In the marketing world, attractive images and designs and great services are tossed around to entice customers. However, to keep consumers in the long run, quality is paramount, as consumers seek quality as one of their top priorities.
Great products and services are preferred by consumers, but quality plays an important role in why a consumer decides between each product or service.
How can consumers tell if a product or service has good quality?
Having a symbol to guarantee the quality of products and services can help assure foreign consumers, buyers, and importers, and facilitate brands in creating awareness of their products’ quality among the public. This is why the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP), Ministry of Commerce, has initiated the Thailand Trust Mark (T Mark), certified by the Thai government to assure quality of products and services in Thailand, promoting uniqueness of Thai products and services. The mark is a proof that the brand meets the criteria in 1) Thai Labor Standard 2) Green Industry 3) Global Quality Certification and 4) CSR.
The T Mark can be found on labels and packaging of certified products and service providers in various categories. Currently, about 816 companies have received the T Mark, in the food industry, heavy industry, lifestyle industry, fashion industry, other industries, and services sectors, including health, international education, and medical services.
To qualify for applying for TMARK a company needs to meet these 7 requirements:
1. Legal entity registered as a member of DITP’s four types of exporters, namely Exporter List (EL), Pre-Exporter (Pre-EL), Trading Company (TDC), and Pre Trading Company (Pre-TDC)
2. Certification of domestic standards and/or international standards in production with the following three conditions: 2.1) For products and services with specified standards, applicants must be certified domestically and/or internationally; 2.2) For gems and jewellery, applicants must receive a Buy with Confidence (BWC) certification from the Gems and Jewelry Institute of Thailand. (Public Organisation) (GIT); 2.3) For certain groups of products that do not have standard requirements such as fashion products (clothing/leather/costume jewellery) and home decoration products, applicants can submit supporting documents as follows:
1. A certificate from reliable customers/importers.
2. A certificate from related associations by specifying that the product meets the standard that is accepted in that country.
3. Products and services that originate domestically or import raw materials from abroad for production in Thailand.
4. Green Industry certification from the Ministry of Industry at least level 2 or ISO 14001 certification.
5. Thai Labour Standard Certification (TLS 8001 – 2010) at least basic Thai labour standards from the Ministry of Labour.
6. Operations that care about social impact in accordance with the CSR-DIW guidelines of the Ministry of Industry, not less than 4 items (out of 7).
7. Trade value wise, applicants must declare the export value three years back, the average annual value must not be less than 5 million baht or the domestic sales value of three years back not less than 5 million baht.
You can apply for a T Mark during Today – 24 July 2020. Once a company has received its T Mark, the symbol can be placed on the label and used for advertising for three years. After the period has ended, the company must renew the mark to maintain the privileges and benefits.
The T Mark symbol guarantees the quality of Thai products trusted by the rest of the world. Having a T Mark symbol adds value to products and services when advertising, and by participating in DITP’s local and international activities, such as trade representative exhibitions, you can open up many new opportunities to enter international markets. Companies are also able to market better in Thailand, reducing problems with price wars and base shifts.
