New campaign for multi-purpose gear!

[Horse]

https://www.bennetts.co.uk/bikesocial/n ... ncertified

Excerpts

Fake motorcycle airbags being sold on Amazon
On 18 July 2022, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) announced that 11 models of life jackets sold via Amazon had been recalled after it was discovered that they presented a serious risk of drowning.

“The products do not meet the requirements of the PPE Regulation 2016/425.”

Some of those recalled ‘life jackets’ were also being sold as ‘motorcycle airbags’.

Paul Varnsverry, a leading independent expert in Personal Protective Equipment Regulation, supplied a list of 38 ASINs (Amazon Standard Identification Numbers) for products sold on Amazon listed as ‘airbag vests for motorcyclists’, none of which had been tested and certified to the relevant EN 1621-4 standard for motorcycle use.

[slowsider]

[MrLongbeard]

On 26 July, an Amazon media representative told us that the relevant compliance documents had been requested from the sellers we’d highlighted (something that any legitimate retailer should be able to supply very quickly).

Not necessarily.
The producer is obligated to draw up and hold the DoC, the Importer is obligated to ensure the conformity procedure has been followed and the Distributer must act with due care to ensure that the PPE is in conformity, in this case Amazon / eBay / online market places acts as none of these.

We’ve repeatedly suggested to Amazon that simply adding a field to the ‘Technical Details’ of product listings for sellers to include the certification achieved would be a huge step forward in providing buyers with the knowledge required to buy more safely.

And sellers never lie????

Taking it a step further, this could also link to the manufacturer’s website where the Declaration of Conformity that they are required by law to provide, and which includes details of the certificate number, the issuing body and the standard used to assess the product

Of course, there will still be fake certification and there’ll be buyers who aren’t bothered, but as most people buy motorcycle kit to protect them if the worst happens, we’re seeing an exponential growth in the number of riders who are checking for the proper testing being carried out. And the more returns these sellers get, the less likely they are to want to gamble with the lives of motorcycle riders.

Your average motorcyclist won't be able to tell if a certificate is fake, and the lab that did any testing won't / can't speak to consumers to verify the validity of any DoC drawn up against any testing they have performed.

My advice to motorcyclists is not to purchase their bike gear from off the e-commerce platforms, unless it is from the online store of an established and reputable retailer with roots in the biking community

Pretty much that

[Cousin Jack]

The only lasting solution will be only to source from high compliance, high quality and high price companies. And never, ever from anyone in China, where fake labelling, quality as low as they can get away with, and state-sponsored trademark and patent infringement is the norm.

[MrLongbeard]

And never, ever from anyone in China

Exactly where your high compliance, high quality, high priced companies have all their stuff made

[Horse]

Of course, there will still be fake certification and there’ll be buyers who aren’t bothered, but as most people buy motorcycle kit to protect them if the worst happens, we’re seeing an exponential growth in the number of riders who are checking for the proper testing being carried out. And the more returns these sellers get, the less likely they are to want to gamble with the lives of motorcycle riders.

Your average motorcyclist won't be able to tell if a certificate is fake, and the lab that did any testing won't / can't speak to consumers to verify the validity of any DoC drawn up against any testing they have performed.

PV regularly posts images of fake certificates on LinkedIn.

As you say, almost all of us would never know.

[Hot_Air]

Exactly where your high compliance, high quality, high priced companies have all their stuff made

Incidentally, I don’t recall prices decreasing when companies like Rukka moved their manufacturing from Europe (Finland and Portugal) to China.

But perhaps Rukka’s a bad example because it’s a high-priced yet low-compliance company.

[MrLongbeard]

Incidentally, I don’t recall prices decreasing when companies like Rukka moved their manufacturing from Europe (Finland and Portugal) to China.

Silly sausage, you don't think folk manufacture in the far east so they can pass the saving on to the consumer do you

[MrLongbeard]

PV regularly posts images of fake certificates on LinkedIn.

As you say, almost all of us would never know.

A fake DoC is impossible to spot, as they're drawn up by the producer / manufacturer, and whilst there on guidelines on how they should appear and what they should contain / include, in reality it's just apiece of A4 paper made up by an office wallah at the behest of his boss.

Fake reports are bloody tricky, and unless you go to the issuing lab and ask it matches the copy they hold you'll never know. But that's not something a consumer can do easily if at all, and totes relies on the distributor / seller doing their due diligence.