One of the pillars of PPAI’s new Strategic Plan is to strengthen community by uniting the marketplace through shared purpose, leadership development and deeper connections.

One of theinitiatives outlined in the plan is to expand volunteer and regional association support. With that in mind, PPAI Media will be sharing quarterly updates on what its committees have accomplished and what they’re currently working on.

Responsibility Committee

Across both years of Responsibility Committee, it’s been very helpful to have direct board engagement to inform strategy and initiatives this committee undertakes, as informed by the priorities of the four workgroups that are represented in the Responsibility Committee (Product Responsibility Action Group, SAG, Government Relations Action Council and DEI Task Force).

In 2025, the Packaging EPR workgroup created the basis for PPAI’s whitepaper. Also, the Responsibility Committee reviewed and gave feedback on responsibility-related topics covered in PPAI Advance.

This year, the committee will be giving a formal review of the PPAI Code of Conduct.

Sustainability Action Group

The Sustainability Action group provides insights regarding sustainability to help PPAI educate members and maximize adoption of best practices.

In 2025, SAG created an industry-specific ESG Questionnaire Template for supplier and distributor members to standardize sustainability data sharing and reduce audit fatigue. 

This year, the group aims to provide the definition of circularity in the branded merch industry, assisting in case study creation for PPAI educational efforts.

WATCH: Carbon Reduction Strategies Webinar

Regional Relations Committee

The RRC has multiple workgroups, each working on a different initiative.   

Regional Collaboration

This workgroup assisted with the implementation of the regional board collaboration channel in Slack, which was set up as a place where the regionals could go to communicate and collaborate.  All members of the RRC, executive directors, board presidents and immediate past board presidents are invited to join.  This workgroup invited, promoted and encouraged the participation in the channel, ensuring the use of Slack and the collaboration with everyone. 

Professional Development

This workgroup collaborates with the PPAI Professional Development team to curate PPAI’s Leadership Development Conference. The workgroup provides recommended topics, session details, learning objectives and an overall agenda that the executive directors and regional boards request and which will be beneficial to their boards and communities.

In 2025, this workgroup researched and developed ideas for LDC, working with the PD team to ensure the conference sessions and roundtables addressed the topics that were important to the regionals. They also provided suggestions about the regional success stories and the event. 

This group, along with the RRC, met with the keynote speaker prior to LDC, giving feedback and answering questions, allowing him to tailor his presentation to this specific audience. 

Volunteer Leadership

This workgroup is responsible for developing two surveys annually. A spring survey is sent to all executive directors and regional board members to gather information around key issues and concerns facing the regional associations and their communities.

The second survey is sent to all LDC attendees at the end of the year to gain insights and feedback regarding the event. These surveys allow for the RRC and PPAI to provide benefits, communications, education and professional development that will be most impactful and relevant to the regionals’ priorities.

In 2025, this workgroup did all of the above and plans to do the same this year.

Legislative

The Legislative Workgroup is the liaison between PPAI’s Government Relations Action Council and the regional associations. They support the regional associations by providing guidance around top legislative issues affecting the industry and the development and implementation of their own LEAD Local events.

In 2026, this workgroup reached out to the executive directors regarding the updated LEAD Advocacy Guidance playbook. They met with interested regionals, providing support around the building of LEAD local events and implementing committees on the regional boards.  

Outreach

This workgroup will begin the process of developing a structured outreach program, educating high school and college students about the merch industry. The first year will be the development of a playbook, putting processes and procedures into place. Moving forward, the workgroup and stakeholders could begin attending job fairs, both in-person and virtual, providing the same messaging regarding the industry.

Technology Committee

The Technology Committee’s mission is to drive digital transformation across the branded merchandise industry to enhance operational efficiency. 

Recognizing that member organizations are at different stages of digital maturity, the committee focused its 2025 discussions on a unifying cause for anxiety: security practices. Industry leaders have expressed growing concern about data protection, supplier-distributor trust and the reputational risks tied to poor security postures. 

ICYMI: The 2026 #Online18

As a result, the committee’s guiding principles have been: Operational efficiency starts with a secure foundation, and that organizations must capture AI’s value with eyes wide open.

  • Exercise caution and be aware of threats (based on the “secure foundation” principle)
  • Seek and harness the opportunities AI presents


The committee has expressed the need to promote a cultural shift that encourages open dialogue between business and technology leaders, emphasizing the shared responsibility of security across all levels of an organization. This begins with leadership commitment to integrate security-conscious practices into everyday operations and strategic planning. 

The committee has also conducted a series of focused discussions leading to the creation of two specialized working groups: Security and Artificial Intelligence. These working groups have developed draft recommendations aimed at guiding the industry toward more secure, efficient and innovative operations. 

As far as 2026 goes, the committee has not met yet, though it has reached out to members to begin discussions on the topics they want to cover this year.