March 2018 PMP Cover | Photo: ©Greg Gilbert/The Seattle Times March 2018
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, e-commerce sales have increased from 4 percent to 10 percent of all retail sales over the past 10 years. Unfortunately, along with the increase, there also has been a rise in counterfeit products available online. The Washington Post reported that in October 2019, shoppers viewed an estimated 17.6 million pages selling counterfeit goods. In Amazon’s defense, the online giant claims it spent more than $400 million in 2018 to fight fraud and abuse on its platform.
Fighting back
The National Pest Management Association (NPMA) is an active member of a new group convened by the Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials (ASPCRO) focused on curbing the danger of illegal online pesticide sales, including counterfeits. The Internet Sales of Illegal, Counterfeit and Adulterated Pesticides (IICAP) Task Force is working to encourage cooperation among states to combat illegal online sales. The task force is comprised of representatives from ASPCRO, NPMA, Responsible Industry for Sound Environment (RISE), and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).
The structural pest management industry relies on the integrity of the federal and state regulatory framework to ensure products registered for use with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state lead agencies cause no unreasonable, adverse effects to human health or the environment when used according to label instructions. Product manufacturers are committed to ensuring their solutions available for purchase by professionals online are genuine, and live up to that promise.
If you have any suspicions about an online pesticide or rodenticide purchase, stop using the product and report it to the product registrant right away. By doing so, you are helping protect your industry and the clients you serve.
Read more:
- Multistate task force sets out to curb rising sales of illegal pesticides
- Illegal pesticides crackdown: Amazon-EPA settlement a symptom of online resellers violating FIFRA
- Attorneys weigh in on the Amazon-EPA FIFRA settlement
- ASPCRO addresses illegal pesticides, fumigation
- BREAKING: EPA settles with Amazon for illegal pesticide distribution
- Web Exclusive: Associations weigh in on the Amazon-EPA FIFRA settlement
About the Author
You can reach Dr. Fredericks, BCE, executive director of the Professional Pest Management Alliance (PPMA), at jfredericks@pestworld.org
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