Is Your Promo Product A Lawsuit Waiting to Happen?

Product Safety - Caution ConeWe are repurposing this blog written by a colleague/friend, Rochelle Moneta, LeRoe Promotional Marketing. We couldn’t have said it better!

No matter how big a company is, their single largest asset is their brand and its reputation. That’s why it’s so important to make sure the promo products you order follow all safety and compliance regulations. One wrong choice can have disastrous results, including negative PR, loss of brand trust and a drop in sales.

The huge potential liability for clients is the main reason I recently attended product safety education classes to achieve my Product Safety Aware status. This large initiative is being spearheaded by PPAI and focuses on creating awareness and promoting the effectiveness of promotional products.

I need to protect my clients and know the products I provide aren’t going to land them in hot water down the road.

One wrong choice can have disastrous results, including negative PR, loss of brand trust and a drop in sales.
Compliance adherence isn’t usually one of the factors people think about when choosing a promotional product. Promo items are one piece of a larger marketing plan and goals, target audience and budget usually take top priority. But safety should be taken into consideration given the huge risk.

Real Life PR Nightmares

To give you an idea of why it’s so important a product adheres to compliance and safety regulations, take the case of a major grocery chain and their reusable grocery bags.

Investigators from a local paper had the bags tested for toxic metals. When the bags turned up with high level of leads the paper published a story on Sunday. By the next day a Senator was demanding an FDA investigation and ban on all bags containing lead.

This company not only lost out on all the money they had spent on the bags and recalling them, but also on brand trust. Their reputation took a huge hit all because of reusable grocery bags!

Products That Require Special Attention

If you’re purchasing promo items that could possibly wind up in the hands of children, the regulations are even stricter. It’s very important to know that even though a product may not be originally intended for children, if the imprint could appeal to a child it can easily become a children’s product. For example, if Dora the Explorer was placed onto a mug or adult-sized t-shirt then the compliance requirements for children’s products would most likely apply.

There’s A LOT of risk when purchasing promo items if you don’t know what to look for.

Way more goes into producing particular promo items than most people realize!

Anything tech related also means looking closely at the safety specifications. Everyone is excited to get a power bank – until it’s on fire. Make sure all batteries, parts and construction are up to par with safety standards.

For any product, where and how it is produced is always of concern. Safe working environments, properly followed child labor regulations and fair pay are all part of making sure the production was completed ethically and in accordance with all compliance requirements.

There’s A LOT of risk when purchasing promo items if you don’t know what to look for. The easiest solution is to go through a promotional products expert who is certified and asks the right questions of suppliers.

If purchasing yourself be sure to be thorough in your research and cover all the bases. Otherwise you could be in the paper with the next PR nightmare!

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