Despite the winter weather’s refusal to just let it go now and let us all get on with Spring, Easter is – we are assured – on the approach, which means we can all continue to tuck into those Easter Eggs just as we have been the last few weeks already, only now without a shred of the ‘eater’s remorse’ that has for too long been accompanying our dietary foibles.
Of course, it means we’ll also be able to take some time to reflect on what has been a jam-packed first quarter of the year, with so much accomplished in such a short time frame.
Our travels took us to London’s Theatreland this week, where Shaftesbury Avenue’s new pop-up Miffy store transported us into the world of Dick Bruna and the artist’s celebrated character IP. It was fantastic to see the brand brought to life through a wonderfully curated display of licensed partnerships and even more encouraging was to discover the lengths the majority of these partners are going to do things differently and for the better.
A rainbow selection of Bon Ton Toys plush Miffy characters spans an entire wall of the shop while a family of Just Dutch crochet characters sit nestled opposite. Each collection – as well as showcasing the endless creativity of the licensing industry – exhibits a journey of sustainable development. The range of Bon Ton Toys, for instance, are all made using recycled filling and recycled materials, while the community project that sits behind each handmade Just Dutch crochet character delivers an inspiring story of ethical production to bring industry and new skills to workers in Vietnam.
It was great to catch up with Mark Teunissen, senior project manager at Mercis BV who told us that many of Miffy’s licensing partners are now on this journey of sustainable development, taking steps to remove single-use plastic and reduce their impact on the environment – which is great to hear.
A further snapshot of industry development could be found in the shortlist of Sustainability category finalists in this year’s Brand and Lifestyle Licensing Awards. It’s wonderful to see sustainability occupy an increased focus within our industry and help shape the innovation and creativity that will take us all into a bold new and positive future. Congratulations to everyone shortlisted, by taking these progressive steps forwards you really are all already winners – and we don’t care how cheesy it is to say so.
Retail Week Live brought sustainability to the roundtable earlier this week, when Helen Dickinson, ceo of the British Retail Consortium hosted an invitation-only discussion around the role retail has to play in the pursuit of net zero and why the retail sector must now ‘go beyond the ambitions of the government’ to deliver upon it.
A discussion attended by retail leaders across the UK including QVC, B&Q, Greggs, Sainsbury’s, Pret-a-Manger, Waitrose, and The White Company, there was a general agreement on the need for a ‘fundamental shift in the whole retail business model’ as well as an acceptance that simply waiting for the customer to make the right (more sustainable) choice was not proactive enough in the role retail has to play in the climate challenge.
The fact one attendee of the discussion – all under Chatham House Rules – suggested that “we must get to a point where we remove the bad choice for the customer,” while acknowledging that “it’s going to be a painful process, but it will be worth it” is a very encouragement indictment of where mind-sets are beginning to shift to at a retail level.
Elsewhere, the BBC Earth Experience launched this week (we’re desperate to get along to it), while the Natural History Museum’s Titanosaur exhibition finally opened its doors, bringing the dinosaur four times heavier than Dippy the Diplodocus to European visitors for the first time ever. We love that that we have such wonderful institutions here in the UK that continue to engage the public on the awe-inspiring natural history of our planet to help forge tomorrow’s advocates for nature, the environment, and life on Earth.
Speaking of institutions, we have welcomed a fair few of them to the Products of Change community ourselves these past couple of weeks. We can now proudly count the Royal Museum Greenwich, Washington University, and The Wombles to the POC fold, alongside the wonderful teams at Green Sustainable Products Company Limited and PulpWorks. We cannot wait to learn so much more about them all and share with our members.
Before we go, don’t forget to stay in touch with our editor Rob with all your news and updates. There’s always space in the newsletter and the forthcoming Summer 2023 issue of the Products of Change magazine to shout about your achievements.
And one final shout out goes to our most wonderful Products of Change Ambassador for the US, Andrea Green who has been out and about rubbing shoulders with American TV royalty, Nina Parker at the most recent Women in Toys event. We’ll be telling you more about that next week.
On that note, I can hear the kettle and my next Easter Egg victim calling.
Have a great weekend
