You can’t be too careful when it comes to product safety and compliance measures. Non-compliant products are costly if recalled, and manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and clients are all open to potential lawsuits, especially if someone is harmed. Take a look at these three proven strategies to make sure your products deliver everything you need, safely and correctly.

Relationships Are Everything
It’s critical to your success to develop and maintain relationships with partners that have established networks. “Never rely on trading companies, websites or agents or you may unwittingly add cost, communication delays and headaches to your project,” says Mark St. Peter, an import executive and marketing manager for Greater China. “Direct partnerships ensure you always have the best price and the most capable factory producing your project – and that every detail is managed with your best interest and expectations in mind. When challenges do arise, our core vendor partners work hand-in-hand with us to make the situation right.”

Leave Safety Testing to the Experts
Risk taking is great when it comes to innovative product design, but not when the safety of your manufacturing is at stake. No product should ship until it’s compliant. Work with independent testing labs that provide certified results, giving your clients the assurance that quality is guaranteed. “Can you afford the risk of product that contains lead, is a child safety hazard or doesn’t meet federal standards for any number of harmful chemicals?” St. Peter says. “Every project we take on is evaluated by our compliance manager and a specific testing protocol is created for that project based on requirements for CPSIA, Prop 65, child safety standards and more.”

Promo products like stuffed toys or mascots often end up being used by children, so take this into consideration. “A good rule of thumb is if the item might be attractive to children, it needs to be properly safety tested and vetted for children,” St. Peter says.

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