CSPA continues to innovate: the mid-year meeting gets a makeover as attendance tops 500 in Chicago.

WHO SAYS you can't teach an old association new tricks? As it celebrates its 80th anniversary, the Consumer Specialty Products Association (CSPA) is rolling out an array of new ideas that are designed to engage its membership in new and entertaining ways. This fresh approach was on display at the association's mid-year meeting in Chicago May 9-12.

CSPA chairperson Carleen Kreider got the meeting off to a rousing start by insisting that the audience stand up. With everyone on their feet, she announced she was looking for a few volunteers. With audience members squirming, she narrowed down those left standing by asking a series of questions such as: "If you are wearing a jacket please sit down."

Yet, when those left standing were down to an unlucky few, she dismissed them all, noting "it made you feel uncomfortable didn't it?"

When it comes to being innovative, comfort can be a bad thing, suggested Ms. Kreider who is also vice president of innovation, SeaquistPerfect Dispensing. That's because in today's global marketplace, successful executives and their companies must learn to work outside their comfort zones and learn to successfully maneuver in unfamiliar surroundings. At the same time, companies should embrace diversity if they want to be successful.

"Globalization has changed the way our companies do business," she charged. "The whole world is our marketplace, so we have to understand who is buying our products."

According to Ms. Kreider, innovation requires us to rethink people, places and things. To build a better team, she urged the audience to add employees that reflect cultural diversity. "whether you're selling products in Boston or Bangkok, they're not the same customers, so you need to have a team that reflects this diversity."

At the same time, she urged the audience to reach out and become more involved with the association and other member companies, even if it means working with a rival in the marketplace. Above all, Ms. Kreider insisted CSPA members must embrace the unfamiliar.

"You are the leaders of your company," she noted. "Reach out, be inclusive and you will grow your bottom line."

CSPA Adapts to Change

The theme of embracing change was echoed by Chris Cathcart, CSPA president. He noted that the mid-year meeting has undergone extensive changes during the past few years, even as some popular elements, such as the Supplier's Night, remain intact. Adapting to uncertainty, he suggested, makes the association and its members stronger.

Being willing to adapt to change even impacts the way the CSPA lobbies in Washington DC and around the world. In the past, noted Mr. Cathcart, advocacy often came down to: We're right and you're wrong, with no room for compromise.

"But it doesn't work that way anymore," said Mr. Cathcart. "To get passage of the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act we had to work with other associations and the Feds."

CSPA is using a similar strategy to develop better antifreeze legislation. In fact, CSPA is working with such groups as the Humane Society and the Doris Day Foundation and both sides of the Congressional aisle to get the bill passed.

At the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency recently reached out to CSPA to help answer questions about the Avian Flu threat, just as it reached out in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Despite all the changes, CSPA continues to work with its more traditional allies on issues such as Indoor Air Quality and VOCs.

Embracing change and new ideas impacts how CSPA conducts its business on a day-to-day level too. Now the organization utilizes an array of websites, emails and conference calls to get work done quickly and efficiently. Most recently, CSPA unveiled a new site, www.validscience.com to get the word out about the role that real science plays in ensuring product safety and efficacy.

All these efforts have reaped rewards for the association as local and national news organizations have surfed the web and contacted CSPA while working on reports involving air care and other pertitent issues.

"Extend yourself in this association," urged Mr. Cathcart. "There's a lot of talent in this room and you'll get back what you put into the CSPA."

Lessons from Lincoln

As CSPA members grapple with issues such as change and diversity, they can look to the past for inspiration. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of A Team of Rivals, explained how Abraham Lincoln was able to win over his political enemies leading up to the dark days of the Civil War. President Lincoln was able to win over this collection of cantankerous rivals, which included Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates and William Henry Seward, because he had an array of emotional skills including quiet self-confidence and empathy. Both helped him let others take credit for success, accept blame and bounce back from setbacks. All of them, noted Ms. Goodwin, are assets worth having in today's business world.

Members of CSPA are developing empathy for some of their biggest rivals too. At a special session devoted to Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), speakers provided insight on California AB1173, which is aimed at improving air quality throughout the state. Luckily for the associaton and its members, the California legislature has given high priority to categories such as ozone-generating air cleaners, biological contaminants, building materials and radon. In contrast, consumer products were given only "medium priority."

More recently, however, California issued AB3018, which would impact consumer product emissions such as candles and other products. CSPA leads a coalition to oppose this bill.

Outside California, other states are forming coalitions to reduce VOCS. For example, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington DC, have formed the Ozone Transport Commisision (OTC) to develop regulations that closely mirror the regulations enacted by CARB. Elsewhere, groups such as the Lake Michigan Air Directory Consortium and the Midwest Regional Planning Organization are looking into monitoring air quality.

Mike Freeman of WD-40 and chairperson of the aerosol division, acknowledged that he had some preconceived notions (mostly negative) about CARB employees, but after he traveled to Sacramento, he had a decidedly different view.

"They're good people with good goals ... who can argue with clean air?" he asked the audience.

But to improve the CSPA-CARB relationship means working side-by-side with regulators to better understand their mindset and the regulatory process.

Aerosol Fillings Top 3.7 Billion

The aerosol industry is always looking to highlight innovative products, but one of the more interesting introductions in the past year has been the launch of Watersall, pharmaceutical-grade water in an aerosol can. Company founder Drew Aultmann explained how and why she developed the product, which is now available in 180 stores in 35 states. (For more on Ms. Aultmann's product line, see the March issue of HAPPI).

Ms. Aultmann's innovative idea enabled her to charge as much as $17.50 for just 10-oz. of water. Chemical prices aren't that high yet, but companies are still feeling the effect of soaring oil and natural gas prices, said Brad Marsh, president of Univar. Prices for these fuels have more than doubled in the past two years, driven by tight inventories, natural disasters, growing demand from China, strong demand from the U.S., and global competition for specific molecules.

Many of these factors won't go away anytime soon, which is why Mr. Marsh doesn't expect a dramatic decline in energy prices. "We're in a new model for the industry," he insisted.

If surging oil prices, political instability and globalization aren't enough challenges for CSPA members, Mike Irwin of P&G offered another one--REACH. He called it one of the most impactful government initiatives in a very long time. Implementation will begin next year and is not expected to be completed until 2018. In order to prepare for REACH, companies must determine every chemical they manufacture, import and use and calculate their annual volume.

What's worse, the perception of aerosols continues to be wrong. According to a recent study by CAPCO, a majority of consumers still think aerosols hurt the ozone layer. To combat this misconception, CAPCO continues to sponsor a National Science Challenge for students, push its "No CFC" label and work to improve media relations.

Yet, even as business gets more complex, the aerosol industry continues to grow. According to the 2005 aerosol pressurized product survey, sales of aerosols in the U.S., Canada and Mexico rose 2.4% to 3.738 billion units. Sales of personal care products continue to drive growth, while demand for insect sprays declined after several years of dynamic growth. For more on the CSPA mid-year meeting, be sure to read the July issue of HAPPI.

Tom Branna

Editorial Director