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Wash Your Hands, Or Not

10/16/2015 | Jeff Jacobs, The Brand Protector

If you've been around the promotional products industry for long at all, chances are pretty good you've helped a client with event marketing. Goodie bags, room drops, and all sorts of identity merchandise designed to create positive impressions tied back to the specific event.

During my time of being responsible for brand merchandise for a Global 500 tire manufacturer, we had lots of outdoor events: at racing venues, off-road challenges, and ride-and-drives. In the discussions with distributors leading up to the events, we talked about the merchandise we'd use, and items like ear plugs, lip balm, sunglasses and sun block were always in the mix. At one point, we even had a first aid kit to include for attendees, but, to the distributor's credit, we stopped using that because the suppliers at the time were not using proper warning labels, and certainly not in a position to substantiate claims of any kind of health benefit. That was then, and frankly, awareness of the need to label properly was not in the mainstream of discussion when it came to promotional products.

A little later, we began to see hand sanitizers as a staple of the product offerings from distributors. They came in several sizes and shapes, had reasonably good imprint areas, and many came with a lanyard or clip for convenience and branding. What could be wrong with hand sanitizer as a gift, and who wouldn't want the opportunity for clients to stay clean in situations where the nearest restroom might not be so near? I admit, I had no idea at the time that one of the ingredients was part of a "50-year war" over toxic chemicals.

First introduced in 1969, Triclosan, when used in hand sanitizers and anti-bacterial soap, not only does not kill germs any better than good old soap-and-water, but studies have also linked it to cancer. Acting as an endocrine disruptor, Triclosan reportedly effects estrogen, androgen and thyroid hormonal systems. A quick check this week of hand sanitizers in distributors’ catalogs shows that suppliers are steering clear of Tricolsan, using alcohol as the active ingredient, instead. That self-selection is good news for our industry, because the new regulations the FDA is currently proposing, which will become final in 2016, won’t ban Triclosan. Instead, they will simply remove the presumption that Triclosan is an effective antibacterial agent. Products labeled "antibacterial" will only have to show the FDA evidence that they work better than soap and water. Setting the bar low, the new regulations won't touch products that aren't used with water, like hand-sanitizing gels.

Finally, I have to mention an article I saw this week regarding those popular small loaders known as "skid-steers." An article out of the Minneapolis Star Tribune in a series called "Tragic Harvest," made reference to a series of deaths and injuries in the Midwest caused by bypassed, or disabled, safety devices. While skid-steers are unlikely promotional products, a quote from Mark Hagedorn, a Wisconsin agricultural agent, still caught my eye: "They have built in a boatload of safety features, but ingenious people find ways to work around safety." I'm afraid that issue may also apply in too many cases in our industry today.

How about you? Have you been forced, because of price pressures or competition, to consider working around the issues of product safety? Think about it as it relates to the skid-steer incidents. It's really not worth it, and you could end up with your own "Tragic Harvest" to deal with.

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.

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