Arguably, testing and labeling of product are major activities in the world of business. In fact, the consumer is always the final person in the business trend, and it is crucial to protect them. Testing and labeling of products protects the consumer and the public against unreasonable injury and risks. These protections are done in various ways, which include consumer education, regulation, enforcement, as well as safety standard activities. In the labeling and testing process, there are many stakeholders who make certain that the regulation is followed, and the public is fully protected. Generally, there are various reasons for product labeling and testing, regardless of the type of product.
Undoubtedly, providing care label is particularly important. The law requires all garments manufacturers to attach care label on the fabrics. A care label is important because it will help the consumer to provide maximum care for the garment. The information contained in the care labels includes care instructions, type of fabric, where it was manufactured, and the size of the cloth. In this case, the care instructions are the main information that is recommended to attach in every garment. The consumer focus on two factors when analyzing the garment, it includes care instructions and fabric content. Therefore, in some way care label can be important to manufacturer since it influences demand (ACCC 3). Care label gives the consumer prior information on the cost of maintenance of the ongoing care of textile products and clothing. In general perspective, care label enables the consumer to maximize the use and avoid damage of textile products and clothing.
Government regulation is very essential in the care label process. The information that is provided by the manufacturer on the care label is crucial for the useful life of the clothing. The government, therefore, has various reasons into what they should regulate the care label process. The government is the watchdog of the consumer; hence, it ensured that the information given is correct and assures the consumer that the product is not hazardous. The presence of government in care label process ensures that are clothing and textile products contain a label before it penetrates into the market. There are occasions that manufactures avoid care label with the intent of cutting costs and maximizing profits. The government and other responsible stakeholders makes law and ensure that every textile and clothing manufactures conform to the regulations and rules of care labeling (ACCC 6). The importance of government is to generally protect the consumer from unscrupulous manufacturers, whom intent to forego their responsibilities at the expense of the customer. In some occasions, the manufacturers can provide wrong information on the care label because they cannot meet the needs of the consumer. In such a scenario, the government verifies the information given by the manufacturer on the care label.
Product testing entails quality assurance in the context of development and research. It is important because it determines the safety, acceptability, as well as efficacy of products. Perhaps, product testing makes certain that the product in question will be acceptable to the consumer. The product must be within consumer preference for it to penetrate the market. Efficacy is also another tremendous important reason for product testing. This implies that the product in the market must fulfill what it is suppose to do (Oosterveer 21). Failure to do so, the manufacturer can easily lose consumers loyalty, ergo and satisfaction. In addition, product testing is important for safety reasons. The safety of the product must be guaranteed before selling the product, especially on wellness and health products, as well as household and food products.
During my visit to MTS, I learned various issues pertaining product inspection and consumer protection. MTS comprehends that manufacturers important person is the consumer; hence, they help them meet this expectation through inspection. In addition, I learned that MTS is a security guard to both the manufacturer and the consumer. It generally worked on minimizing risk and maximizing costs for affected groups. Surprisingly, I discovered that a product passes many stages before it is released into the market.
Work Cited
ACCC-Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Product safety. Care Labeling for Clothing and Textile Products. 23 Marcus Clarke, ACCC, 2008
Oosterveer, Peter. Global Governance of Food Production and Consumption: Issues and Challenges. Cheltenham [u.a.: Elgar, 2007. Print.
