American Solutions for Business held their third annual virtual award ceremony, recognizing all winners in one evening of celebration.

• This year, 26 award categories were featured across the board, honoring hundreds of recipients. ASB introduced three new awards: The ACES Ambassador Award for Sales Associates (Leigh Strong), and the Strategic Partner (Mel Bettua, HPG) and Top Importer (BamBams) awards for suppliers.
• Some additional categories were Top Vendors, The Horizon Award for Vendors, American Eagle and GPO Excellence Award.
• The Top Vendors: SanMar, Ennis, alphabroder / Prime Line, Essendant, ICS Corporation, Hit Promotional Products, KDM Products, S & S Activewear LLC, Dubow Textile Inc., Navitor, PCNA, Automotive Service Products, Abbott Label Inc., Lippmann Printing, Sterling Business Forms, Wise, Diversified Labeling Solutions, Wardkraft, Spectra Print Corporation, American Print and Digital, Gemline, Highland Computer Forms Inc., Sweda, Central States Business Forms, 4over Inc., Cap America, Royal Business Forms, ID Images Inc., Love Envelopes, Showdown Displays, Koozie Group

The Promotional Products Education Foundation (PPEF) is now accepting scholarship applications for the 2023-24 school year with a deadline of March 15, 2023.

PPEF's scholarship recipients are announced in early June each year. Since 1989, PPEF has awarded over $3 million in college scholarships to 1,618 promotional products industry employees and their children.

For the 2022-23 school year, $299,000 in total scholarship money was awarded to 162 students (130 new recipients and 32 renewal recipients). For 2023-24, $320,500 will be distributed among 170 students (138 new recipients and 32 renewal recipients).

Sixty-four available merit scholarships will pay $1,250 each; 102 available needs scholarships will pay $2,250 each; and four available chairman’s scholarships will pay $2,750 each.

Earlier this year, the PPEF Board of Trustees voted to eliminate the use of ACT/SAT scores from the scholarship evaluation process for a two-year trial period.

To apply online and for more information about the application process, visit PPEF.us/college-scholarships.

Staples Promotional Products is raising the bar for sustainability transparency in the promotional products industry.

The Kansas-headquartered distributor, a subsidiary of the office retail giant Staples, has announced the creation of what is thought to be the market’s first sustainable procurement platform, in conjunction with EcoVadis, a leading sustainability ratings provider for enterprises.

The promise is that SPP will be able to offer full sustainability transparency to every link in its supply chain.

“At a time when third-party suppliers account for 90% of total environmental impact, SPP is proud to be first in the industry to establish an unbiased sustainable procurement platform,” says Staples Promotional Products President Daron Hines. “We’re the first and only distributor that can offer stakeholders sustainability transparency for 100% of the value chain.”

The Deal

EcoVadis, which provides holistic sustainability ratings for companies, covers its clients' impacts in a broad range of measures, including environmental, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

Through the deal, SPP and its suppliers will be annually assessed and scored by EcoVadis. SPP had leaned on suppliers to cooperate with EcoVadis assessments in order to do business with the company, one of the industry’s largest distributors.

• SPP is currently the only brand merchandiser that uses EcoVadis to assess, score and report supply chain sustainability performance.

• EcoVadis also awarded SPP a Silver medal for sustainability after assessing its decoration and distribution operations.

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• Some industry companies have reported that their assessments have been tabled by EcoVadis for more than a year.

• Having already established a head start, Staples signals that it intends to push even further.

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• The announcement comes 11 months after Hines was named president of Staples Promotional Products, following stints at companies such as Morton Salt and General Mills.

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David McClintock, marketing director at EcoVadis, says, “By launching this sustainable supply chain initiative, Staples Promotional Products is directing their ambition to the point of greatest leverage to bolster their long-term growth and accelerate towards improved sustainability impact.

What It Means

Staples is not the only promotional products company that has engaged EcoVadis for ratings. Companies such as Gemline (PPAI 113948, S11) and Geiger (PPAI 105182, D12) have turned to EcoVadis for assessments of their own sustainability practices.

However, as the importance for sustainability assessments has grown, EcoVadis and organizations like it have developed extensive waiting lists for their services.

“While this is a significant first for the industry, it’s only a first step for SPP,” Hines says. “By 2025, our goal is to reach Platinum recognition level in our operations and have EcoVadis metrics that objectively demonstrate the most sustainable supply chain in the industry.”

“Having been rated themselves sets a strong example for their suppliers.”

Pantone’s 2023 Color of the Year is Viva Magenta (PANTONE 18-1750), a “brave and fearless” new animated red “expressive of a new signal of strength” as a growing digital world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced Thursday night.

“In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta descends from the red family, and is inspired by the red of cochineal, one of the most precious dyes belonging to the natural dye family as well as one of the strongest and brightest the world has known."

Eiseman says, “Rooted in the primordial, PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta reconnects us to original matter. Invoking the forces of nature, PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta galvanizes our spirit, helping us to build our inner strength.”

The PPAI Expo 2023, scheduled for January 9-12 in Las Vegas, will have Pantone 2023 Color of the Year Limited Edition Formula Guides at the Pantone booth inside Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Pantone 2023 Color of the Year shopping bags produced by Promo PSI will also be available. (Free PPAI Expo registration for PPAI members is still available until Monday, December 5.)

The Pantone Color of the Year announcement has become an inflection point for the art and fashion world, recalibrating trends for the coming year. The ripple effects reach the promo industry, too, as suppliers and distributors shape future product and marketing plans.

Each year, the Pantone Institute carefully selects a color that’s reflective of the world’s current landscape. The 2022 Color of the Year was -- the first brand-new, Pantone-created color chosen by the institute – symbolizing “the global innovation and transformation taking place.”

Additionally this year, Pantone has released a series of complementary colors it calls "the Magentaverse."

This year’s Color of the Year choice “sends a message of vibrant positivity” and “highlights our change of perspective” as the world moves forward from the pandemic, says Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute.

“We do feel this animated crimson red tone is reflective of this unique cultural moment,” Pressman said during the live announcement. “We are living in an unconventional time, time where we need to follow bravely and boldly, create a new vision and write a new narrative for ourselves.”

Logomark and Groupe Bugatti Inc. have announced an exclusive partnership for the distribution of Bugatti bags into the U.S. promotional market beginning in 2023 with a pre-launch now through December 2022.

• The Bugatti Group creates, designs, manufactures, imports and sells high-quality luggage, briefcases, handbags and accessories worldwide. Their bags are offered at popular retail stores including Nordstrom, Macy’s & Kohls.
• Logomark will initially release 13 backpacks, briefcases, hybrids and duffel bags from Bugatti across five of their collections, with plans to introduce more styles including rolling travel luggage in the second quarter of 2023.
• The newly released bags include the popular Reborn Collection backpack and hybrid duffel, which feature sleek, modern designs made of 100% recycled water-repellent polyester.

Gemline announced a strategic partnership with California-based retail brand Be Home.

• The partnership further expands Gemline’s retail brand portfolio and product offering in its fast-growing home, entertainment and lifestyle categories.
• Be Home has been designing beautiful, eco-friendly and ethically sourced home goods from around the world for over 16 years. Be Home products are sold in 2000+ retail accounts, including Williams-Sonoma, Anthropologie, Magnolia Market, and West Elm, among others.
• “We are thrilled to welcome Be Home to Gemline’s growing roster of best-in-class retail brands, and to introduce them to the industry, especially as they share our vision for responsibly made and beautifully-crafted consumer products,” says Frank Carpenito, President of Gemline. “Be Home’s commitment to design innovation and quality, and the fact their founders have focused on building relationships with family and women-owned artisan groups, multi-generational craftsmen, and independent makers, really resonated with us, and we believe it will resonate with our distributor partners and their customers as well.”

The paper used by Koozie Group (PPAI 114187, S13) in most of its calendars and all of its paper mouse pads, Souvenir Sticky Note pads and Souvenir scratch pad products now comes from facilities certified by either the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) or the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). These two organizations are the gold standard for responsible forestry management.

• The initiative is part of the company’s Keep It. Give It. vision that is built on four pillars, including environmental stewardship as well as fostering diversity & inclusion, safety & social responsibility, and giving back to employees & the community.
• Forests managed under the FSC and SFI must adhere to a strict set of guidelines. By choosing paper produced from certified forests, Koozie Group is ensuring that its supply chain supports the company’s environmental, social, and governance commitments. All three of Koozie Group’s domestic facilities received FSC and SFI certification in 2021.
• Starting with the 2023 product year, nearly 95% of Koozie Group’s calendars will be produced with FSC- or SFI-certified paper. The addition of the FSC/SFI logo will be a rolling process, with full implementation on 2024 calendars. The FSC logo has already been added to the backer sheets of Souvenir Sticky Note pads. All certified products are now identified on the company’s website.

Geiger (PPAI 105182, D12) has hired Stephanie Whitman as vice president of marketing.

• Whitman joins Geiger from Hussey Seating Company, a leading international seating manufacturer, where she previously served as manager of marketing operations.
• “I am thrilled to be joining this iconic business at a time of exciting opportunity,” Whitman said. “The rich history of the organization combined with serious investments in both people and acquisitions set Geiger on a path of impressive growth.”
• As vice president of marketing, Whitman will oversee marketing and corporate communications for Geiger’s international brand, which boasts more than 500 employees and 450 independent sales representatives.

The U.S. mid-term elections have come down to a close finish with, as of publication, the Democrats holding onto control of the Senate and the Republicans appearing to win a slim majority in the House.

The effects of this shift in legislative makeup will ripple through the country in myriad ways. For the promo industry, one outcome that bears watching is the elections’ impact on foreign trade.

Trade Policy

The 118th Congress – January 3, 2023, to January 3, 2025 – may shake up U.S. trade policy. With a divided legislature, observers expect much of the White House’s domestic agenda will likely be stalled but that possibilities exist for common ground in foreign and trade policy. Politico cites legislators on both sides of the aisle who see openings for more traditional free trade agreements in the years ahead.

• Due to their popularity with unions and domestic manufacturers, the Biden administration has largely maintained tariffs on certain Chinese imports put in place during the prior administration.
• In a sign of entrenching trade and geopolitical disputes between the countries, the U.S. in October announced prohibitions on the export of computer chips and chip fabrication equipment to China.
• This week, President Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Indonesia to discuss trade, Taiwan and other points of contention.
  
  

Trade policy has found bipartisan support in recent years, with the Trump administration’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement passing the House 385-41.

• Observers suggest that there may eventually also be pressure to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other international agreements.
  
  

The Promo Perspective

“With a divided Congress… the President’s domestic agenda will become a bit more stifled,” says Brian Deissroth, CAS, senior key accounts manager at Augusta Sportswear, PPAI Regional Relations Committee chair and frequent Legislative Education and Action Day delegate at both the state and federal levels. “This will create room for foreign policy and trade initiatives.

“It is likely that the new Congress will look to adapt new trade policies given the aggressiveness of China in recent years. Republicans will seek to highlight trade and push the President on trade promotion authority, which allows for expedited Congressional approval on trade deals. The key to any legislation moving forward is bipartisan cooperation from both chambers.”

The promo industry has been dealing with the federal government’s Section 232 and 301 tariffs on Chinese imports since 2018 and has in many ways adapted to them. Deissroth says, “Because of the tariffs, buyers and end users seem to be leaning toward products and apparel that is not produced in China but rather produced in other nations.”

Advocacy

For several years, PPAI and its partners across U.S. industry have advocated against tariffs and other barriers to trade. In particular, the Association has pushed back against Section 232 and 301 tariffs levied against Chinese imports in 2018 stemming from an investigation of China’s intellectual property policies and practices.

• The tariffs were imposed on Chinese imports in four tranches. The third and fourth tranches significantly impacted the promotional products industry.
• Numerous exclusions affecting goods subject to tariffs stemming from the Section 232 and 301 investigations lapsed in December 2020. PPAI and its coalition partners successfully lobbied the U.S. Trade Representative to have those exclusions reinstated, retroactively, earlier this year.

American Solutions for Business celebrates achieving another record year of growth. During their annual home office update meeting, President of American, Justin Zavadil shared updates regarding projects and events happening within the home office and field, while VP of Finance, Bill Finley, shared updates regarding ASB’s growth and increased stock share value.

“It’s exciting to see the direction we’re moving as a company,” expressed Zavadil. “Together as a team, we’ve surpassed the goals that we set for this fiscal year. We attribute it to the hard work and dedication of our amazing salespeople, home office team and vendors.”

“2022 was another great year thanks to the efforts of the American team,” explained Finley. “We achieved record financial growth, allowing us to reach a stock share value increase of 37%. As an employee-owned company, this makes an incredible impact on all owners within American.”