10 March 2024 , 19:41
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When you next collect your luggage at the airport, think of the people who put it to the test... by dropping it eight times then soaking it in the shower.
That is how the Good Housekeeping Institute simulates a suitcase being roughly dealt with by baggage handlers in the rain.
Other imaginative tests include sprinkling dog hair from a local rescue centre in order to put hoovers through their paces, and filling a pram with potatoes to represent the weight of a baby.
Some of the 3,600 product tests run by the GHI every year are a bit more hi-tech. But as head of accreditation Laura Cohen says: “We have a lot of fun playing with the products.”
Launched 100 years ago, the consumer testing brand now runs out of a state-of-the-art warehouse in Feltham, West London. It is staffed by scientists, product developers and volunteer consumer panellists, who often get to keep the items they try out.
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And with 82% of people saying they are more likely to buy a product with the GHI seal of approval, they know how important it is to get it right.
Mirror reporter Natasha testing easter eggs with Callum Black (PHILIP COBURN)Laura adds: “Good Housekeeping was founded on the basis that there should be no drudgery in the home and that remains true – there is no drudgery here.
“It is really important to us that we actually physically test all the products that we recommend to consumers – that is where that level of trust comes from.”
All products are tested with company logos removed, to avoid anyone having bias towards a particular firm or brand.
Panellists also try many products at home for several weeks once they are tested at the site, to see how they function in day-to-day life. What the GHI is best known for, however, is its taste tests.
Potatoes are used to simulate the weight of a baby in a pram (PHILIP COBURN)Last year, over 220 took place in Feltham, with 1,200 consumers coming to the centre to take part. The GHI was founded two years after the Good Housekeeping magazine, itself launched in response to the changing world after the end of the First World War.
With more women in the workplace, and fewer people able to afford domestic help, families were using more domestic appliances. This led to the founding of the GHI, initially in London’s Covent Garden.
The GHI now looks at big trends, with wellness and sleep currently a major point of focus. There are plans to expand into more parenting and menopause products in the near future, along with gardening and pet items.
Angela Trofymova, who heads up testing at the GHI, says: “Our ultimate goal is being as clear as possible with anybody is looking to buy a product, so they can see what is the best out there.”