PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN UPDATE

MEMBERSHIP MILESTONE IMMINENT

By the time you read this, Proudly South African will have accredited its 100th member company. This membership base comprises a wide range of companies of various types and sizes. PSA is still calculating the number of products this represents, but it is at least 350 individual products.

MAJOR RETAILER ON BOARD

Pick 'n Pay are on board and have committed to support the campaign by including Proudly South African logos and messages in their advertising (R150-m per annum). We are investigating the possibility of a message on every Pick 'n Pay till slip. Pick 'n Pay will also designate one month as Proudly South African month for in-store promotions.

SABC COMMITMENT SECURED

The SABC has committed R16-million in free television and radio airtime to the campaign over the next 36 months.

CLOTHING INDUSTRY INITIATIVES

PSA is working closely with Kagiso Exhibitions on planning for the 2002 International Clothing and Textile Exhibition, planned for 9 October. PSA is also in discussion with Sactwu to establish a mechanism to ensure that clothing industry members are not involved directly or indirectly in sweatshop practices.

STAFF

Three managers have been appointed for the portfolios of membership, marketing and finance. There are five additional administrative and support staff.

ACCREDITATION AND COMPLIANCE

The current self-declaratory accreditation process is being revised to be more objective and specific. PSA will appoint a compliance manager once membership levels have reached the 300+ mark. In the interim, it will focus on spot checks by independent evaluators with sector-specific expertise.

LOGO VISIBILITY

During the course of 2002, the logo will start appearing on various products, such as I&J seafood products, National Brands products and Unilever products. As many manufacturers hold large packaging stocks and have to re-design their packaging to incorporate the logo, this is not a quick process.