In Shanghai, China, there has been accusations of IKEA selling “furniture for kids that fails safety standards”. In the children’s sector, there were chairs and tables found that were too sharp, and could potentially harm children. However, nothing was done to IKEA, as the furniture was not specifically classified as children’s furniture, given that the standards only applied to children’s furniture.

After browsing through this article, a question arose in my mind: are companies supposed to be held responsible to the specific target segment that they market their product towards? In this case, the table that defied the specification wasn’t classified as a children’s product.

Personally, I believe that a company shouldn’t be responsible for the product being harmful in such an obvious way to a potential user. For a situation such as the table where the edges are visible, aren’t the buyers themselves responsible for determining whether the product meets their safety requirements? If the reports or standards violations were regarding an unknown or not as visible feature such as hidden sharp features, it would be understandable. However, sharp edges are clearly visible and buyers are able to judge for themselves.  Buyers are responsible for the products they choose to purchase. There are many products out there that could be potentially dangerous, depending on how it is handled or used.

Companies are allowed to market their product in any way, as long as they do not forget social responsibility. In this scenario, IKEA’s lack of specifics regarding the users allowed them to sell their tables to a larger target segment pool.

Sources:

“Ikea Accused of Selling Furniture for Kids That Fails Safety Standards.” — Shanghai Daily. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar . 2013.