Promotional Products Association International, the world’s largest and oldest international not-for-profit promotional products association, today introduced a new product safety awareness program at The PPAI Expo 2014.
Developed by the association’s Product Responsibility Advisory Group (PRAG) and vetted through industry committees and advisory groups, the program is designed to enhance industry-wide commitment and a culture where companies are not only aware of product safety but are leading the discussion at every level in the promotional products channel. With this new product safety education program, PPAI adds commitment, culture and confidence to its maxim of delivering industry visibility, viability, credibility and community.
“We are very pleased to be able to make this important product safety education program available to PPAI members,” said Marc Simon, CEO of HALO Branded Solutions and PPAI board chair. “This program provides an opportunity for promotional products companies to increase their knowledge of product safety principles and practices to better serve their customers and clients. Through the Product Safety Awareness Program, PPAI will enhance product safety education for promotional products companies and strengthen core competencies for industry best practices.”
PPAI president and CEO, Paul Bellantone added, “PPAI has long been the industry’s leader in education and professional development, and this initiative builds on our past efforts and takes PPAI and its members to the next level in product safety education. It is a bold statement both to and on behalf of our membership and the industry.”
The PPAI Product Safety Awareness Program is one important part of a larger platform where companies will designate a Product Safety Ambassador to fulfill biennial safety education requirements to obtain the company’s Product Safety Aware status and gain access to the PPAI marketplace. Many industry early adopters have already fulfilled the program requirements in support of product safety best practices and have achieved Product Safety Aware status.
The Product Safety Awareness Program is not an industry certification, but rather an education-based program requiring every member company wanting to gain access to the PPAI marketplace, including trade show exhibit space, sponsorships and advertising—regardless of membership category—to complete a minimum of four hours of product safety education no later than the start of Expo East 2015.
PPAI has embraced an “all access” education model, vowing to make education available to all members through as many channels as possible. Below is an initial list of product safety education events to access the required courses (additional opportunities to be released soon):
- The PPAI Expo 2014 (Las Vegas)
- SAGE Show 2014 (Fort Worth)
- Expo East 2014 (Atlantic City)
- PPAI Product Safety Summit 2014 (Boston)
- PPAI Expo 2015 (Las Vegas)
- PPAI Webinars and On-Demand Library
Find more information is available at the the PPAI Product Safety Awareness Program FAQ page.
For more information, visit www.ppai.org.
