednesday, August 7.