At the National Assembly Delegation Conference on giving opinions on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations on March 25, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Le Minh Hoan made a noteworthy speech on the mechanism for self-control of product quality of associations and product industries, looking at the advertising of vegetable candy.
"When consumers were suspicious, they brought that candy to the lab and found it was not as advertised. Thus, we give control to associations and industry so that they can control the quality themselves" - the Vice Chairman of the National Assembly stated.
Mr. Le Minh Hoan's speech suggested a new perspective: To thoroughly solve the problem of "asking - giving", avoid incurring unnecessary costs and increase self-responsibility, it is necessary to give more power to the people in the industry.
This mechanism relies on the proactive coordination of many parties, but the focus is still on increasing responsibility from the enterprise itself and the association, instead of waiting for guidance or inspection from the State in all cases.
For businesses, this is an opportunity to prove their reputation. When a business dares to "bet" on its reputation and accept the monitoring mechanism from consumers, newspapers, and associations, it means that they are confident in the quality of their products.
In case of violations, the enterprise will not only bear legal responsibility, but also be directly affected by the brand. This creates healthy pressure, causing businesses to "play better" with the market, regularly reviewing the process to avoid losing customer trust.
On the side of industry associations, if they only stop at the role of "connecting" or granting certificates in a formal manner, they will lose their reason for existence.
To be reputable, the Association must move towards building a general quality code, organizing internal inspections, supporting businesses to grasp trends, update new standards, and resolutely handling or boycotting businesses that deliberately "ignore" consumers.
The association must become a reliable "gatekeeper", standing as a guarantee for the brand of goods in the industry, so that when consumers see the "association label", they know that the product has been authenticated through strict procedures.
Just build a strong enough legal framework to sanction violations, be ready to strictly handle if the association or enterprise is forged or reckless.
The rest, if operated properly, will allow the market to eliminate poor quality products more quickly, through the monitoring mechanism of consumers and associations.
