As part of our UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals activation at Licensing Expo 2025, we are showcasing our members and partners that are embodying various SDGs through they work they have done or are doing.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, is being represented by the Smiley Company, and its Future Positive initiative.

“Too much of the world’s wealth is held by a very small group of people. This often leads to financial and social discrimination. In order for nations to flourish, equality and prosperity must be available to everyone – regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs or economic status. When every individual is self-sufficient, the entire world prospers.” – The Global Goals.

To achieve this, the UN’s targets for the journey are:

• Reduce income inequalities;
• Promote universal social, economic, and political inclusion;
• Ensure equal opportunities and end discrimination;
• Adopt fiscal and social policies that promote equality;
• Improved regulation of global financial markets and institutions;
• Enhanced representation for developing countries in financial institutions;
• Responsible and well-managed migration policies;
• Special and differential treatment for developing countries;
• Encourage development assistance and investment in least developed countries;
• Reduce transaction costs for migrant remittances.

The Smiley Company’s Future Positive initiative creates accessible and sustainable products within the licensing industry, in line with the UN SDGs. Through its partnerships, Smiley champions its values, with recent collaborations including Anya Hindmarch, MoEa, Eastpak, and Loqi. Where it particularly champions SDG 10, is through its partnership with refugee charity, Choose Love, which together marked 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the end of last year. The campaign aimed to highlight the importance of human rights, while raising awareness and funds for Choose Love.

The companies brought together a host of music, film, and entertainment figures, including Olivia Colman, Bella Ramsey, Jude Law, and Annie Lennox, to spotlight and bring the Declaration articles to life, through a series of short films, shared on TikTok and Smiley News, the non-profit arm of POC member, The Smiley Company.

The initiative aims to highlight the importance of human rights, while raising awareness and funds for Choose Love, through branded merchandise, including t-shirts, sweatshirts and tote bags, available to purchase from smiley.com.

This collaboration is the latest in the Smiley Movement’s Matchmaker for Good initiative, which connects companies with over 25,000 charities and non-profit projects to match their Corportate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals. Smiley provides access to its IP free of charge to create branded products to raise funds for the selected charity.

Smiley has also partnered with Klépierre, the European leader in shopping centres, to promote an exclusive sustainable fashion tour visited by millions of consumers. The 50m2 activation is aimed at promoting environmentally friendly consumption habits, DIY up-cycling workshops, information, and a space to highlight Future Positive partners.