Last month, Top 40 supplier Gemline (asi/56070) released its third annual corporate social responsibility (CSR) report, sharing details about the $740,000 in cash and in-kind donations it made over the course of 2022, as well as environmental highlights, like the 1,736-panel solar array generating 45% of the power required to operate its Lawrence, MA headquarters.

In this episode of Promo Insiders Frank Carpenito, president and CEO, joins ASI Media Executive Editor Theresa Hegel to delve into some of the details in the report and talk about why transparency and trust throughout the supply chain is so important for the promo industry.

“Very little in our supply chain is actually regulated by any type of governing oversight body,” Carpenito says. “So as supplier and distributors we’re left to trust the downstream behaviors and commitments of the factories that we deal with when it comes to sustainability. … Unfortunately, it’s a big leap of faith and one that is wrought with risk on multiple fronts for all of us, but it’s truly a reality for us today.”

He also noted that promo needs to “lock arms” and eradicate what he sees as rampant greenwashing. “It’s a huge risk to our collective credibility as an industry with our end-users if we don’t hold one another accountable for being fully transparent and living up to the commitments and the data we provide,” he says.