Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), Chicago, the promotional product industry’s only independent, non-governmental accreditation organization dedicated to helping companies provide safe products, has expanded its Distributor Advocacy Council (DAC) with the addition of Mississauga, Ontario-based Cotton Candy.
The DAC mission is to elevate the standards by which firms that import and manufacture products are consistently delivering safe, high quality, socially compliant and environmentally conscientious merchandise, and its affiliates recognize QCA as the industry standard. Together, the DAC- and QCA-accredited companies are forming a new level of collaboration in this industry-changing effort, which is effectively an ideal way to ensure supply chain transparency and control.
Cotton Candy is an award-winning promotional agency with a North American operational footprint and an international client base. Offering a comprehensive complement of “tangible marketing” services, the company’s strengths include special order and online corporate program sales of branded merchandise, apparel and uniforms, reward and recognition, marketing and design, displays and brand presence, warehousing and fulfillment, and in-house product embellishment. In 2017, the company celebrated its 25th year in the brand enhancement business.
“Cotton Candy has understood from the day we opened our doors in 1992 that every product we adorn with a client’s logo becomes an extension of the brand,” said John Houlding, president and founder of Cotton Candy. “And, how that product subsequently looks or lasts or performs can greatly influence the way that brand is perceived. Over the years, we’ve made a point of implementing protocols, policies and measures, including establishing the position of a dedicated compliance officer in 2010 to help us identify and work with suppliers who produce quality sustainable products in well-managed and socially acceptable work environments. Joining the QCA Distributor Advocacy Council is an integral part of what we are endeavoring to do as an organization in ascertaining the commitment and sincere efforts of our suppliers to provide quality sustainable products manufactured from well managed and socially acceptable work environments.”
By joining the DAC, Cotton Candy connects with the other like-minded distributors who are passionate about furthering the cause of our industry’s responsibility to protect client brands.
“Cotton Candy has long understood the value of responsible sourcing,” said Tim Brown, MAS, QCA’s executive director of operations. “Their interest in QCA is nothing new, and we are thrilled that [they] have chosen now as the right time to jump in with both feet. More and more, end buyers of promotional products are insisting on products from accredited suppliers. This is a trend that we expect to see gain momentum in the coming months and years as those with the most to lose start settings expectations of our industry.”
For more information about Cotton Candy, visit www.cottoncandy.com.
For more information about the QCA Distributor Advocacy Council, visit www.qcalliance.org/distributor-advocacy-council.
