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What You Don't Know Can Hurt You

Issue: 2007aug

What if the 1,000 ceramic coffee mugs with a four-color imprint that you ordered for your Texas-based client are actually distributed in your client’s California branch office and are subsequently found to have a lead-based imprint that is in violation of Proposition 65 provisions?

Or, what if the 50,000 lapel pins you imported from China on behalf of your promotional consultant are tested by the end buyer, found to contain a high concentration of lead, and are subsequently rejected and shipped back to you without any payment? Or worse, what if the lead is detected only after the pins are distributed and have to be recalled from 50,000 recipients?

And if you’re really on a roll, what if the 100,000 plush kangaroos you ordered online arrive at the dock in Long Beach, California, fail a required flammability test, are placed in storage at your expense and are subsequently rejected by the end buyer and destroyed?

Here’s a more serious question: what if just one of the billions of promotional products made, sold and distributed in North America each year contains a chemical known to be hazardous to humans and through exposure permanently injures or even kills the person who unknowingly eats, drinks, wears or regularly uses the very product that you imported, ordered or sold to a client who subsequently passed it along to the unsuspecting end user? What then?

Extreme examples? Not really. We’re all acutely aware of the millions of products manufactured around the world being recalled from store shelves and warehouses because they’re unsafe, dangerous or deadly. You can’t open a newspaper without reading about manufacturers or their products failing to pass tests for safety, quality, environmental compliance or even social responsibility standards. This is not counting product delivery that may be stopped because of security concerns at our borders.

Our industry is not immune to the realities of product recalls due to poor quality, health hazards or other safety issues. Just a few years ago, perhaps even just a few months, most of our concerns about imported products revolved around imprint quality, craftsmanship, delivery times and payment terms. Now we have passed the point at which we could focus solely on those important but simpler issues.

The game has shifted to a different level, and we all better learn how it’s played. Today, a promotional consultant’s end buyer clients, particularly those who have billion-dollar brand names and reputations, are demanding compliance with their terms and conditions that attempt to ensure safe, higher-quality products manufactured in settings that meet social and environmental standards acceptable to their shareholders and customers.

This is where we, your Association, come in. PPAI’s new Global Strategy Council has been formed to help industry practitioners learn the new rules, new questions to ask and new answers to seek. Quite simply, we’re gathering together a fairly small number of supplier and distributor members, a company specializing in product quality, safety and compliance testing, experts in overseas manufacturing and some of the most highly valued brand name consumer products companies including Coca-Cola and Disney to help us develop strategies for industry companies. We don’t have all the answers, but we’re committed to giving you the tools needed to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to making sure the products we decorate and sell meet the public’s expectations.

Why get involved at all? If we can assist suppliers in protecting product integrity through appropriate compliance management, help promotional consultants understand their options to avoid costly and dangerous mistakes, and assure end buyers that our industry’s products are safe and reliable, we fulfill our mission as your Association.

Quite frankly, ignoring our responsibility in addressing this emerging challenge would be a disservice to the industry. If the “what ifs” posed above don’t cause you concern or get your attention, just replace the “what if” with when.


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