From PPAI Denise Taschereau Chair of the Board 10.25 A few of us believed this business could do more than promote logos – it could promote values. Potential Meets Progress AS LEADERS, we all spend so much time thinking about where we’re going that we don’t stop often enough to trace the journey that led us here. For example, just 20 years ago, conversations about sustainability in our industry were rare. Branded merchandise was everywhere, but concern for how it was made, who made it or its long-term impact were almost nonexistent. A few of us believed this business could do more than promote logos – it could promote values. What felt like a niche perspective then has grown into a movement that is now reshaping the very core of our industry. For most of us, a day doesn’t go by without sustainability entering our consideration. That’s progress in and of itself. But we’ve made real gains along the way. The journey began with product safety. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 placed a new responsibility on us to prove that our products were safe for children. It was a pivotal moment, and PPAI’s Product Responsibility Action Group was out in front, leading the way for our industry to adapt and respond. Compliance, testing and traceability became standard practice, and those same systems became the foundation for today’s ESG and sustainability efforts. Safety taught us accountability, and accountability has proved to be the heart of responsible business. As expectations grew, so did the urgency. The Fast Company critique of “throwaway swag” challenged us to look in the mirror. The global pause of the pandemic highlighted the strain we put on planetary boundaries and showed how quickly our impact can change. Regulations like the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and updates to the FTC’s Green Guides reinforced that sustainability could no longer be optional – it had to be central to how we operate. And we have risen to face that challenge. Grassroots efforts like PromoCares mobilized the power of this community to do good. Corporate leaders set new benchmarks, such as Staples’ 2022 partnership with EcoVadis – groundbreaking at the time – to bring sustainability into procurement decisions. PPAI made sustainability a key part of the strategic plan that was developed by the Board of Directors in 2021. We established the Sustainability Advisory Group, built responsibility measures into the coveted PPAI 100 rankings from the very beginning and ensured that nearly half of our Summit programming in recent years has focused on sustainability. Elizabeth Wimbush, the Association’s first ever director of sustainability and responsibility, joined the team in 2023. All of these milestones demonstrate the momentum that is shaping our future. Partnerships have also advanced our progress. Our collaboration with WAP Sustainability is generating a double materiality assessment, ensuring that we understand what internal and external sustainability factors will impact the industry so we can build strategies to address them proactively. Our work with the Fair Labor Association is making human rights due diligence accessible to companies of every size. These initiatives give our members not just vision but practical tools to lead with confidence. Today, sustainability is no longer a side conversation but a business imperative. Clients expect it. Regulators demand it. Employees seek it. And as an industry, we are proving that we can rise to these expectations with innovation, transparency and a shared commitment to responsibility. We should be proud of how far we’ve come but also clear-eyed about the work still ahead. Every step we take – from safer products to transparent reporting to more responsible sourcing – strengthens our relevance and impact. Promotional products have always been powerful brand builders. Together, we are ensuring they are also powerful forces for good. 4 • OCTOBER 2025 • PPAI
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