In 2021, Magic Light Pictures – the home of The Gruffalo, its Child, and the entire cast of Julia Donaldson characters – exerted an influence over its master toy partner, Wow! Stuff that would go on to transform and reshape the brand owner’s approach to sustainability within brand licensing.  

With a simple request that Wow! Stuff rethinks the plastic used in its Gruffalo product packaging, Magic Light set off a chain reaction that would not only engage the toy partner in an innovative redesign project but would enlist the help of Products of Change to bring to life a packaging concept more attuned to its environmental ethos. 

Two years on, and Magic Light Pictures is at it again. But this time, the team wants not only to influence but provide the support for its entire portfolio of product partners with the launch of its own sustainable packaging guide.

Developed with the help of Products of Change’s material innovation and sustainable packaging advisor, Mike Swain, the guide is designed to be a “useful tool to provide support and information” while enabling Magic Light’s licensees to “make sustainable choices on their packaging.”

“We understand that sustainability is a journey we are all on together and packaging is one leg of that journey,” says Hannah McKevitt, Magic Light Pictures’ product development executive. “But it felt like an essential place to start as it affects every licensed product we create.”

Yes, through meticulous analysis and evaluation, the new Sustainable Packaging Guide spans the entire Magic Light Pictures licensed product and partner portfolio, presenting new concepts for everything from swing tags and kimbles to packaging substrates, environmentally friendly inks, and packaging reuse or recyclability.

According to Hannah, so thorough is the guide that “every licensee should be able to find their relevant packaging type within it.” 

“If we are asking our licensees to make sustainable changes to their packaging, we want to make it easy for them,” she continues. “We have worked to pull the correct and most up to date information featuring the latest legislation, in order to keep expectations clear and allow progress to be made in a measurable way.”

Onboarding POC’s advisor, the packaging specialist, Mike Swain ensured for Magic Light that the technical aspects of the guide fit with the team’s knowledge of its licensees, their capabilities, and of course, its own brand values. Throughout the project, Mike reviewed all existing packaging formats for all products including gift, toys, apparel, and FMCG to provide insight on materials, packaging formats, even how the product was contained in the packaging.

“Mike had previously worked with Wow! Stuff on its packaging transformation,” Hannah explains. “That was a project that highlighted for us how our fantastic licensees are open to working with us on sustainable change. It helped us realise that as a licensor, it’s important for us to be providing the right support on this and continue creating products in a really thoughtful way.”  

The approach has come a long way since Magic Light first started asking questions of its licensing partners and – since tapping into the Products of Change resources while taking inspiration from larger licensors – sets a new bar for the company’s evolving relationship with sustainability, whether that’s within its day-to-day operations or partner and licensee engagement.

“We are trying to set up a really clear process for the onboarding of new licensees and improve our due diligence and approach to product development so we can continue to understand how our licensed product is made and what the impacts of it will be,” says Hannah. “It’s why one of our next steps is to take part in bespoke sustainability training led by Products of Change for the whole licensing and brand team.” 

In a show of industry collaboration and the collective effort required to transition the brand licensing industry at large to something more sustainable, Magic Light Pictures will be makings its Sustainable Packaging Guide accessible not only to licensing partners but the wider licensing industry. It’s a moment of pride for the team, says Hannah, pleased for the “chance to contribute to the industry in a meaningful way.”

Produced by the sustainable creative agency, NOSY, Magic Light Pictures’ sustainable packaging style guide is accessible for the industry now.