As the Chicago-based Quality Certification Alliance’s efforts to improve the promotional products industry’s capacity to provide safe and compliant products continue to gain traction, New York-based Buttonwood Technology Group has chosen to add the QCA Certified Icon to search parameters for its online research tool. Buttonwood joins Carrollton, Texas-based SAGE–Quick Technologies, Inc. in supporting this revolutionary industry initiative.
“We continue to hear comments from both distributors and suppliers about how much confusion there is around the topics of regulatory compliance and product safety,” said David Verchere, CEO of Buttonwood Technology Group. “Including the QCA Certified Icon in our search parameters helps Buttonwood connect the distributors whose clients expect a high level of regulatory compliance and product safety with those suppliers who have the ability to provide these products.”
Regulatory compliance continues to affect the promotional products industry on an ever-increasing degree, and all signs continue to indicate additional requirements in the coming years. In the past, distributors and their end-user clients frequently addressed the issue via indemnification agreements rather than actual performance standards. Today, however, these agreements are no longer sufficient. An industry standard of compliance built upon independent, third-party audits gives both suppliers and distributors the ability to be more proactive in addressing the changing regulatory environment.
“The topic of product safety is here to stay, and there is clearly a need to identify companies that are compliant with regulations so distributors can quickly access their product offerings,” said Damian Want, senior vice president of Tustin, California-based Logomark, Inc., a QCA founding and accredited member company. “Buttonwood Technology Group’s enthusiastic support of QCA is another important step in this direction.”
About QCA:
Chicago, Illinois-based Quality Certification Alliance is an independent, accreditation organization whose mission is to elevate the standards by which industry firms that import and/or manufacture promotional products provide consistently safe, high-quality, socially compliant and environmentally conscientious merchandise. The QCA Seal of Approval is granted to member companies who complete an independent third-party audit and comply with stringent standards, which are based upon a combination of state and national laws, international standards and industry-accepted best practices that are recognized for their strength and effectiveness by QCA members, the promotional products industry and the end-user clients.
For more information, visit www.qcalliance.org.
