How To Ensure A Safer Product

Julie Starr • March 17, 2022



If you are responsible for the sale or manufacturing of a product, safety needs to be of paramount concern. If you cut corners, you run the risk of criminal prosecution, product recalls negative media attention, and a bad reputation. This is bad for you but it’s also important to consider your customers who may have suffered worse consequences because of your product. 

What Is A Safe Product?

Generally speaking, a safe product is one that poses no risk to the consumer. Of course, they could misuse the product and unintentionally or intentionally cause harm to themselves. But providing you have used due diligence in the buying or manufacturing of the products you sell, you are unlikely to be held accountable.

When talking about safety, we aren’t only talking about consumer risk. We are also talking about the environment as you should take steps to be eco-friendly within every aspect of your business to create a safer world for everyone.

How Can You Ensure A Safer Product

To ensure a safer product, you should:

Adhere to industry regulations

If you are the manufacturer of a product, you should adhere to some form of ‘conformity assessment procedure.’ This is connected to the legislation that covers your particular industry and the guidelines that have been set out to ensure customer and environmental safety. 

You should follow all known safety guidelines within the manufacture of the product. As part of this, you may need to carry out some form of testing, such as chemical analysis which can test for potentially harmful contaminants. As such, you may need to use the services of third-party companies to carry out any testing that you aren’t able to do yourself. When you do use the services of another, however, you need to make sure they have been properly accredited to carry out testing processes.

If you buy products to sell for business, you should make sure they have been properly certified as being safe. This is your guarantee that testing has been carried out. However, it is still advisable to check the products you sell, as you shouldn’t go through with a sale if any defects are found. 

Place labeling on the product

Most products carry some form of risk if improperly used. As such, you need to label the product with potential safety risks to make the consumer aware of any dangers. You should also provide instructions on how to use the product safely. By doing so, you are legally covering your back.

Some products won’t be age-appropriate, such as those that could prove to be a strangling or choking hazard for young children. Therefore, your label should indicate which age groups should not have contact with your product.

Remedy any issues

Be you a manufacturer or product seller, you should remedy any potential safety issues immediately. This might mean re-starting the production phase or, if you’re a product seller, sending the faulty products back to their source for further investigation.

If you inadvertently sell a product that is faulty, listen to customer feedback . Take their concerns into consideration and make sure the appropriate changes are made to your product before another sale is made. 

Finally

It is your responsibility to know the legislations and certifications that apply to your product. Find out what these are and then take every action to adhere to them, for the safety of your business and the safety of anybody who comes into contact with them in the outside world.

5 Everyday Items That Can Quietly Boost Your Brand

By Julie Starr • July 17, 2025
The best branding doesn’t always come from big campaigns or expensive graphics. Sometimes it’s the smaller stuff that leaves the biggest impression. Things people actually use, touch, or carry with them. That’s where your brand can quietly make its mark without needing to shout about it. If you’re only focusing on social media and business cards, you’re leaving a lot on the table. Here are five overlooked ways to get your name out there that feel natural, useful, and more personal. Thank-you slips If you’re already sending out orders, there’s no reason not to include a short thank-you slip. You can easily get these made through any decent online print shop , and they’re usually pretty cheap to run off in small batches. Just a simple note that says thanks, maybe with a reminder to follow you online or a cheeky discount code for next time. It’s quick, thoughtful, and makes the whole order feel more finished. Customers notice that kind of detail, especially when everything else they buy online comes with zero personality. You don’t need a complicated design either. Just something clean with your logo, a message that sounds like you, and maybe a social handle. The point is to give them a reason to come back or remember your name without it feeling forced. Branded zip pouches If you sell physical products, offer services, or run events, small zip pouches are surprisingly effective. Think of the kind you’d use for stationery, receipts, or travel bits. You can get your brand printed on the side and hand them out with purchases or include them in welcome packs. People keep them because they’re actually useful. They get tossed in handbags, school bags, or glove boxes and your logo just keeps turning up. Cleaning cloths for glasses or screens This one works brilliantly if you’re in tech, health, beauty, or anything involving screens or eyewear. A simple microfibre cloth with your branding on it can go a long way. Everyone needs one. Whether they use it for glasses, a phone screen, or their laptop, it’s something they hang onto. It’s not the kind of thing people throw away, and that means your name sticks around too. Receipt envelopes You might already use little envelopes to hand over receipts or business cards. Branding those envelopes is a small change that makes a big difference. Instead of someone getting a scruffy bit of paper in a plain sleeve, they’re handed something that feels a bit more finished. You can even add a message inside. Doesn’t need to be anything dramatic. A simple “thanks for visiting” or “see you next time” is enough to add a personal touch. Wet wipes or mini hand gels If your business is in hospitality, food, or anything hands-on, branded wet wipes or pocket-sized hand gels are surprisingly popular. People actually use them, especially at festivals, food stalls, pop-ups, or kids’ events. They end up in handbags or cars and stick around longer than you think. They don’t scream “marketing” either. They’re practical, and when done right, they make your business feel thoughtful. That’s what good branding does, it shows you’ve thought ahead.

How Student-Led ‘Energy Audits’ Are Cutting School Costs (and Lighting the Way Forward)

By Julie Starr • July 14, 2025
What happens when students stop waiting for adults to fix things and start conducting their own energy audits? Money gets saved. The lights get switched off. Data gets analyzed. And a quiet revolution in sustainability begins—inside schools that once overlooked their own inefficiencies. Across the globe, student-led energy audits are proving that change doesn't always need to come from a policy shift or a major capital budget. Sometimes, it begins with a clipboard, a spreadsheet, and a group of curious minds asking: Why are the hallway lights on at noon when sunlight floods the building? The Energy Detectives These audits aren’t science fair projects. They’re rigorous investigations, often done in collaboration with facilities staff, local environmental nonprofits, or even engineering mentors. Students go from classroom to classroom measuring electricity usage, checking for phantom loads , and identifying where heat is escaping in winter or air conditioning is leaking in summer. One high school in Ontario saved over $12,000 a year after its Grade 11 physics students ran an energy audit and suggested simple changes—LED upgrades, motion sensors in bathrooms, and smarter heating schedules. They didn’t just propose ideas. They pitched them with spreadsheets, thermal images, and payback timelines. It worked. Learning That Pays Off—Literally Unlike textbook learning, these audits blend real-world math, environmental science, economics, and persuasive communication. Students aren’t just learning about sustainability. They’re doing it. And the savings add up. From dimming overlit hallways to reprogramming HVAC systems that run all weekend for empty buildings, students are surfacing blind spots that administrators often overlook. In some districts, their findings are influencing energy policy. Elsewhere, the audits have inspired school boards to hire sustainability coordinators—often alumni of the student programs themselves. There’s something poetic about a school funding new books or laptops from money saved by students who found out the vending machines didn’t need to be plugged in 24/7. Why This Matters More Than Ever With education budgets tightening and utility costs rising, every dollar saved is a dollar that can go back into classrooms. And here’s where it gets interesting from a family finance perspective, too. If you’re a parent setting aside money for post-secondary savings, every bit of school efficiency helps. Fewer energy costs might mean more programming, better STEM facilities, or even bursaries. That raises a broader point: when families save for their children’s future, they often look into RESPs (Registered Education Savings Plans). And many wonder—is a RESP deduction available on my taxes? While contributions themselves aren’t deductible, the gains grow tax-free, and students often pay little to no tax when they withdraw the funds during school. A Movement Worth Replicating These audits aren’t just an exercise in environmentalism. They’re leadership labs. Students learn how to spot inefficiencies, speak up in board meetings, and make a business case for change. They don’t just flip switches—they shift mindsets. And they carry these habits into adulthood. The result? A generation growing up not only with climate anxiety, but also with tools to tackle it.