Promotional Games and Toys - The Three Most Important Factors

By Colleen McKenna

Tips for Safety Testing Products & Inks

We asked game and toy suppliers about how they handle product testing. See their responses below.

"We test our products to ensure they meet or exceed the CPSIA and/or ASTMF963 child safety guidelines ... "We have a strict guideline on product introduction and understand our supply base. This way we ensure where our product is coming from, how and with what materials they are made. Our reasonable testing plan also includes a periodic production-planning program for testing of raw materials and the finished product."
- Karen Gillman, vice president of supply chain management for Vitronic Promotional Group

"We use our testing reports and do not use any inks that are not tested. To make sure that our products are safe, we maintain great communication with our testing labs. We rely on them. We also follow the industry experts guidelines for safety."
- Malia Anderson, marketing manager for CleggPromo Inc.

"The CPSIA requirement has impacted our product line in a more positive direction. Being a compliant company gives you the tools to be aware of safety concerns and more educated about your products. If we have selected a product that may be marketed to children some of the steps I take are speaking to testing labs about not only the required tests but discussing any other concerns that may arise. Finding testing labs that are familiar with the promotional product industry makes communication a lot easier. Fortunately, the promotional products industry has a tremendous amount of resources and I utilize them every day."
- Tara Keckeisen, associate product manager for CleggPromo Inc.

We don't know how to say this without revealing our goofy inner children: Toys are the best. They are what get us through snowstorms, lazy Sunday afternoons, and tense workdays. Toys and games are stress relievers not just for children, but adults as well. An end-user will remember the maze that kept them occupied on a long flight or the stuffed bear their child held while sick in the hospital. Toys have a lot more power than we give them credit for. Here are the three areas you need cover to win with games and toys.

1. SAFETY
Before You Do Anything, Do Your Homework
It may sound like your mother's mandate from childhood, but doing your homework applies to selling children's products as well. Suppliers of games and toys are making safety a top priority because of the crackdown on faulty and dangerous children's products by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Both CleggPromo Inc., Gardena, Calif., and Vitronic Promotional Group, Mason, Ohio, have product safety tabs on their websites so distributors can easily find information on product lines.

"At CleggPromo we have embraced the new CPSC requirements and have been extremely proactive in keeping current with CPSIA testing," said Malia Anderson, marketing manager for CleggPromo Inc. She explained how the company's staff stays updated on CPSC rulings and regulations. "Our sales and customer service team are educated through meetings and classes to understand the importance of safety and what it means to the end-user and our distributors," she said.

Catch Up on Current Events
If you don't have access to the classes and meetings that CleggPromo Inc. provides to its company, visit www.cpsc.gov or contact one of your supplier partners. Being knowledgeable about CPSC rules makes a supplier more of an asset to its distributors. "We find ourselves educating the distributor quite a bit," Anderson noted. Take advantage of the information suppliers have. The general public is hearing about product safety on the news so they will have questions. You need to have answers. "We understand that end-users [and end-buyers] are requiring more information and are familiar with these new laws so it is extremely important for us to maintain organized current reports," Anderson explained. "To accommodate, we put GCC's (General Certificates of Conformity) on our website, and send test reports upon request," she added.

Next: Products and Markets

1 2 All Next »

0 Comments

View Comments

Colleen McKenna Author's page

Playing to Win