Amscan decided to take a different approach to Spring Fair this year. For the partyware and balloon specialist – and proud Products of Change member – it was all about conveying the company’s journey with sustainability. Because it’s a fascinating story to tell.

The steps it has taken have been numerous, from an overhaul of packaging and product to FSC-certification and the development of home compostable products to major steps in reducing the volume of plastic it uses in ranges such as its dress up and costumes items.

Across the team’s party selection, a state of re-engineering is taking place to redesign and rescale as Amscan begins to transition from plastic products to paper while introducing a Reuse, Repurpose, and Recycle philosophy across its product line.

“This year, our stand was all about communicating our journey with sustainability; our achievements, our next steps, and our ambitions for the future,” the team’s head of design and marketing, Jennifer Wilson, told Products of Change.

“It’s been great engaging with people across all levels, with different manufacturers coming together across the industry to really inform customers on the next steps we need to take collectively to ensure we’re leading this development for a really sustainable future.”

More and more, cross-sector sustainability is becoming a collective. Central to Spring Fair’s emphasis on sustainability this year was its Power of One campaign and partnership with Products of Change to provide an educational aspect to the show and provide that introduction to the topic for companies looking into taking their first steps on the journey of sustainable development.

Through this, not only did Products of Change from the show’s sustainable product concept zone, but delivered a series of discussions on some of the biggest subjects within the world of sustainable development right now. Products of Change’s Ambassadors, James George – an expert on the Circular Economy – and Mike Swain – packaging, materials, and legislation maestro, both occupied the Responsible Retail and Inspiring Retail stages throughout the course of the show.

And while the Power of One zone took on a central role to house a showcase of the manufacturers from across the sectors taking their own steps to do business differently, the conversation of sustainability could be found woven throughout the show’s halls – all six of them.

A greater emphasis on reuse models is now beginning to appear at the fringes of the show and its exhibitors. Water refill stations could be found in the surrounding lobby area, while for exhibitors like Georgia Bell, sales and marketing manager at Co-Cre8 and Honest, the team behind the Honest Bottle found it was the topic of conversation among a growing number of buyers this year.

“I think customers and the public are beginning to ask more of it, which means retailers and buyers are beginning to ask more of it,” she told Products of Change. “There are still barriers to overcome, and it’s the wider consumer mind-set that needs to see that shift to adopt reuse and overcome the perceived barriers of convenience and accessibility.”

Charlotte Walsh, founder of The Silicone Straw Factory, the only reusable, silicone straw to be manufactured here in the UK, couldn’t be more excited by the engagement she had throughout the four-day Birmingham NEC event, confirming that the reuse model is one that is beginning to permeate buyer sensibilities – reinforced by the number of conversations she had had with ‘big name retailers over the course of the Fair.

“The thing is, you’re selling an idea and a lifestyle, more than a product. But this is a product that sells the solution to single-use plastic, throwaway paper straws and reduces waste – all provided in the convenience of a material that can be packed away in its tin and popped in your bag,” she said. “Consumers are beginning to lean into reuse as a model and it becomes more normal in life… people carry shopping bags with them today. These are the next step.”

Waste reduction and end-of-product-life processes are climbing up the manufacturer’s agenda. Whether that’s driven by growing awareness of incoming policies such as Extended Producer Responsibility laws or the demand from the shopper, the consequence remains the same. There’s a clear and decisive move among many to do things better.

And that’s the premise upon which businesses like Talking Tables, Pure Table Top and St Eval have been built. Each of them fully B Corp certified, these are companies driving the philosophy of ‘business as a force for good.’

“For us, it’s about keeping honest. Honest, accountable, and transparent with our customers and along our supply chain,” said Clare Harris, founder of Talking Tables. “We aim to provide a business that is good for our people and maintains purpose at its centre.”

They’re sentiments that are echoed by Pure Table Top’s sustainability officer, Tom Sellicks who used Spring Fair this year to tease some exciting new developments in the company’s strives for circularity.

While it might not be overt in their messaging, it’s encouraging to see that a growing number of companies with values aligning with the UN’s 17 SDGs are beginning to make their presence felt at Spring Fair.

Waterhaul is a young, Cornish brand made up of a team that goes out collecting abandoned and washed-up fishing and trawler nets from the Cornish coastline. These materials are then used to make its collection of sunglasses and glasses frames. It’s an enterprise that incorporates environmental action through beach cleaning activity and material innovation through the repurposing of the material to deliver a product higher in value.

Meanwhile, the sustainable stationery business, Vent is fuelling better education for young people through the sale of its refillable notebooks. For every purchase, Vent gives 5% pf the net sale price to children’s education projects around the world, meaning every single purchase has a real purpose in improving education.

Not only that, but it is making headway in material innovation including the use of reclaimed coffee beans, kiwi, cherry and lavender mixed with recycled paper in the production of its Sucseed notebooks.

Licensing, too, saw its flag planted firmly in the ground of sustainable development at this year’s Spring Fair; whether that was through Fizz Creations and the fantastic work it has undertaken to overhaul its packaging and strip out all single-use plastic, or Paper Engine, the incredible brains behind the Build Your Own FSC cardboard craft kits responsible for the Aardman-licensed Wallace and Gromit rocket build.

Whichever sector you are in, the key takeaway from Spring Fair 2023 is that sustainability is an incredibly exciting topic right now. Material innovation and circular design is helping the industry’s wealth of creatives to rethink approaches and develop new ways to do business.

“We can’t lose sight of the long journey we still have ahead of us,” Mike Swain, a packaging and materials expert and Products of Change’s packaging ambassador, said. “There are a lot of companies out here now taking some very decisive and encouraging steps forward. A show like Spring Fair is a perfect bird’s eye view of the ‘consumer product industry’s’ relationship with the subject.

“We’re at the beginning of this journey – but the steps taken so far are very exciting.”