from the stepped-up tax basis to the Ocean Shipping ReformAct to the Protecting the Right toOrganize Act, among others.” For Norris, themachinations in Washington and statehouses across the countrymeans that there’s something new needing his attention almost every day. And he’s tracking the progress of several issues that have come over the horizon. “Labor, trade and tax issues remain of significant importance,” Norris says. “Any time Congress proposes a newpolicy, the relevant fundingmechanisms often involve tax plans that affect our members. The trade and tax issues overlap by way of the tariffs because tariffs are taxes on businesses and consumers. The independent contractor and joint employer issues continue to fluctuate in Washington, D.C. and those outcomes weigh heavily on howour member companies interact with each other.” Norris also has his eye on larger, global issues that will ultimately impact promo. He says, “A relatively new issue that I see as unavoidable is themultifaceted impact of climate change on our industry and others. We are already seeing some of these developments through legislation, for example California recently signed a law that establishes new requirements relating to extended producer responsibility. California’s policies often serve as a precursor to other state and federal developments, so that is one of the states we trackmore closely.” Norris will bring his expertise to this month’s PPAI Product Responsibility Summit, to be held September 18-20 in Newport Beach, California—learnmore about the conference at www.ppai.org/ events/product-responsibility-summit. Along with playing amajor role in organizing and running the conference, Norris is also a speaker. His sessions will focus on bringing those new to product responsibility up to speed, educating attendees on supply chainmapping best practices and sharing the latest developments on legislation that may impact the promotional products industry. Promotional merchandise’s unique needs as an industrymake it critical for it and itsmembers to have a voice on Capitol Hill, in federal regulatory agencies and with state-level legislatures and regulators that have the authority to implement policies affecting it. Norris’ leadership in PPAI’s public affairs efforts and outreach ultimately boils down tomagnifying promo’s critical messages to lawmakers. “We empower members to communicate with policymakers,” Norris says. “There are times when it maymake sense for an advocate to speak on behalf of this industry, but messages are oftenmore well-received from the people who are actually in the industry. Those voicesmake a huge difference.” Maur i ce No r r i s Promo ProductsThat Keep The Environment InMind PPAI Government Affairs Manager Maurice Norris counts climate change among the larger issues that will have an unavoidable impact on the promotional products industry. Promo businesses have recognized its affect on the market as well, and now offer customers an increasingly diverse range of eco-friendly products to meet a variety of needs. Cool down without warming up the planet. The Titan Biodegradable Cooling Towel’s hyper-evaporative material not only stimulates cooling, it’s also eco-friendly. It’s strong, durable polyester fibers are designed to biodegrade in landfills and oceans in as little as 300 days. High Caliber Line / PPAI 205801, S10 www.highcaliberline.com A green gift that keeps on giving! The Growables Planter’s fiber pot is 100% organic, sustainable and biodegradable—made from spruce wood, without glue or binders—and ready to put in the ground. Recipients should see results in two to three weeks. The pot is packaged with a soil pod and a seed packet—options include cumin, oregano, mint and jalapeno, among many others. Jornik Manufacturing Corp. PPAI 111065, S6 www.jornik.com Bring more natural materials indoors. Bamboo Coasters are a daily-use product with the added advantage of being made from environmentally-friendly materials. The round coasters are naturally heat and bacteria resistant. It is probably best to handwash these. Evans Manufacturing / PPAI 110747, S10 / www.evans-mfg.com 66 | SEPTEMBER 2022 | GROW
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