Brand Safety Is More Than Protecting Your Company Name
For BAG MAKERS, It’s Also About Protecting All Those Who Come Into Contact With Their Products As Well As Our Industry As A Whole
Brand safety can mean different things to different people depending on their company philosophy and unique business situations. However, in general terms, consistently delivering safe, high-quality, socially compliant and environmentally conscientious merchandise is at the foundation.
In this week’s Partners In Brand Safety conversation, we chat with Christi Policht, BAG MAKERS’ global operations manager/product safety specialist, about why brand safety extends beyond merely protecting the company name and how independent third-party accreditation has been a guiding force. QCA Accreditation has helped them generate the documentation necessary to prove they have world-class processes and procedures in place designed to protect all those who come into contact with their products–and the promotional products industry as a whole. This is no small task, given that the company produces more than 55 million bags each year through flexographic, hot stamping and screen-printing services.
1. What does brand safety mean to you?
BAG MAKERS is committed to ensuring that the bags we manufacture, import and imprint conform to the highest degree of established domestic and international standards regarding product safety, social compliance, environmental stewardship, product quality and supply chain security. Brand safety means protecting our name, all those who come into contact with our products and our industry. Product safety and compliance are very important to BAG MAKERS, and we believe that it is our duty to provide safe, compliant products to our customers.
2. How has QCA Accreditation benefitted/improved your company?
We are so grateful for QCA! Back in 2010 when we started the process of becoming accredited, we had many of the required processes/procedures in place, but they were not documented. Part of QCA Accreditation is getting things documented. Being QCA Accredited requires us to stay abreast of changes in regulations, etc. so we do not have to play catch up. It is nice to be able to go to product safety/compliance conferences and have peace of mind, (i.e., “We already do that!”). We have all that our customers are looking for regarding documentation and are not scrambling to pull something together. It’s nice to be able to say we are QCA Accredited, and distributors recognize this.
3. How difficult/rigorous did you find the program to be?
I always refer to becoming QCA Accredited as a complete revamping of the way we did things. The program is not difficult, but it is rigorous. QCA is there to help each step of the way. During the initial stages of becoming accredited, I spoke with a consultant from QCA every day. As rigorous as it was, the results are well worth it. It got us where we are today.
4. What was the biggest lesson(s) learned about product safety, social responsibility, etc.?
Product safety is ever-evolving, and that is a good thing. It is absolutely necessary to keep abreast of all of the changes to remain compliant. Use the resources available – QCA is one of those!
5. What type of company would benefit most from going through the Accreditation program?
All companies would benefit from going through the Accreditation program. There is a lot involved in product safety, compliance, and so on. The QCA Accreditation program is a roadmap that gets you going in the right direction and is there to help along the way as it guides you through to completion.
