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maps for organizations to follow, and the Summit was an excellent
opportunity for distributors and suppliers to share ideas.”
Assessing the Summit’s accomplishments, Rick Brenner, MAS+,
president of Prime Resources Corporation and co-chair of the
Summit, sums it up: “If anything was apparent at this year’s Product
Responsibility Summit, it was how the compliance practices required
for success in our industry at the highest level have changed drastically
in just a few years and how they are continuing to evolve very quickly.
A show of hands indicated that almost all of our 180+ attendees have
the word ‘compliance’ in their job title. The talk among attendees was
how they continue to toughen the requirements for the suppliers and
factories they do business with, and the education they’re providing to
their coworkers. What a sea change for an industry that had almost
zero compliance professionals just five years ago. Thanks to PPAI, our
attendees shared best practices, were treated to guidance by senior
leadership of the Consumer Products Safety Commission and tutorials
from many of the most esteemed compliance and sourcing experts in
the nation.”
When Hon. Ann Marie Buerkle,
commissioner of the Consumer
Product Safety Commission,
stepped to the microphone at the
PPAI Product Responsibility
Summit, her first words were to
praise those in attendance. “Your
entrepreneurial spirit is what makes
America such a great place. It’s
what keeps the American dream
alive and well,” she said. Buerkle, a
former nurse, attorney, member of
Congress, mother of six, grand-
mother of 16 and one of five CPSC
commissioners, was appointed to
the agency by President Barack
Obama in May 2013. She was con-
firmed by the U.S. Senate later that
year for a five-year term.
During the nearly 60-minute
presentation, she shed light on her
professional background,
explained how she approaches
CPSC decisions, discussed some of
her concerns and
goals, and
thanked PPAI for
leading the way
in its approach to
product responsi-
bility. She noted
that the CPSC is
a relatively small
agency charged
with protecting
the public and
jurisdiction over
approximately
15,000 products.
“The problem
that we have is
that Washington
exists in a bub-
ble,” she said.
“We make rules but don’t always
understand how they affect work-
ing people. It’s important for
events like this to help make us
aware. Thank you to PPAI for your
efforts to educate your industry
and to interact with our agency.”
She also called PPAI the poster
child for how to create a product
safety aware program.
Since coming to the agency,
Buerkle has developed three pillars
on which she bases her decisions:
education (“It should be preferred
over regulation.”); collaboration
(“Strong, positive relationships with
all stakeholders are crucial to con-
sumer safety. You know the issues;
we need to hear from you.”); and
balance (“Consumer safety can be
achieved in a balanced, reasonable
way. We need to make sure the
rules we make really do promote
safety.”).
Her talk also touched on two
issues on which the agency is cur-
rently working: test burden reduc-
tion and import surveillance, and
she wrapped up her presentation
with a plea for continued engage-
ment with the promotional prod-
ucts industry.
CPSC Commissioner Speaks From The Heart At PPAI Summit
Thanks to PPAI, our attendees shared best practices, were treated to guidance
by senior leadership of the Consumer Products Safety Commission and tutorials
from many of the most esteemed compliance and sourcing experts in the nation.
“
”