One of the most frequent points of discussion with distributors this past week during the course of the PPAI Expo was the perceived threat of Internet direct business.
Read MoreA Step in the Right Direction
Tag: Compliance
The Importance of Compliance Regarding Promotional Products
What do you find most important when searching for supplier partners? Are you a bargain shopper? Do you look for the best product quality? Where do you start?
Read MoreDraw Your Attention to Drawstrings
I guess it has something to do with the time of year. The weather in much of the U.S. begins to turn cooler, and parents’ thoughts naturally turn to whether or not the kids’ sweatshirts and jackets from last year still fit.
Read MoreHave We Met?
As you’re reading this, I’m headed back from a great end-user event at Shumsky. The QCA Distributor Advocacy Council member gathered folks…
Read MoreSo You’ve Got a Recall. What Now?
It wasn’t very long ago, working as a promotional products end-user client that I thought of product safety as pretty much a black and white issue. Products were either safe, or they weren’t. If you’re sourcing and buying promotional products, and keeping up with the increasing discussion and awareness of product safety and compliance in our industry, you likely know that’s not the case.
Read MoreAlphabet Soup of Promo Products Industry: CPSC, WBENC, ETS and QCA Webinar
Commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, old and new, are in print this week. While style and subject are in stark contrast, both are worth a read.
Read MorePromotional Products: If It Ain’t Broke, Leave It Be
I wrote recently in this space about swag that went wrong for Goldman Sachs at a conference for women in tech. In fact, the comments on that post continue over in the Promo Marketing LinkedIn Group (If you’re on LinkedIn, and you aren’t already a member of this group, you should be—there are some very interesting contributors and some great discussions).
Read MoreSafety and Compliance: Run Toward the Problem, Not Away
When the discussion turns to delivering safe and compliant promotional products, and specifically how difficult it is to do, I usually go with this response: “You can either run toward the problem, or you can run away from it.”
Read MoreFrequently Asked Questions about Compliance
For a word that means so many different things to different people, it makes sense to ensure that we’re all on the same page when it comes to our understanding of compliance. Particularly so when it comes to the manufacture and supply of promotional products, where the meaning and application of the term differs from company to company. And with the industry focus shifting more and more toward compliance, I thought that for this week’s column a review of some of the most frequently asked questions that we get about compliance might be helpful.
Read MoreWhat Do Liberty Balls Represent?
I’ve covered many topics through the years and this one is perhaps the most frightening. It threatens our livelihoods and puts a bright spotlight on the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Increasing awareness for product safety and CPSIA regulations is a good thing. Our industry needs to better understand what it takes to be in compliance with these regulations, but this story is outright scary.
Read More