Last weekend, we took advantage of sparkling weather in the Carolinas and made a mad dash for the coast. Not really a vacation, just a long weekend to recharge the batteries.
I've begun to advocate for more and more electronic disconnects so, while I didn't invite you to the beach, and you probably didn't hear back (yet, anyway) from that email you sent, I did find a couple of articles worth suggesting to you. Here goes…
First, some great headway is being made on the lead poisoning of children in Rochester, NY. Ten years ago, the city decided that children in Rochester would no longer be poisoned at a rate 10 times the national average. Lead poisoning prevention laws there are now among the "smartest" in the nation, and have measurable results – a drop of 80 percent in the number of children with high lead levels. With results like this, you likely think that there are some difficult hoops that thought leaders in Rochester must have people jumping through. Actually, the genius is in the simplicity of it all: The city decided to start looking for lead in rental homes rather than waiting to act until a child had already been poisoned. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has long encouraged cities to enforce housing codes as a way to prevent lead poisoning. "The only way to really address this problem is to address the housing itself," the agency told The Cleveland Plain Dealer. And, clearly, it's working.
Issues of social accountability are gaining more momentum in discussions on promotional products these days, and especially when it comes to workers at garment factories. I was really pleased to learn more about the Gap, Inc.'s program called P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement and Career Advancement), which actually started back in 2007, with 30,000 women in ten countries participating to gain skills they can use both in work, and in life. But now, Gap has doubled down, and has committed to educate 10 MILLION women throughout the world by 2020. I glanced at a few of the women's stories at gap.com/pace, and you might want to, as well. The stories are about changing skills, and more importantly, changing their thoughts about themselves and their abilities. It's great to see this kind of commitment to the workers making a major retailer's clothes.
Finally, we wrote here last time about hand sanitizers and an ingredient called Triclosan that had been linked to cancer. I heard almost immediately from Paul Christensen, president of supplier Natural Trends, LLC, one of the first companies to bring sanitizers to the promotional product market in 1999, and who, according to the company's website, introduced the very first spray sanitizer pen in 2004. Paul suggested our article needed further clarification, especially when it comes to so-called 'instant sanitizers,' and he shared the following: "While some have certainly imported or produced non-FDA compliant product of poor quality and without proper drug facts labeling, I am unaware of a single supplier who has ever offered an instant hand sanitizer in the promotional market containing Triclosan." Christensen continued, "USA-made instant hand sanitizer, produced in compliance with FDA requirements, and used as directed, is very safe and effective. All instant hand sanitizers must contain one of two active ingredients in their proper percentages – ethyl alcohol or benzalkonium chloride."
According to Christensen, "By definition, instant hand sanitizer is waterless, meaning it does not need to be rinsed off with water after use. The FDA requires products with Triclosan to carry a statement on the label instructing that hands are to be rinsed off after use."
We always try to provide the most complete information on product safety, and appreciate Paul's comments for clarification. How about you, care to share some of your thoughts with us?
Jeff Jacobs has been an expert in building brands and brand stewardship for more than 30 years. He’s a staunch advocate of consumer product safety and has a deep passion and belief regarding the issues surrounding compliance and corporate social responsibility. He is the executive director of Quality Certification Alliance, the industry’s only non-profit dedicated to helping suppliers provide safe and compliant products. When he's not working, you can find him traveling the world with his lovely wife, working as a volunteer Guardian ad Litem, or sometimes even enjoying a cigar at his favorite local cigar shop. Follow Jeff on Twitter, or reach out to him at jeff@qcalliance.org.