PPB June 2015

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DATEBOOK
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Americanna Promotional
Products
FACTORY FLOOR
86 Frank Defino, Jr.
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PEOPLE NEWS NEW MEMBERS
JUNE 2015 • PPB • 83
a guiding role in the success of the promotional products industry,
and that PPAI plays an instrumental role in providing the voice,
support and resources they need to achieve success and grow their
businesses.”
The milestone reflects the collaborative efforts of the Association’s
staff and its efforts to serve the industry and its members. In growing
its membership, PPAI has expanded its capacity to serve the promo-
tional products industry—from representing its needs in Washington,
D.C., through legislative and product responsibility outreach to creat-
ing awareness and influencing buyers on the power and efficacy of
promotional products as an advertising medium—and pursue its mis-
sion to “serve our members best by serving our industry first.”
As the only international not-for-profit trade association in an
industry comprised of 97 percent small businesses, PPAI’s ability to
represent and support the needs and concerns of the individual mem-
ber is paramount. Throughout its 112-year history, the Association,
along with its loyal membership, has contributed to the success and
strength of the promotional products industry.
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PPAI HAS CHANGED the name of
the Association’s long-running Product
Safety Summit. Going forward, the event
will be rebranded as the PPAI Product
Responsibility Summit to more accurately
reflect its scope. This three-day corpo-
rate responsibility and compliance event
will be held September 28-30, 2015, in
Bethesda, Maryland.
“Rebranding PPAI’s Product
Responsibility Summit highlights our
evolution, over many years, of champi-
oning product safety and other industry
compliance and regulatory issues,” says
Paul Bellantone, CAE, PPAI president
and CEO. “Our steadfast commitment to
industry-wide corporate responsibility
and our dedication to delivering best-in-
class education and resources have
transformed Summit from a product
safety-only focus to a well balanced pro-
gram that addresses all five pillars of a
robust responsibility program.”
The PPAI Product Responsibility
Summit will begin with tours of the
Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC) testing lab on September 28.
Participants will witness firsthand how
products are analyzed and scrutinized by
the CPSC. In addition, PPAI will offer a
series of introductory product safety ses-
sions on Monday to ensure everyone in
attendance will be fully able to partici-
pate in the event offerings.
“A key change for Summit 2015 will
be a greatly expanded focus on social
responsibility,” adds Anne Lardner-Stone,
PPAI director of public affairs. “As buyers
increasingly demand greater transparency
on social responsibility, it is PPAI’s
responsibility to deliver the knowledge,
tools and resources for industry practition-
ers to comply with those demands. With
PPAI’s Product Responsibility Summit, our
strategy remains consistent, focused and
targeted to create significant opportuni-
ties to learn, invest and grow from the
experience.”
The Summit will feature subject-matter
experts addressing topics such as the five
pillars of a product responsibility program
and the role demographics play when
evaluating the relative importance of each
pillar; guidance as to how to set up a
robust compliance program; discussion
that addresses the challenges of establish-
ing a social compliance program from cre-
ating an internal checklist to responding to
corrective action plans; and much more. In
addition to exploring the legal and ethical
issues currently affecting the industry, as
well as the business implications and chal-
lenges faced with compliance in these
areas, all Summit attendees will receive a
social compliance manual created with the
specific needs and challenges of the pro-
motional products industry in mind.
To learn more about the Summit and
to register visit
cation/productresponsibilitysummit/.
PPAI Rebrands Product Safety Summit To Reflect Broader Scope