ABSTRACT
The term "consumer product" refers to a wide variety of products (Hedge 2001), ranging from relatively simple products (e.g., cigarette lighters, washing-up liquid, and cosmetics) through to "white goods" (e.g., toasters, refrigerators, and washing machines) and "brown goods" (e.g., televisions, DVD players, and camcorders), to more complex technologies (e.g., aircraft and cars). In general, these products serve to protect, support, and/or replace particular activities, or extend consumer capabilities (Kanis 1998) and ultimately improve quality of life. While consumer products usually have very specific purposes or functions (Bonner 2001), they may also be used in unintended ways (i.e., the intended use of washing-up liquid is to wash dishes, but it is often used as a general cleaner; van Veen, van Engelen, and van Raaij 2001), which can result in an increased risk of injury or death. Indeed, each year, millions of injuries and thousands of fatalities can be attributed to consumer products (Rider et al. 2000; Gagg 2005). For instance, Baber and Mirza (1997) identified the small but significant risk that white goods pose to users. Consequently, while consumer product designers must strive for usability, given the importance of product design in consumer safety (Gagg 2005) and the expectation among consumers with regard to the safety of the diverse range of products they encounter daily (van Duijne, Kanis, and Green 2002), there is also a need to minimize as far as possible any hazards or risks (Benedyk and Minister 1997) and to produce safe products.
