The day is finally upon us. In just a few short hours, Brand Licensing Europe 2024 will finally be getting underway, bringing with it the chance for the international licensing industry to get to grips with some of the finer points of sustainability across the brand licensing sector, thanks to a full three-day roster of activity from Products of Change.
Discourse and discovery at BLE
Yes, this week visitors to London’s Brand Licensing Europe will find not one but four world-leading names in licensed merchandise take to BLE’s main stage as licensing and sustainability specialists from the LEGO Group, the Walt Disney Company, Paramount UK, and the leading apparel licensee Difuzed join Products of Change for a special panel session exploring the very latest in industry sustainability.
The discussion – Mapping a Sustainable Pathway: How the Industry is Adapting to new Demands – will be kick off at 4.00pm on Wednesday, 25thSeptember and will bring together industry experts Jacob Max Hamann (the LEGO Group); Anna Halford (the Walt Disney Company); Michelle Papayannakos (Paramount UK); and Jeremy Orriss (Difuzed) as they each share their insight into the strides each of their businesses are taking to reduce their environmental impact and build a better, more mindful and sustainable future for the business of brand licensing.
To register your place at the session, follow this link to the Products of Change events page. The 45-minute session will be followed by a members-only drinks reception on the Products of Change stand (A265) commencing at 5.00pm. To register yourself for a networking drink, follow this link.
Pioneers in consumer products
Brand Licensing Europe is not simply a place where licensing deals are made but a hotbed of product innovation and pioneering new attitudes towards business are platformed. Over the course of the three-day show, Products of Change will therefore be showcasing a snapshot of the latest in product innovation, including collections from the Smiley Company (which is pushing for greater sustainability in the industry under its Future Positive umbrella); RDP Creative; and a host of Licensing Awards Best Sustainable Licensed Product finalists including Fabacus, Little Beau Sheep, The Makerss, Paramount UK, LUSH Cosmetics, Forest Green Rovers, the Natural History Museum, Willsow, and others.
The ‘finalists showcase’ has been curated to highlight the industry’s evolving approach to sustainable production, whether that is through material innovation, business model adaptation, or a bold new approach to supply chain visibility and transparency. The product showcase will be hosted at the PRoducts of Change booth (A265), there to ignite and inspire a new collective approach to brand licensing and the ways in which brand licensing can be used as a force for good.
Second-hand September
And that’s not all. For the first time in its BLE history, Products of Change will, this year, be partnering with the licensing industry charity, The Light Fund to host a special ‘resale’ event across the full three days of the European licensing trade show.
Over the past month, Products of Change has been calling on the industry’s biggest and boldest to donate products, samples, and unsold stock towards a special charity resale which has been organised to raise money for the Light Fund while highlighting the benefits of a circular economy by keeping products and materials out of the waste stream and firmly within the value stream.
The initiative is being held this year in honour of Second-hand September, an event launched by Oxfam now in its sixth year that aims to encourage people to shop pre-loved and donate their unwanted clothes to help reduce the need for new clothes.
The garment industry alone has an enormous water footprint which in the UK comes in at a whopping eight billion cubic metres a year. That’s enough to meet the water consumption of the entire UK population for two years. Globally, it’s much larger, totalling 93 billion cubic metres of water a year, enough to fill 37 million Olympic sized swimming pools.
Analysis reveals that producing just one cotton t-shirt requires the equivalent of 5,400 standard 500ml bottles of water to make while producing one pair of jeans famously requires 16,000 bottles of water – which is enough to meet the drinking needs of 4,750 people a day.
Ian Downes, director of Start Licensing and Trustee of The Light Fund, said: “It’s very exciting and uplifting to see BLE, Products of Change, and The Light Fund cooperating to host this event. I’m sure it will be a great fundraiser for The Light Fund and also help drive the conversation about sustainability in our industry. The Light Fund is very grateful for the industry’s ongoing support.”
The POC x The Light Fund Charity Resale will be held on the Products of Change booth (A265) and will run throughout the duration of the three-day show. Any stock left over by the end of the show will be donated to the New Life Charity and will go on to raise money for children and families living with disabilities.
