Last week, while completing a bid for some eco-friendly imprinted promotional items for the State of California, I was taken back at the stack of certification I had to supply, along with my pricing.  Just to submit a bid, I had to provide such documentation as:

• Fair Labor Practices
• CPSIA certification
• Lead-Free certification
• BPA-Free certification
• Proposition 65 compliancy

My first thoughts were: Why all this paper for the California, when the other 49 states do not require this thoroughness?  Is the government truly anti-business? Is there too much government regulation?

After spending a few hours gathering the necessary forms, I took a deep breath and relaxed.

Then, I began to smile as I decided that this is exactly the type of regulations that are best for the country.  In fact, if all 49 other states would require this detailed information, then every supplier would have this information readily available—perhaps even on their websites. It would then take a matter of seconds to gather all this information.

Sure, people will cry that this will “cost jobs”.   I say BS!

If you are running a factory that does not practice fair labor policies, then you should not be allowed to run your business.

The only costs are for independent testing labs to run their reports.

If you are putting lead or still using BPA in your products used for consumption, then they should not be allowed.

If all is good, then those are the only real costs.  If products do not pass muster, then they should not allowed into the country in the first place, and should be redesigned for health and safety.

Business guru Seth Godin wrote in a column the other day noted the difference between pro-business and pro-factory.  Most people think they are one and the same.

Pro-factory is about cost reduction, whatever the consequences.  This can include outsourcing jobs overseas, minimizing safety and environmental regulations, and keeping wages down and profits up.

Seth Godin says that pro-business strategies should look “like this:

• Investing in training the workforce to solve interesting problems, so they can work at just about any job.
• Maintaining infrastructure, safety and civil rights so we can create a community where talented people and the entrepreneurs who hire them (two groups that can live wherever they choose) would choose to live there.
• Reward and celebrate the scientific process that leads to scalable breakthroughs, productivity and a stable path to the future.
• Spend community (our) money on services and infrastructure that help successful organizations and families thrive.”

Which will your company be—Pro-Factory or Pro-Business?

Let’s all do our part to raise the bar and improve our business practices when it comes to environmental, health and safety regulations – and make these minimal regulations the cost of entry.

Just as a rising tide raises all ships, improved product regulation and certification will improve conditions for all – and weed out suppliers who practice false claims, shoddy materials and green washing.

Here’s to a greener tomorrow, today.

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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and recycled promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for any business or organization interested in going green. The site’s handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.