QCA Introduces Distributor Advocacy Council Charter

The Quality Certification Alliance (QCA), an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping promotional products industry companies provide safe products, has introduced its Distributor Advocacy Council (DAC) charter. The DAC allows distributors to formally pledge their support for the organization.

In joining the DAC, distributors commit to meeting the high standards set forth by Fortune 1000 companies by partnering with QCA-accredited suppliers. These suppliers have been independently verified as having the processes and procedures in place to deliver safe, compliant products.

By signing the charter, DAC participants pledge that by the end of 2015: 90 percent of their purchasing will come from QCA-accredited suppliers; they will commit to educating their employees on compliance issues; they will become familiar with the relevant state and federal requirements; recognize QCA as the industry standard on product safety and compliance; and support its mission and QCA-accredited suppliers to elevate product safety standards.

The QCA Distributor Advocacy Council Charter can be viewed here.

Brent Stone, QCA executive director-operations, says: “We are pleased that the relationship QCA has with these and other distributors continues to grow through increased interaction between end-buyer clients, their distributor of choice and QCA. Fortune 1000 customers expect this level of compliance and are supporting these industry leaders because they have proven themselves to be serious about protecting their clients’ brand equity. The QCA Distributor Advocacy Council participants have been engaged early and often with QCA, and they are continuing to vote with their purchase orders and by including QCA-accredited suppliers in their preferred supplier programs and events. We look forward to continued engagement with our distributor partners and their clients who are driving the demand for compliance solutions. QCA now has nearly $3 billion worth of industry support behind it and continues to establish itself as the only proactive comprehensive compliance solution available in our industry.”

The initial 15 companies to sign the QCA DAC Charter, which collectively represent more than $800 million in annual promotional products sales, are:

• Activate! Promotions + Marketing
• Axis Promotions
• Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, Inc.
• The Image Group
• InnerWorkings, Inc.
• Lapine Associates, Inc.
• Leaderpromos
• MadeToOrder
• Overture Premiums & Promotions
• PromoShop Inc.
• Shumsky Enterprises
• Signet, Inc.
• Summit Group
• Sunrise Identity
• The Promotional Specialists

“The QCA board is pleased to see many in our industry act in the best interest of both our Fortune 1000 clients and the long-term sustainability of our industry,” says Jay Deutsch, CEO of Bensussen, Deutsch and Associates. “The promotional products industry needed to address the absence of any product safety and compliance standards that could meet the needs of Fortune 1000 clients. The frequent occurrence of negative news coverage of corporate compliance failures has these clients laser focused on protecting their brand image and equity, and they do have other advertising options if our industry cannot demonstrate the ability to deliver safe product. It is reassuring to see many of the thought leaders in our industry making the strategic decision to embrace compliance in spite of the difficulty and expense for doing so.”