Spector & Co. (asi/88660) has achieved Quality Certification Alliance (QCA) Accreditation, the first supplier to do so this year. To be deemed QCA-Accredited, companies must complete a self-assessment and submit headquarters and supply base to third-party audits.

“We had a department that dealt with everyday compliance and quality processes and worked on our internal policies and procedures,” said Chris Pearson, director of compliance for Spector & Co., in a statement. “It was a robust system, but there is always room for improvement, and the QCA process helped highlight our shortcomings. This is a big opportunity for us as a manufacturer, and for our customers.”

QCA is the promotional industry’s only independent, non-governmental accreditation organization committed to helping raise standards of production in the industry, so companies provide consistently safe, high-quality, socially compliant and environmentally conscientious products.

“Spector & Co. has a history of responsible sourcing best practices,” said Tim Brown, executive director of operations for QCA, in a statement. “However, like many other QCA-Accredited suppliers, the process opened their eyes to a wider view of brand safety and more robust compliance best practices. The Accreditation offered to promotional product suppliers goes above and beyond the average compliance program…World-class compliance is achievable through a comprehensive program that includes so much more.”

For more information on QCA, visit www.facebook.com/QCAlliance.