The Toronto Star’s “I Got Hired at a Bangladesh Sweatshop. Meet My 9-year-old Boss”

Last Friday the Toronto Star published an article about one of its writers going undercover in a Bangladesh sweatshop. It’s an incredible piece, and one I think everyone in our industry should read.

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6 Unexpected Upsides of the Government Shutdown

There’s plenty bad about the government shutdown. Social service closures, work furloughs, dead air on C-SPAN—You name it, we’re suffering through it. But there are a couple silver linings too, especially for the promotional industry. Check out these surprise upsides of total governmental collapse that are really helping our industry.

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Greenwashing: Are You a Co-Conspirator?

Marketers bombard us with claims every day: “Bigger,” “better,” and of course, “cheaper.” But have you also heard “greener?” What about “greenwashing?” Have you heard of that term? Greenwashing is marketing-speak for product descriptions that are deceptively used to promote that an organization’s products, aims and/or policies are environmentally friendly.

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Promotional Products Industry: Balancing Risk and Reward

One of our biggest challenges is the question of how we can help those promotional product reps actually closing the sales and working with limited resources make it part of their decision to deliver safe and socially compliant product? It’s all in the balance of risk and reward.

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Thousands of Dead Pigs Found in Chinese River

The headline (as well as the actual story) is scary, horrifying, gross, sad and so many other of the world’s worst feelings, but here’s a question for you: What if the dead pigs were just a metaphor?

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Changing Horizons: FTC’s Updated Green Guides Alter The Eco Marketing Landscape

Whether you want to believe it or not, the weather impacts the ability for business to get done. One look at Facebook during Hurricane Sandy illustrated just how disruptive the storm was to industry firms.

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Product Recall: A Nightmare On Your Street

Jason Vorhees. Freddy Krueger. Michael Myers. Three classic horror movie villains that can send shivers down the spine with the mere mention of their names. But nothing strikes fear in the heart of product managers everywhere more than one thing: Recall.

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The Five Stages Of Compliance Grief

Interesting parallels between The Five Stages of Grief and the path our industry has taken when approaching the topic of product safety and compliance.

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The Genie Is Out Of The Bottle

Is product safety and compliance a trend? Or is it here to stay? The answer depends on whom you ask.

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Why You Should Be Qualifying Your Suppliers

When selecting a supplier for an order, there are many factors that should go into your decision. If you stop at who gives the biggest rebate or has the shiniest new products, you are taking on more risk than you might imagine.

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