PPAI Media is looking back on the year’s most impactful news and trends in a four-part series on the stories that shaped the branded merchandise industry over the past 12 months.

In the series’ first entry, we share articles that document how sustainability and corporate social responsibility philosophies and programs have been adopted by promo businesses. We’re also looking at the product safety and regulatory articles that most resonated with PPAI members.

Click through to this year’s top responsibility stories.

Fingertip Amputations Lead To Massive Igloo Cooler Recall 

In February, Igloo announced the voluntary recall of more than 1 million coolers due to reported injuries, including finger amputations caused by the product’s tow handle.

The recall included Igloo 90 Qt. Flip & Tow Rolling Coolers according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

  • The products were sold at retailers and websites from January 2019 until January 2025.

Spectrum Designs: Very Welcome

Spectrum Designs, PPAI 100’s No. 70 distributor, may be the ultimate test case for a person’s willingness to accept an inherent value in inclusion, acceptance and belonging. In this place, everyone is different, literal plot points on a wide spectrum. And yet they bring unique strengths and personalities to make the sum greater.

A promo distributor operating as a nonprofit, Spectrum doesn’t sit in an industrial zone or tucked away in a suburban business park. It lives in a charming downtown, surrounded by cafés and bike riders, with a waterfront view.

It’s the kind of place where you walk to work. And many of the employees – two-thirds of them on the spectrum and others neurodivergent – often do.

Walmart Recalls Water Bottle After Dangerous Lid Ejections 

Walmart recalled the Ozark Trail 64 oz. Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle on July 10.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission report, the lid can eject “when a consumer attempts to open the capped bottles after food, carbonated beverages or perishable beverages, such as juice or milk, are stored inside over time.”

  • This ejection can cause dangerous impacts and lacerations, according to the CPSC.
  • Walmart received three reports of consumer facial injuries, including two accounts of permanent vision loss from being hit in the eye with the lid.


How Will New Packaging EPR Laws In 5 States Affect Promo?

Navigating compliance is a challenge in any industry, especially for companies doing business in multiple states and around the globe. It’s been said that the U.S. itself operates like a bloc of 50 countries, each with its own laws, and that rings true for promo pros who have to keep up with a patchwork of state regulations.

In the past couple of years, five states have passed extended producer responsibility laws aimed at reducing packaging waste – single-use-plastics in particular – as well as boosting recycling efforts.

These laws place the responsibility for the end-of-life processing of their products on the companies that produce, import or sell those products, rather than relying on consumers and local jurisdictions to do the recycling.

Vinyl Acetate Added To Prop 65: What Promo Firms Need To Know

Vinyl acetate, a chemical found in many products sold in the branded merchandise industry, was added to California’s Proposition 65 list as a carcinogen this past January.

 Experts recommend affected companies begin working with testing labs to either ensure the chemical is removed from products or to begin including a Prop 65 warning label on products that contain the chemical.

“Vinyl acetate is a versatile chemical used in various industries, particularly for its adhesive and polymerizing properties,” says Richard Yue, business leader of analytical testing services at AnnRay Testing, which operates product testing laboratories around the world. AnnRay Testing is the sister company of business services provider Insight Quality Services.

More Trending Responsibility Articles From 2025

Millions Of Portable Chargers Recalled After Battery Scandal In China

Stanley Drinkware Maker Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Following Recall 

Being A Woman In Promo: ‘We’re Shaping The Industry In New Ways’

European Union Adopts Rules Banning Single-Use Plastics By 2030

Key Takeaways From The Latest Industry ESG Impact Reports

For questions or suggestions on regulatory or government affairs issues, please contact Rachel Zoch at RachelZ@ppai.org.