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  • May 19, 2020

TGA News Briefs

We’re Headed Back to Las Vegas

The Travel Goods Show is headed back to Las Vegas where we will co-locate with ASD Market Week! Mark your calendars for February 28-March 2, 2021 to attend the world’s greatest travel goods showcase. It is your single best source for product info, providing hands-on experience and in-person connections that we are all yearning for and for which there are no substitutes. Exhibitors, reserve your place in line to get priority placement on the show floor. If you want to get back in the action, debut your new items and give yourself a fresh new look, this is a good time to act. Contact Cathy Trecartin, cat@travel-goods.org, 877-842-1938, x-702 or log on to thetravelgoodsshow.org to reserve your spot today.

TGA Social Media Has Become a Trusted Source of Information for Our Industry – Are You Part of the Conversation?

At this year’s pre-quarantine Travel Goods Show, many buyers followed along at home, watching in-booth Facebook live videos and scrolling through awards, new products, and Show color. Facebook views during Show week were up 22% from last year to over 21,000 impressions.

Our post-show posts initially focused on press coverage from our media attendees, and then pivoted to provide information about SBA and PPP loans. Our most popular posts celebrated travel goods retailers and manufacturers who have pivoted to respond to COVID-19 by manufacturing PPE – Jekyll & Hide’s story alone received more than 10,000 views.

During this period of social distancing our average weekly impressions have been 70% higher than normal, as our industry looks for information and emotional support. Join the conversation at TravelGoodsAssociation on Facebook, @TravelGoodsShow on Twitter, and @travelgoodsassoc on Instagram.

Show Media Recap

Despite the COVID-19 quarantine that seemed to begin immediately following The Travel Goods Show this March, our exhibitors enjoyed media coverage from over 40 journalists who traveled to New Orleans and covered from afar. The Show and some of the thousands of products from the exhibit floor were featured in The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Fox 5 in Washington, D.C., Travel Pulse, and countless blogs and far-reaching social media posts and stories.

The weeks and months that have followed The Show were far from typical, however we continue to actively work with media to provide timely story ideas and product features and reviews. Please contact TGA’s Kate Ryan with your product info – especially if it solves a problem related to our country’s pandemic. Additionally, we are happy to review press releases and announcements for you right now, if helpful. TGA is here for YOU.

Notes from TGA

Working for You

This is no time to sit still. We know you’re hustling as best you can with the current health crisis and economic fallout. We are too. TGA’s efforts in D.C. ensure we have a voice in the economic policy being crafted to aid industry and small business, and we’ll maintain that pressure for as long as it takes. Keep up with our D.C. news on the Industry Updates: COVID-19 page on the TGA Website, and know that we’re alongside you for the duration.

Thank You for Putting on a SHOW!

TGA would like to extend a BIG thank you to everyone present at this year’s Travel Goods Show – attendees and exhibitors alike. Thank you for remaining undeterred in the face of difficulties such as China tariffs and trade war uncertainty, an unfamiliar host city, and the challenges surrounding COVID-19. You practiced what we preach – as an industry of travel encouragers and enablers – and brought a tangible, can-do attitude to The Show. As a whole, feedback received was overwhelmingly positive, and we hope your New Orleans experience reflects that. Know that we’re very grateful for your participation this year.

Retooling for COVID-19

Retailers are asking about travel goods manufacturers and distributors who can help them meet the need for COVID-19 masks and other protective gear and manufacturers are stepping up. Read about these companies, and their products, on TGA’s resource list. Please notify TGA if you are manufacturing or distributing COVID-19 items, and we’ll add you to our list of retailer resources for email distribution and posting to TGA’s website. For more information, contact Cathy Trecartin, cat@travel-goods.org, 877-842-1938, x-702.

TGA Members

A hearty welcome to the following companies that have joined TGA since January:

M=Manufacturer; R=Retailer

CAPITAL BEAT

Light at the End of the Tunnel?

By Nate Herman

First, I must acknowledge the reality from which I am writing to you as we approach the end of May. The industry has suffered a quintuple indignity. Travel has stopped, retail has dropped off a cliff, the government’s bailout program has fallen short, and, as the small guys, we still have to pay our rent and all of our bills in full and on time, unlike many of our bigger competitors. Oh yeah, and we just passed the one-year anniversary of having to pay a 25% punitive tariff on the majority of products we sell.

But I am also writing to you the day before the unofficial launch of the summer travel season – Memorial Day weekend. And you know what? It isn’t all bad. Many people I know are traveling this weekend. People are also looking for any form of relief from “lockdown” cabin fever. I have seen a flood of pictures on social media of friends hiking, camping, and embracing the outdoors like never before.

If you look for it, really hard, there are positive signs elsewhere. Europe has begun to open up again to tourists, led by Italy. The cruise industry is talking about restarting this fall and bookings for 2021 are really strong.

And all of us have seen those pictures of crowded planes. While those pictures raise other serious questions, it does mean that people are ready to travel.

Travel might look different, and utilize different modes of transportation, but it’s there, and it’s growing slowly but surely.

In addition this week, the last of the states finally started to reopen retail, albeit slowly.

To butcher my metaphors, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore. But I do see some light at the end of this very long tunnel.

Through it all let’s not forget this is an industry that survived 9/11 and the Great Recession. With this glimmer of hope, I leave you with a quote from a not so famous movie that serves this industry well during this unprecedented time – “Never give up, never surrender.”

For more information, please contact TGA’s Nate Herman at nate@travel-goods.org or 202-853-9351.

CALIFORNIA PROP 65

U.S. Travel Goods Industry Faces More California Prop 65 Notices; TGA Prop 65 Best Practices Guidance

Despite the pandemic, dozens of new California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) “60-day” notices have been issued over the last few months alleging that brands and retailers sold totes, travel bags, duffel bags, passport/ID holders, handbags, wallets, backpacks, cosmetic bags, phone armband holders/cases/holders/dry bags, fanny packs, PVC bags, weekly planners, travel kits, and toiletry bags in California that contained di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and/or diisononyl phthalate (DINP) in violation of a California law known as Proposition 65 (Prop 65). The notices serve as intent to bring lawsuits against the companies that made and sold these products. 

Check out TGA’s member-only California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) Best Practices Guidance on the Prop 65 page on the TGA website at https://www.travel-goods.org. This member-only guidance details best practices in developing your company’s Prop 65 testing and warning label protocol, including recommendations on which warning label text to use, where to place the warning label text, and how to test for Prop 65 listed chemicals in your products. For more information on Prop 65, please contact TGA’s Nate Herman, nate@travel-goods.org, 202-853-9351.

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

YaY Novelty Builds a Better Face Mask

Read about founder Sunchea Phou’s Herculean effort to produce 300-400 masks daily, with her own two hands – part of an initial run of 50,000 masks, with the goal of making 1 million masks.

Dr. Segal’s Compression Socks Support Frontline Workers

Dr. Segal’s goal has always been to promote healthy and happy feet with their compression socks that are not only great for traveling, but also help relieve leg pain and swelling for anyone whose jobs require long periods of sitting or standing.

So in the face of the pandemic, Dr. Segal’s created a special “Buy a Sock, Give a Sock” Campaign that ran from April to mid-May. Together with their customers, Dr. Segal’s shipped over $15.5K worth of socks to emergency and ICU wards across the U.S. and Canada.

By creating this campaign, the team at Dr. Segal’s hoped to provide support and encouragement to the healthcare professionals that are working tirelessly day in and day out to keep our communities safe.

Travelon Donates Stock of Face Masks and Protective Gear to First Responders

On May 4, 2020, the Franklin Park, IL Fire Department received a donation of protective health equipment including masks, latex gloves and sanitizer wipes from local travel goods manufacturer Travelon. The donation was made to Fire Chief William Brehm and station firefighters at the Franklin Park Station 2 and was distributed among the Franklin Park fire stations. This donation will help the firefighters, who are front-line emergency workers, battle everything from ambulance calls, fires, hazardous material spills, and now the COVID-19 virus.

Fire Chief Brehm, on behalf of all of Franklin Park Fire Department First Responders, thanked Travelon for responding to this critical need for PPE supplies. Travelon is proud of their dedicated volunteers who stepped in to support their customers with essential businesses. The company looks forward to re-opening so that the entire team at Travelon can continue the tradition of supporting all of their customers.

One Hundred Trees and Counting

LiteGear was awarded a tree planting certificate from the Carbonfund.org Foundation on May 6, 2020

Having recycled nearly 1.5 million plastic bottles into fabric for its travel gear and accessories, LiteGear® is well-known for its commitment to help protect our natural resources. Now, the company is taking that pledge a step farther by purchasing and planting trees to help offset its travelers’ carbon footprint. The Carbonfund.org Foundation recently recognized LiteGear’s efforts with a tree planting certificate for planting 100 trees.

MEMBER PROFILES

In an effort to publicize and promote the travel goods industry, TGA member profiles both new and long-standing members in every issue of Travel Goods Showcase and on TGA’s website. TGA members can submit profile information by visiting travel-goods.org.

Elios

Elios, formerly known as GoPlug Bags, uses its GPS tracking technology to create the world’s first personal power bank with a global GPS tracker, a design which received an Innovation Award at the 2019 CES convention. Harnessing the capabilities and coverage of Narrowband IoT networks, the company boasts that Elios’ trackers are a huge step forward in personal and asset tracking.

“The Dragonfly, a power bank with our built-in tracker, creates the most versatile, longest-lasting and greatest-coverage personal locator on the market,” states Bethany Baily. Other products include the Cricket, a micro GPS tracker that may be attached to any personal belongings. With the use of an app, the trackers can be located in real-time, sound alarms and send an SOS signal if in distress.

Elios GPS trackers also address the safety of women and children all over of the globe who are victimized each day. The Elios GPS Trackers work worldwide, are small enough to carry, cheap to use and have low power consumption, which makes them a perfect device to protect that which you cherish the most. Elios global-connected technology provides real time tracking, SOS and movement alarms, enabling people everywhere to rest easy, knowing that those they love the most can easily be located. 

For more information, visit myelios.com or contact Bethany Baily at bethany@myelios.com; 801-709-0218.

Hampton Products International

Hampton Products is the security hardware innovator that manufactures Brink’s™ padlocks and BenjiLock® fingerprint padlocks, including the BenjiLock® By Hampton®. By focusing on consumer needs, Hampton® and the BenjiLock® brand are redefining the personal security experience using hybrid technology across a variety of padlock types.

According to the company, BenjiLock® By Hampton® is the world’s first rechargeable padlock with fingerprint technology. First seen on ABC’s Shark Tank, BenjiLock® By Hampton® has now developed a Travel Sentry Approved, TSA Accepted travel padlock.

“As a trusted leader in security products, our brands are synonymous with peace of mind, strength, trust, safety, and quality. Our products deliver reliable performance, are easy to use and install, and offer an outstanding value. Every product is designed to keep your home, loved ones, and your valuables safe by exceeding rigorous ASTM testing standards, and uses the highest quality materials to provide you with years of worry-free use,” declares Randy Voos of Hampton Products.

For more information, visit hamptonproducts.com or contact Randy Voss at rvoss@hamptonproducts.com; 949-599-7224.

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