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Why You Can’t Be Too Careful When Sourcing Promotional Products
Recent headlines about a student receiving serious burns when a mobile phone charger exploded highlight the fact that you can’t be too careful when sourcing promotional products.
Often, when seeking a suitable promotional gift with the right lead time and price, it’s easy to forget or ignore the dangers of cutting corners. It’s important to check where the product was manufactured and whether it’s been tested for safety.
Thankfully, most products available in the UK’s promotional industry carry the required certification and have been tested to meet EU regulations. But as the stakes are so high, it’s always best to double-check, especially with higher risk items such as electrical or edible products or those intended for children.
When sourcing promotional products in large quantities or manufacturing bespoke items outside the EU, all the elements that are used to make the product, as well as the product itself, will need to be tested. Request product test certification, and, to safeguard against the unlikely event of a product recall, it’s possible to add a batch code at the time of manufacturing. If a manufacturer or distributor becomes aware of a fault and renders a product unsafe, they can easily withdraw it.
Different products will require different types of testing, depending on what they are and what they’re made of. For instance, an electrical product such as a power bank will need multiple testing. It’ll also need to be certified to meet RoHS (which restricts the use of specific hazardous materials), CE (the manufacturer’s declaration that the product meets applicable EC directives), as well as a 1.2 metre drop test.
Batteries will also need to be tested against:
- Altitude
Stored at a pressure of 11.6 kPa for at least six hours at ambient temperature.
- Thermal
Stored for at least six hours at 72°c followed by at least another six at -40°c.
- Vibration / Shock
Batteries are tested in appropriate machines.
- External Short Circuit
Batteries are temperature stabilized so the external case temperature reaches 55°c. They are then subjected to a short circuit condition with a total external resistance of less than 0.1 ohm at 55°c.
- Crush
A component cell is crushed gradually between two flat surfaces.
- Overcharge
Batteries are overcharged by twice the manufacturer’s recommended maximum continuous charge.
Batteries are deemed okay if there’s no leakage, disassembly, rupture or fire, and if the open circuit voltage of each battery after testing is not less than 90% of its voltage immediately before the procedure.
A brand’s reputation can be severely damaged by association with negative promotions. Arcadia protects clients by making sure it supplies quality merchandise that’s safe and ethically sourced. We review our procedures and policies constantly, taking into account relevant laws and regulations.
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