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Warning: Labels May Grossly Overstate The Obvious
by Samson Bateson
http://www.funklabel.com
Many reckless lawsuits are pushing companies into using
labels on their products that just seem silly. While labels
should provide useful and relevant information like
instructions, warnings and ingredients, sometimes the
wording used on these labels seems a little off kilter. All
too often labels serve no other purpose than to overstate
the obvious. What happened to the days of relying on common
sense and telling it like it is?
Ever since an elderly woman burnt herself after spilling hot
coffee on her lap and won a lawsuit against a fast food
company that served her this hot beverage, many products
started to include obvious statements. Granted, some labels
are highly necessary. For instance, people with allergies
need to know if a product contains ingredients that they
can't eat, wear or use. However, does a bag of carrots
really have to list "ingredient: carrots" on the side of the
bag? Additionally, not all consumers are conscientious
about withholding certain items from small children;
therefore, age guidelines help people realize that certain
toys may be dangerous to younger children. However, do you
need to be told that a Harry Potter broom will not actually
make a child fly?
Regulations on labels come from various sources based on the
industry. For instance, the U.S. food industry must follow
the FDA (Food and Drug Association) regulations about
ingredient and nutrition labels. However, labels like
warnings and instructions come for the most part from
company lawyers and sometimes federal laws.
For fun, many websites - such as DumbNetwork.com - are
devoted to cracking jabs at some of the sillier labels in
today's market. Below are some highlights of the dumber
warnings and instructions for the average consumer:
- "It is not suitable for driving under the conditions of
poor light." (Ray Ban Sunglasses)
- "Instructions: Put on food." (Heinz Ketchup)
- "Do not use while sleeping." (Blow dryer)
- "Never iron clothes on the body." (Rowenta iron)
While some obvious statements like "remove wrapping" or
empty box contents first:~ sound a bit over obvious, these
statements are intended to help consumers with very basic
skills who need much spelled out. In other words, what's
obvious to you probably isn't as obvious to someone else ~
which would make a great label! Many times, manufactures
are including explanations that might sound inappropriate
but are meant to distract unwanted usage of their product.
For example, to discourage mischievous usage of golf carts,
many manufacturers use the warning "Not for highway use".
Even though lots of labels sound silly, careful label
wording is needed unfortunately to protect companies from
careless lawsuits and to save consumers from doing dangerous
things. Perhaps once hair-coloring manufacturer hit it on
the head when it explained this warning on its product "Do
not use as an ice cream topping".
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