A quote from Al Gore’s website sums it up quite succinctly; "Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb. If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything we have ever experienced".

Some may say this is scaremongering some may say it’s right on the money but another way of looking at this may well be that such publicity is beginning to move public opinion and attitudes and a paradigm shift is on the horizon.

By the time you read this I hope that the BPA in conjunction with the Trade Association Forum (CBI) will have signed up to our own declaration on Climate Change countersigned by Ian Pearson, Minister of State for Climate Change and the Environment. In signing this we acknowledge that:

• Climate change is occurring and human activities are having a significant negative and potentially dangerous influence.
• Climate change will have far reaching effects on UK people and places, impacting on our own economy, society and environment, and that of other countries.
• There are significant economic, social and environmental benefits in taking action to combat and prepare for climate change.
• As a Trade Association we have a duty and responsibility to take action both to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and to promote the sustainable development and well-being of the sector we represent and of wider society.

We do welcome the opportunity to show some leadership in this regard and to promote sustainable enterprise amongst our members. We also realise that business today can benefit hugely by becoming greener through compliance with the various directives and by going further to ensure their business is Carbon Neutral.

Consumers will in the future want to know that the products they buy are delivered to them from a company who has a responsible attitude to the environment and will vote with their feet if the company doesn't. Huge savings can also be made in a business through an environmental review of processes, savings made on packaging alone can increase profits significantly. In other words whether you believe in the hype or think it's just baloney there is an undeniable business case for becoming a green convert overnight.

TECHNICAL FILES

I am sure I am preaching to the converted but it really is worth all suppliers reviewing on a regular basis their Technical Files. It is most important that suppliers do ensure all their products have the appropriate test certificates logged and filed in the Technical File for the particular product. BPA members are aware that there is a British, European and in some cases International Standard for most of the products they sell and compliance to these standards is both a protection to the consumer and the supplier. Indeed when there is no standard it is likely that Trading Standards will look for an appropriate Code of Practice as a guide and of course with the General Products Safety Regulations there simply is no refuge for a company whose product has been deemed unsafe. With the EC’s RAPEX system often used rather inadvisably and indiscriminately, a nursery products supplier could find their product posted EC wide as an unsafe product. Whether in the domestic market or across Europe the burden of defence then falls to the supplier. Failure to prove satisfactory evidence could then result in a withdrawal of the product off the market and a product recall. Proof of conformity to the prevailing standard or one of BPA’s codes of practice is a good place to start but of course there is a quite a bit more information that you should put in your Technical File.

BPA members can at any time talk to us about their Technical File and we can provide a template and consultancy to members should this be required.

SO WHAT CAN YOU GET FOR A MONKEY?

Apart from all the dangerous second-hand and non complying nursery products on that infamous website eBay we did some surfing to see what we could get in exchange for a £500 –

• Six Man Inflatable Dinghy
• Wayne Rooney’s signed Nike Football boots
• A VW Camper van (no interior no engine)
• Two Tickets to see The Who (with overnight stay)
• A 1994 Fiat Tipo
• A signed Harry Potter Hogwarts Express train set
• Michael Jackson’s Autograph

Or (not on eBay)

• A full year’s subscription to the BPA!

For that you will receive full representation by your sectoral trade association to European, central and local government, press, the public, the trade and all other organizations involved in the baby and nursery goods market. A full technical support service and consultancy, a wide range a specialist membership services, discounts and privileges at BPA Baby & Child, inclusion on our website, in our publications and with free links to your own website. That is just the tip of the iceberg summarized in the space afforded to me here.

Seriously if you are a company involved in the nursery good sector there really is no better way to spend £500. There are many members who would testify to that.

Tel: 0845 456 9570

Email: info@b-p-a.org

Web: www.b-p-a.org