We face product related liability risks and certain of our products may be subject to recalls or other actions by regulatory authorities, and any such recalls or similar actions could have a material adverse effect on our business and reputation.
We face product liability, product safety and product compliance risks relating to the design, manufacturing, raw material sourcing, testing, contents, importation, sale, use and performance of some of our products. The products we sell must be designed and manufactured to be safe for their intended purposes. Some of our products must comply with certain federal and state laws and regulations. For example, some of our products are subject to the Consumer Product Safety Act, as amended by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 and the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, which empower the Consumer Product Safety Commission (the “CPSC”) to establish product bans, substance bans, substance limits, performance requirements, test methods and other compliance verification processes. The CPSC is empowered to take action against hazards presented by consumer products, up to and including product recalls. We are required to report certain incidents related to the safety and compliance of our products to the CPSC, and failure to do so could result in a civil penalty. The CPSC is particularly active in regulation and enforcement activities related to the kinds of children’s products sold in our RH Baby & Child division. Certain of the products we sell are subject to the Lacey Act, prohibiting the importation and sale of products containing illegally harvested wood, among other things. Likewise, many of our products are subject to the regulations of the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency regarding formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products (e.g., plywood and medium density fiberboard). If we experience negative publicity, regardless of any factual basis, customer complaints or litigation alleging illness or injury, related to our products, or if there are allegations of failure to comply with applicable regulations, our brand reputation would be harmed.
We maintain a product safety and compliance program to help ensure our products are safe, legal and made consistently in compliance with our values. Nevertheless, our products have in the past (including during fiscal 2021) been, and may in the future be, subject to recall for product safety and compliance reasons. Our efforts to address the sources of these product recalls, including those due to products sourced from our vendors, may not be successful and we may continue to face additional product recalls. Concerns of product safety and compliance could result in future voluntary or involuntary removal of products, product recalls, other actions by applicable government authorities or product liability, personal injury or property damage claims. To the extent future product recalls create a negative public perception of our business, we could face reputational harm or could be subject to elevated levels of legal claims. There can be no assurance that we will have the benefit of adequate insurance or payments from third parties, including our product vendors, in order to address losses and expenses that we may incur in connection with product recalls. Not all of the costs and expenses that we have previously incurred in connection with product recalls have been covered by insurance or reimbursement from third parties, including our product vendors. We and our product vendors may be unable to obtain such insurance, or the insurance may be prohibitively expensive and any coverage that is available may be inadequate to cover costs we incur in connection with product recalls.
Legislators and regulators in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and within the European Union, where our products are sold, continue to adopt new product laws and regulations. These new laws and regulations have increased or likely will increase the regulatory requirements governing the manufacture and sale of certain of our products as well as the potential penalties for noncompliance. In addition, product recalls, removal of products, product compliance enforcement actions and defending product liability claims can result in, among other things, lost sales, diverted resources, potential harm to our reputation and increased customer service costs, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
We are involved in legal and regulatory proceedings from time to time that may affect our Company and/or our senior leadership, including litigation, claims, investigations and regulatory and other proceedings, which could distract senior leadership from our business activities and result in significant liability.
From time to time, we and/or members of our senior leadership team are involved in legal and regulatory proceedings, including litigation, claims, investigations and regulatory and other proceedings related to a range of matters in connection with the conduct of our business, including (i) privacy and data security, (ii) our labor and employment practices, including laws related to discrimination, wages and benefits, ERISA and disability claims, (iii) intellectual property issues with respect to copyright, trademarks, patents and trade dress, (iv) international and domestic trade and business practices, including import laws, unfair competition and unfair business practices, (v) consumer class action claims relating to our consumer practices, including the collection of zip code or other information from customers, (vi) product safety and compliance, including products liability, product recalls and personal injury, (vii) advertising and promotion of products and services, including class actions and regulatory actions related to advertising, (viii) compliance with securities laws, including class actions related to allegations of securities fraud, (ix) taxation, (x) contractual disputes, and (xi) health and safety regulations.