McDonald's Recalls 12 Million Promotional Glasses
As first reported in a Breaking News Alert on Friday, McDonald's and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have recalled 12 million glasses that promote the film "Shrek Ever After." The glasses, which were manufactured by a non-ASI-member supplier named Arc International, have been sold in McDonald's stores since May 21. The recall was issued after an anonymous tip was given to the office of California Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who then alerted the CPSC. "Although McDonald's did the right thing by recalling these products, we need stronger testing standards to ensure that all children's products are proven safe before they hit the shelves," said Speier, in a statement.

According to the CPSC, small amounts of the potentially dangerous metal cadmium were found in designs on the glasses. Experts say low levels of cadmium will not cause health problems, but high dosages can lead to lung and kidney damage and possibly cancer. In this case, both the CPSC and McDonald's have insisted the recall is strictly precautionary, reporting no injuries. In fact, the CPSC said that the recalled glassware was not toxic. "A very small amount of cadmium can come to the surface of the glass, and in order to be as protective as possible of children, CPSC and McDonald's worked together on this recall," said CPSC spokesperson Scott Wolfson.

Since the recall, executives at Arc International, which is headquartered in France but has a manufacturing facility in the U.S., have maintained the glasses are safe. "Arc International is a professional manufacturer that stands behind all its product," said Fred Dohn, CEO Americas for Arc International, in a statement. "We therefore see this as an internal decision by McDonald's and will be investigating the matter once we receive more information."Industry drinkware suppliers are reacting with sympathy toward Arc's position. "It seems Arc did everything correct," said Russ Robbins, manager of Archer's Decorative Glass (asi/36705). "This is just a knee-jerk reaction to cadmium and it's creating a lot of confusion. It's a lose-lose for everyone." Adds Adam Kovar, director of sales for ETS Express (asi/51197): "I felt bad for the supplier. Arc has been around for a while and they're thought to be on their game. I think we'll see a heightened level of questioning by customers from this." 

McDonald's has set up a website, http://www.mcdonalds.com/glasses, that provides information about the recall and how customers can return the glasses and receive a refund. The company has said no other promotional items besides the Shrek drinking glasses are involved in the recall.

California Assembly Passes Plastic Bag Ban
The California Assembly has voted to prohibit grocery, liquor, convenience and drug stores from offering customers plastic bags, taking a significant step toward enacting the strongest legislation of its kind in the U.S. The bill, which passed the Assembly in a 41-27 vote, still requires approval by the state's Senate. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has already said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

Not only does the California bill place a ban on plastic bags, it also requires customers to be charged for using store-provided paper bags. The legislation is considered even more sweeping than an ordinance passed in San Francisco in 2007, which requires supermarkets and large drug stores to offer customers bags made only of recyclable paper, cloth or plastic that can be turned into compost.

The highly controversial bill has clear supporters and opponents. For example, the American Chemistry Council, which has feverishly lobbied against similar bans, insists the bill would serve as a $1 billion tax and threaten 500 jobs in the plastic bag manufacturing business. Conversely, many environmental groups and the California Grocers Association, are backing the bill, believing it would positively affect consumer behavior. Bill proponents also say California taxpayers spend about $25 million every year picking up and disposing of plastic bags.

The Joe Show: Liquid Gold
In conjunction with the Hot Issue of Counselor this August, Managing Editor Joe Haley is dedicating The Joe Show over the next few weeks to showing off the hottest products in the ad specialty market. Broken into fun categories, each week he'll focus on a different theme – and then each of the items will be shown in the August Hot Issue.

Click here to see this Hot Products edition of The Joe Show.

Want more videos? Subscribe now to our YouTube videos.

Corvest Launches Asian Organization
Counselor Top 40 supplier Corvest announced last week that it has launched Corvest Asia, an office that will be responsible for product sourcing, quality assurance, product safety processes and factory social compliance initiatives. The parent company of Adva-Lite (asi/32145), It's All Greek To Me (asi/62960) and Toppers (asi/91530), said that the new Corvest division would employ 15 people and would be managed by Jay Zhang.

"Launching Corvest Asia will bring an immense number of benefits, the most primary being improved and consistent product quality for our customers," said Jason Miller, president of Corvest. "The new operation will also allow for shortened development cycles, enabling Corvest to bring new products to market much faster and efficiently."

Corvest Asia will be responsible for communicating with vendors, overseeing quality assurance, scheduling factory audits and inspections as well as researching and developing new products for Corvest's three lines. "Jay has long-standing relationships with several top vendors in Asia and has a deep understanding of manufacturing in Asia," Miller said. "Corvest is very excited to have Jay and his team on board and we're confident that our customers will benefit from this newest addition to the Corvest family."

Tuesday Morning Radio Show Live On The Air
Every Tuesday morning from 10:30 a.m. eastern time to 11:00 a.m., a team of ASI editors debate the most important topics facing the industry. We also, of course, offer our own off-beat look at the market. This morning, we talked about industry apparel trends and offered tips for selling to fundraising organizations. Plus, listeners called into the show to find out the best ways to get buzz for their companies.  

If you missed the show, a recording is now available at www.asicentral.com/radio. And, don't forget to join us for our next broadcast on Tuesday, June 15. Log on to www.asicentral.com/radio at 10:30 a.m. ET to listen to the radio show, and give us a call at 215-953-4979 to hear your voice on the air.

ASICentral: Top 100 Markets For Ad Specialty Sales
A recent exclusive Counselor study unveiled the best cities for ad specialty distributors to do business in right now. For the interactive online version, we decided to extend the list to the largest 100 markets and give them not only a rank, but a grade too.

Want to know where the best – and worst – cities are for ad specialty sales? Click here.

Got questions, comments or any type of feedback regarding anything ASICentral, don't hesitate to contact us at feedback@asicentral.com. Also, follow ASICentral at: .

Nominate Your Company For The Best Places To Work Contest
For the third year in a row, Counselor is setting out to identify the industry companies that employees simply love to work for. These are the distributors and suppliers that have a loyal work force and that provide a work environment which employees want to go to every morning.

Counselor will be unveiling its second-annual Best Places To Work issue in September, and it will undoubtedly include an elite list of industry companies. Do you want your company to be considered? Getting involved is easy – and it's completely free to participate. The only necessary qualification is that a company has at least 10 employees. To nominate your company, or any others in the market that you think deserve to be recognized, simply click here. Also, there's no risk to participating. Only the honorees – those companies with the best scores from the survey – will be published in Counselor.

So, don't delay. Click here to register your company to be considered for one of the most exclusive lists in the ad specialty market: Counselor's Best Places To Work.

ASI Online Learning Center  

Did you know you can take self-paced, on-demand courses at ASI Education's Online Learning Center? This is the newest and most convenient way for distributors, decorators and suppliers to get educated. In our newest course for distributors, "Cold-Calling Clinic: Get More Appointments Now," we'll teach you how to use cold calling as an important tool that can take your selling skills to the next level, including five ways to reduce rejection and key tips for connecting with your prospect. Click here to take the course.

Coming next month: Break Into Five Hot Apparel Markets

In The News
BroderBros (asi/42090) hosted its annual Philadelphia Apparel Showcase at Lincoln Financial Field on May 6, 2010. The showcase included exhibits, seminars, a tour of the stadium and a reception.

Bruce Fox Inc. (asi/42330) announced that Team Donlin is now representing the awards supplier. The appointment was effective June 1.

Prime Line (asi/79540) announced the release of its Summer 2010 catalog, which showcases seasonal items ranging from BPA-free stainless steel drinkware, new additions to the Eco-Responsible bag collection, an extensive line of coolers, beach bags and beach mats, and summer toys and accessories.

Selco (asi/86230) teamed with PPAS and the Tulsa Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce to celebrate Selco's 75th Anniversary on May 19th, 2010.  The open house featured a factory tour, a history of Selco, a catered lunch and a ribbon cutting.

Vantage Apparel (asi/93390) has promoted Christine Gianantonio to Regional Sales Representative for Southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

People On The Move
Ash City (asi/37127) announced the addition of John Butler as independent sales rep covering the southern California and Las Vegas territory.

BIC Graphic USA (asi/40480) has hired Lisa Hipper as account manager for the New York/New Jersey area.

TSC Apparel (asi/90518) has relocated account representatives Lyndsey Minadeo and Mindy Rees to the Atlanta sales and pickup office, built in April 2010.