Leading brands, companies and individuals join POC as part of their sustainable journey.
Products of Change, the international digital membership platform built to drive sustainable change within the brand and licensing industry, has reached 250 members in its first quarter.
Since officially launching the sustainability hub on 1 January 2021, POC has seen all manner of licensors, licensees, retailers, agencies, trade suppliers and supporting bodies join up as members. Party sector names including Amscan were among the first to sign-up and gain vital tools and knowledge for its business. Mel Beer, licensing director at Amscan International said: “Sustainability is a vital element to our business at Amscan and so the opportunity to glean knowledge, resources and peer-to-peer discussions is an essential resource for us, our membership has proven to be incredible value for money in a very short space of time.”
Other members include BBC Studios, Asda, Dreamtex, Hasbro, LEGO, Viacom CBS, Tesco, Danilo, Character World, The Point. 1888, WildBrain CPLG, Carousel Calendars, Brand Focus, Kids Industries, Dependable Solutions, Licensing International, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Recoup
“To see the industry embrace working together and sharing their sustainable journeys so openly, is testament to the foresight and leadership we have within the industry to build a better future,” commented Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder of Products of Change.
The last three months since its official launch as a membership organisation has seen Products of Change gain considerable ground on many fronts and different sectors.
Some of the highlights include bringing leading licensors together to work on embedding sustainability requirements into their licensing agreements; engaging with world leading names from the sports sector to create a set of guidelines for events and merchandising; and has been working with DEFRA (UK Gov), The Children’s Literacy Trust and Wastebusters (the leading environmental education not for profit organisation) to build the first global recycling infrastructure to recycle toys through an initiative called Recycle to Read. Due to the recent legislation changes throughout Europe and the UK, Products of Change has also forged close links with Recoup (the national charity developing plastics recycling) to inform and consult industry for the new plastics tax.
Meanwhile, as part of its global mission, POC has also opened up dialogue with the Beijing Government through their Open Beijing initiative to work on improving the sustainable supply chain.
“We have achieved a lot in our first quarter, but this has been down to the support and input from leading organisations, such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as well as the will and passion of our members,” Helena underlined. “The only way to shift our industry forward is to work together, and this is exactly what we are doing, across all sectors. It’s pretty phenomenal and I’m so proud of the work the Products of Change group is already achieving and as more members join, we will be able to achieve even more.”
Products of Change membership is open to all businesses, organisations and individuals. Simply click here for full details on becoming a member.