Key leaders in the promotional products industry today announced the formation of the Quality Certification Alliance, LLC (QCA), an independent, nongovernmental organization dedicated to elevating the standard in providing consistently safe, high quality, socially compliant and environmentally conscientious merchandise to Fortune 500 companies and small businesses. Executives from the organization’s founding companies officially launched QCA today at the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) Expo in Las Vegas.
The QCA certification process assures merchandise manufactured, imprinted and imported by member companies conforms to established domestic and international product laws, regulations and standards. QCA has garnered wide support from numerous suppliers and distributors, including Avaline; Barton Nelson Inc.; BDA Inc.; Broder Bros., Co.; Dard Design; Fanda; Gemline; Gordon Industries, Ltd.; Leed’s; Litehouse Custom Printing; Logomark; MMI; Prime Line; Sweda Co., LLC; and Williams Industries/Next Products LLC.
“The QCA Seal of Approval will become the gold standard for the industry–a symbol of quality, safety and trust,” said Denise Fenton, QCA’s executive director. “QCA will aggressively promote this quality accreditation within the marketplace, and companies that display the seal will be considered industry leaders by clients with the most demanding purchasing standards.”
“We recognized that discerning marketing and procurement professionals need merchandise providers that they can trust to deliver the highest standard in safety and quality,” said Jay Deutsch, CEO of BDA, the nation’s premier merchandise agency, and a driving force in the establishment of QCA. Deutsch added, “QCA’s founding members have developed a certification that will soon become one of the most distinguished and desirable qualifications available to members of the industry. The group will pay careful attention to ensuring eco-friendly and socially acceptable practices, which are increasingly important to the world’s top brands.”
QCA accreditation is structured as a tiered program to allow for corrective action along the phased compliance process. Achieving the highest level of accreditation requires a self-evaluation followed by an independent third-party audit. The certification process examines member companies’ internal practices in five areas, including product safety, quality assurance, social compliance, supply chain security and environmental stewardship.
“For more than 130 years, Michelin has stood for quality, safety and respect for the environment in the tires we produce,” said Jeff Jacobs, director of identity merchandise for Michelin North America. “All of our products are subjected to the most rigorous quality standards, so it makes sense to support uniform quality criteria in the promotional merchandise we offer to our dealer networks, employees and consumers. We believe QCA will help ensure that quality.”
QCA certification verifies that processes are in place to detect and deter the manufacture and shipment of noncompliant merchandise, thus ensuring that only safe products are distributed to customers. Upon successful completion of the certification process, accreditation and the QCA Seal of Approval will be extended to members for an initial two-year period.
For member companies, QCA accreditation enhances reputation, increases brand value and creates opportunity to serve clients with the strictest purchasing standards. Additionally, members reap the reward of being associated with other QCA-certified companies, and benefit from QCA’s promotion of its rigorous certification standards within the industry.
The QCA board consists of the organization’s founding members and the marketing committee, which is responsible for promoting the QCA standard and member compliance efforts. Executive director Denise Fenton holds the role of assuring members’ policies detect and deter noncompliance. Additionally, Fenton guides the daily activities of the organization, managing QCA’s accreditation, training and program development; quarterly compliance updates to members; and relationships with third-party testing and industry compliance organizations.
“This organization is truly a catalyst in addressing ongoing product safety concerns that plague the promotional products industry,” said David Nicholson, president of Leed’s, a member of Polyconcept North America, the second largest supplier within the promotional products industry. “Through QCA’s efforts, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and consumers alike will be able to trust the bearers of the QCA Seal of Approval to deliver the highest level of safe, quality merchandise,” concluded Nicholson.
The following industry leaders have expressed their support of QCA: Len Hornstein, CEO, Avaline; Chuck Nelson, CEO, Barton Nelson Inc.; Jay Deutsch, CEO, and Eric Bensussen, president, BDA Inc.; Tom Myers, CEO, Broder Bros., Co.; Bonni Shevin-Sandy, president, Dard Design; Harvey Fan, president, Fanda; Jonathan Isaacson, president, Gemline; Rachel Halpern, president, Gordon Industries, Ltd.; Michael Bernstein, CEO, and David Nicholson, president, Leed’s; Mark Fuller, president, Litehouse Custom Printing; Trevor Gnesin, president, Logomark; Herb Nelson, president, MMI; Bob Lederer, president, Prime Line; Jim Hagen, president, Sweda Co., LLC; and Pam Brown, CEO, Williams Industries/Next Products LLC.
For more information about QCA, visit www.qcalliance.org
