Participate
A Participation Model to Fit Your Needs
The Quality Certification Alliance offers a comprehensive brand safety and responsible sourcing participation model available for the manufacturer to the user of branded merchandise.
Every day your organization makes decisions. Do those decisions reflect your values? Do they protect your brand reputation? Is your logo in a safe place? How you advertise, source products and services, and with whom you choose to conduct business all reflect your corporate values.
Aligning Values
Participating in QCA formally aligns your organization’s values with other companies that are committed to ethical business practices and higher standards of conduct in the marketing procurement community. Apply now to participate in the only non-profit, non-governing, independent third-party committed to protecting brand reputations through validated compliance best practices for manufacturers and importers of promotional products.
Participation Eligibility
QCA participation is open to companies that use branded merchandise (promotional products, premiums and/or incentives) as part of their marketing and advertising campaigns. Accreditation and Certification are offered for members of the promotional products industry that manufacture, import, decorate and/or distribute promotional merchandise. An Advocacy Council is offered for promotional products distributors that meet basic responsible sourcing criteria. In total, there are four participation categories and corresponding requirements as outlined below.
Participation Qualifications
Accreditation
Promotional products companies that are registered as a “Supplier” with the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), or the Promotional Product Professionals of Canada (PPPC), are incorporated in the United States, its territories, or Canada are eligible to apply for the QCA Accreditation Program. A “Supplier” per the definition provided by the PPAI means a promotional products company that manufactures, imports, converts, imprints or otherwise produces or processes promotional products offered for sale through promotional consultants. These requirements may be verified by an audit of production and purchase records prior to acceptance of an application for participation.
Certification
Promotional products companies that are registered as a “Distributor” or “Decorator” with the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), or the Promotional Product Professionals of Canada (PPPC), are incorporated in the United States, its territories, or Canada are eligible to apply for the QCA Certification Program. A “Distributor” per the definition provided by the PPAI shall mean a promotional products company that develops ideas for using promotional products in a marketing or promotional campaign, buys such items from Suppliers and re-sells them to end-buyers (the users of promotional products). A “Decorator” per the definition provided by the PPAI means anyone who embellishes a third-party product either through screen print, painting or embroidery. These requirements may be verified by an audit of production and purchase records prior to acceptance of an application for participation.
Advocate
Promotional products companies that are registered as a “Distributor” with the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), or the Promotional Product Professionals of Canada (PPPC), are incorporated in the United States, its territories, or Canada are eligible to apply to be QCA Advocates. As part of the application process, Applicants shall self-certify that they comply with the QCA’s standards and that they provide and maintain processes for assuring compliance objectives captured within the scope of QCA’s Pillars of Compliance. The QCA Compliance Committee shall review the application questionnaire to assess the accuracy of the information provided. Advocate participants are admitted by a majority vote of the Compliance Committee, based upon a determination that an Applicant has met the Corporation’s criteria for participation.
Affiliate
Any organization, that is not considered part of the promotional products industry, that utilizes the services of the promotional products industry and supports the corporation’s standards for promotional products is eligible to participate as an Affiliate. Affiliates help hold the promotional product industry accountable to higher standards of responsible behavior through ethical sourcing and more sustainable manufacturing efforts. They will be expected to provide feedback and suggest improvements and enhancements to the QCA programs as part of the Affiliate Roundtable. The organization’s position within the supply chain may be verified prior to acceptance of a submission for participation.
