Environmental conservation and recycled promotional products can be confusing. There is much room for improvement in the recycled & eco-friendly promotional product industry, and EPP is a conduit for helping make educated choices that are eco friendly.

What are PMS Colors? What is the Pantone Chart?
PMS stands for Pantone Matching System.  The Pantone Color Matching System is largely a standardized color reproduction system. By standardizing the colors, different manufacturers in different locations can all refer to the Pantone numbering system to identify colors without direct contact with one another. The most commonly referenced colors are in the Pantone solids palette. The Pantone Solids palette has 1,114 colors, identified by 3 or 4 numbers, followed by a C, U, or M suffix.

What is Proposition 65?
In 1986, California voters approved an initiative to address their growing concerns about exposure to toxic chemicals. That initiative became the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known by its original name of Proposition 65. Proposition 65 requires the State to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. This list, which must be updated at least once a year, has grown to include approximately 800 chemicals since it was first published in 1987.

Proposition 65 requires businesses to notify Californians about significant amounts of chemicals in the products they purchase, in their homes or workplaces, or that are released into the environment. By providing this information, Proposition 65 enables Californians to make informed decisions about protecting themselves from exposure to these chemicals. Proposition 65 also prohibits California businesses from knowingly discharging significant amounts of listed chemicals into sources of drinking water.

What is BPA?
Bisphenol A (BPA) is the primary component in polycarbonate plastic and is used in the resin lining of most food and beverage cans. Exposure to BPA, a hormone-mimicking compound, is linked to infertility, breast, and reproductive system cancer, obesity, diabetes, early puberty, behavioral changes in children, and resistance to chemotherapy treatments. All of the drinkware we offer is BPA-free.

What is a renewable resource?
A renewable resource is a resource which is replaced naturally and can be used again. Examples are: wind power, solar energy, timber (bamboo), hydropower and biomass. These natural sources are constantly and sustainably replenished.

What is Fair Trade Certified?
Fair Trade helps farming families across Latin America, Africa and Asia to improve the quality of life in their communities. As a non-profit, TransFair depends on the support of people like you to grow this work.

Fair Trade Certification empowers farmers and farm workers to lift themselves out of poverty by investing in their farms and communities, protecting the environment, and developing the business skills necessary to compete in the global marketplace.

Fair Trade Principles:

  • Fair price: Democratically organized farmer groups receive a guaranteed minimum floor price and an additional premium for certified organic products. Farmer organizations are also eligible for pre-harvest credit.
  • Fair labor conditions: Workers on Fair Trade farms enjoy freedom of association, safe working conditions, and living wages. Forced child labor is strictly prohibited.
  • Direct trade: With Fair Trade, importers purchase from Fair Trade producer groups as directly as possible, eliminating unnecessary middlemen and empowering farmers to develop the business capacity necessary to compete in the global marketplace.
  • Democratic and transparent organizations: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers decide democratically how to invest Fair Trade revenues.
  • Community development: Fair Trade farmers and farm workers invest Fair Trade premiums in social and business development projects like scholarship programs, quality improvement trainings, and organic certification.
  • Environmental sustainability: Harmful agrochemicals and GMOs are strictly prohibited in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods that protect farmers’ health and preserve valuable ecosystems for future generations.

What is GOTS Certified?
The Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) is the worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibers, including ecological and social criteria, backed up by independent certification of the entire textile supply chain.

Only textile products that contain a minimum of 70% organic fibers can become certified according to GOTS. All chemical inputs s.a. dyestuffs and auxiliaries used must meet certain environmental and toxicological criteria and also the choice of accessories is limited under ecological aspects. The key criteria of GOTS, its quality assurance system, and the principles of the review and revision procedure are summarized in this section.

What is RoHS Compliant?
The RoHS directive aims to restrict certain dangerous substances commonly used in electronic and electronic equipment. Any RoHS compliant component is tested for the presence of Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Hexavalent chromium (Hex-Cr), Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE). Any RoHS compliant component must have 100 ppm or less of mercury and the mercury must not have been intentionally added to the component.

What is ISO14001 Certification?
The ISO 14000 environmental management standards exist to help organizations minimize how their operations negatively affect the environment. The major objective of the ISO 14000 series of norms is "to promote more effective and efficient environmental management in organizations and to provide useful and usable tools - ones that are cost-effective, system-based, flexible and reflect the best organizations and the best organizational practices available for gathering, interpreting and communicating environmentally relevant information."

What is the FSC – Forest Stewardship Council Certification?

  • FSC is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.
  • Established in 1993 as a response to concerns over global deforestation, FSC is widely regarded as one of the most important initiatives of the last decade to promote responsible forest management worldwide.
  • FSC provides internationally recognized standard-setting, trademark assurance, and accreditation services to companies, organizations, and communities interested in responsible forestry.
  • The FSC label provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value.
  • FSC is nationally represented in more than 50 countries around the world.

What is CPSIA?
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) was passed by U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Bush on Aug. 14, 2008. CPSIA is designed to allow The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to better regulate the safety of products made and imported for sale in the U.S. CPSIA also requires manufacturers and importers to show that these products do not have harmful levels of lead and phthalates. This can include used and vintage products. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) will allow thrift stores to dodge lead testing on their current inventories, but still highly recommends that they not sell products that are likely to contain high levels of lead, and still maintains that selling those products is not legal per CPSIA.

What is Toxics in Packaging Prevention Act (TIPPA)?
The Toxics in Packaging Prevention Act is a law that limits the quantities of four heavy metals: cadmium, lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium, from packaging and packaging components. This law bans the intentional introduction of these metals by the manufacturer in any amount and limits the incidental presence of the sum total of these metals to 100 parts per million (ppm).

What does FDA Compliant mean?
FDA compliant means that the product meets all of the FDA's guidelines for safe, direct contact with food. It's basically an official way of saying a material is "food grade."