Safe Products , Confident Consumers – InfoCons Informs You About This Year’s World Consumer Rights Day Theme
On the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day, celebrated annually on March 15, attention is focused on highlighting the main global challenges and priorities in the field of consumer protection. This year’s theme focuses on product safety, an issue that is becoming increasingly important in the context of the global digital marketplace.
In the global digital marketplace, product safety has rapidly become a critical issue of concern, impacting lives, consumer trust and the global economy. According to a recent review by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), 87% of recalled or banned products remain available online. In addition, many countries still lack sufficiently robust legal frameworks to protect society from the risks posed by unsafe products.
This issue affects consumers around the world every day and across all continents, with a disproportionate impact on consumers in vulnerable circumstances and in low-income countries. Product safety can also pose a public health concern and a development challenge, contributing to pollution and the waste of valuable resources.
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Showcasing positive progress in product safety
Product safety has long been a priority area of focus for the members of Consumers International. Despite the complexity of this issue, the work carried out by member organisations has demonstrated that meaningful impact can be achieved.
Members of Consumers International collect and share data on unsafe products and conduct investigations that support awareness campaigns, consumer education initiatives, regulatory action and greater accountability within the business sector. On March 15, these efforts will be highlighted globally as the international consumer movement marks World Consumer Rights Day under the theme “Safe Products, Confident Consumers.”
What the 2026 campaign aims to achieve
The 2026 campaign builds on the growing success of previous initiatives. Consumers International will convene a global discussion on the key challenges related to product safety, increase the visibility of member activities in this field and contribute to strengthening the commitments of international partners, including the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the OECD.
Addressing regulatory gaps that fail consumers
Last year, during the 9th UN Conference on Competition and Consumer Protection held in July at UNCTAD, Consumers International supported the promotion of a United Nations Resolution on Global Product Safety, which was subsequently advanced to the United Nations General Assembly.
Similarly, at the inaugural OECD Ministerial on Consumer Policy in 2024—an event to which Consumers International was exclusively invited—the organisation’s recommendations on product safety were incorporated into a draft declaration currently under consideration.
The visibility and insights gathered for World Consumer Rights Day will contribute to accelerating these international commitments so that, as outlined in the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection, “every consumer has the right to access safe and non-hazardous products.”
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Principles advanced through the campaign
The campaign promotes the following principles:
- Raising awareness and understanding that insufficient product safety undermines fundamental human rights, including the rights to life, health and safety.
- Ensuring that consumer organisations, as the voice of consumers, are actively involved in debates and policymaking processes and supported in providing insights, evidence and solutions that lead to effective consumer-driven outcomes.
- Strengthening collaboration between businesses, governments and consumer organisations to guarantee that safety is upheld throughout every stage of the product lifecycle.
- Developing robust cross-border safety systems, including the use of innovation for effective information-sharing, coordination of product recalls and the effective enforcement of policies and regulations.
- Promoting unified global standards and regulatory frameworks to ensure that all consumers are protected while strengthening international cooperation and accountability.
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