BRCGS would like to invite industry professionals to participate in the BRCGS Consumer Products Technical Working Group.

The group will be involved in the review of the current Standard [Issue 4], through sharing their expertise and knowledge of best practice for the purpose of understanding industry-specific risks and requirements for product safety, legality and quality to establish auditable requirements to support each sector. As Issue 4 was launched in 2016, this process takes the opportunity to review the existing manufacturing categories, consider new technological advancements, new legislation, customer expectations and update claim verifications.   

The role of the technical working group 

Technical working group members (TWG) must provide an objective review of best practices in the global consumer products industry. With the aim to:  

  • contribute and share areas of concerns on product safety, recalls, consumer safety 
  • strengthen and tighten existing requirements and addresses concerns of consumer groups 
  • evaluate and assess product safety risks and regulatory requirements of the global supply chain and ensure no audit gaps. 
  • redefine best practices and risk mitigation for each manufacturing category 
  • identify and map references from the relevant recognized industry standards, initiatives, best practices, expectations of product conformity and intended use 
  • identify gaps and opportunities for review of manufacturing scopes and sector applicability  

 

Selection criteria 

To ensure that the TWG has the needed representation from the diverse industry sectors globally, the TWG must be composed of a wide and diverse range of industry professionals.  

Successful candidates must have detailed knowledge and experience related to the consumer products sector in either general merchandise or personal care and household goods and/or at least one of the areas below (this is not an exhaustive list):

  • Product safety requirements 
  • Product safety management systems 
  • Product risk management, relative to the individual manufacturing categories*  
  • Process risk assessment e.g. HARA  
  • Supply chain management – looking at vulnerabilities in raw material sourcing, product defence 
  • Traceability, product recall  
  • Product testing, validation and substantiation of claims  
  • Manufacturing processes, process control, inspection and testing 
  • Product compliance to regulations   
  • Other relevant experience in the sector  

 

*The TWG should be diverse so that as a collective there is a wide span of knowledge covering BRCGS Consumer Product Manufacturing categories – it is not expected that any one person will bring full knowledge for all manufacturing categories, or global compliance knowledge. 

Why join? 

Participating in a BRCGS Technical Working Group provides excellent networking opportunities with other product safety professionals, from a variety of backgrounds within the consumer product sector.  It will offer the opportunity to discuss with your peers and industry experts, product safey and compliance concerns, new technologies, international requirements and expectations of products in the sector.  

Eligibility 

Applicants must be employed by an organisation that supports or promotes the BRCGS Consumer Products Standard, who agrees to sponsor their participant in the TWG activities.   

Length of Technical Working Group 

Approximately 10 months from May 2025 to March 2026.

Frequency of meetings and commitment 

All TWG meetings will be held as virtual meetings, in two time zones - UK time zone (for Europe, Americas, Africa, Middle East and Africa) and Chinese time zone (APAC and SEA region) - to ensure full global representation. Microsoft Teams calls will be scheduled with pre-read information sent to all participants in advance of the meetings to allow for efficient and effective discussion. This allows members to review and collect information in advance to support the activities of the TWG. 

We expect there to be 8-10 TWG meetings and the first meeting will be held on 20 May 2025. Invitations will be sent to those who are successful in their application.  

For those successful members, a commitment to participate in at least 90% of all scheduled TWG meetings for the duration of the technical working group is compulsory. This ensures that the progress of the TWG can continue against the expected project timelines whilst ensuring full input from all representatives of the industry.  

Confidentiality  

To ensure that the intellectual property of BRCGS is protected, all successful members will be required to sign binding confidentiality terms and conditions.  

How to apply for this Technical Working Group 

A maximum of 25 members will be chosen across both TWGs (UK, Europe, Americas, Africa, Middle East and Africa) and China (APAC and SEA region) comprised of manufacturing sites, retailers, certification bodies, accreditation bodies, trade associations, service providers and academics as appropriate and based on the candidate submissions.

To apply, please complete this online application form.

Applications close at 23:59 GMT on 14 April 2025.

Members who have been selected will be contacted late April 2025. At the time of notification, an invitation will be sent for the first TWG meeting, planned to commence on 20 May 2025. At the same time terms of reference and anti-trust statement documents will be sent to all members and will need to be signed prior to the first TWG meeting.   

Those candidates who have been unsuccessful will receive notification by the end of April 2025.  

 

 

The public consultation for BRCGS Global Standard Consumer Products Issue 4 is open! 

 

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