State of the Nation

Going green

Bottom: 64% of parents wish they had more opportunities to recycle their kids’ toys, according to a new survey. Below: The Green Planet Badge episode tied in with the debut of the new natural history series.

Inset: Six new partners have joined the Animal Planet UK licensing programme.

Animal Planet continues mission

With sustainability continuing to be a watchword in 2022, LSB takes a look at some of the latest moves in the licensing industry.

Animal Planet – which is part of the Discovery family of brands – is continuing with its mission to ‘engage and excite’ audiences who are passionate about wildlife and protecting wild spaces, welcoming a number of new partners to its UK licensing programme. IPR Licensing has expanded the roster with six new partners. These include Poetic Brands for sustainable apparel product ranges across adults, kids and baby, with exclusive retail collections in development for 2022. This will be complemented with hosiery from Roy Lowe & Sons. Meanwhile, Crackerjack will launch a natural beauty, bath and gift product line. A new deal with Danilo includes 100% recycled and recyclable greeting cards and wrap, while Assured Products will launch a range of pet hygiene products. Benross is on board for projectors, torches and lighting, plus a pet grooming range including hair dryers for pets and grooming tables.

Hey Duggee goes Green

Sir David Attenborough has narrated a special episode of Hey Duggee to share the wonder of plants and The Green Planet and helping Duggee and The Squirrels earn their Green Planet badges, while sharing the joys of nature with children across the country. The episode sees the show’s regular narrator, Alexander Armstrong joined by Sir David Attenborough who helps Duggee and Squirrels to understand that plants, including trees, are some of the most important living things on Earth. Called The Green Planet Badge, the episode made its debut on the Hey Duggee YouTube channel on the same day that the landmark fivepart natural history series The Green Planet launched on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Mattel launches #TaptoRebox

Mattel has launched a new extension of its PlayBack toy take back scheme under the banner #TaptoRebox - a social campaign designed to encourage parents to declutter, donate and recycle their children’s preloved toys this year with tips and hints from the professionals. The new scheme has been launched in response to a survey of 2,000 British parents commissioned by Mattel over the Christmas period, which found that on average, UK children have received 10 new toys this festive season, with over half of parents worrying what will happen to their old ones. The same survey discovered that 64% of parents wish they had more opportunities to recycle their kids’ toys, while three quarters of British parents were geared up at the end of last year, to declutter their children’s bedrooms during the Christmas break. In order to help those parents declutter and live more sustainably, Mattel has launched its #TaptoRebox campaign with Mattel PlayBack – its toy take back scheme for Barbie, Matchbox and MEGA brands that will now enable families to extend the life of their Mattel toys once they are finished playing with them. The programme is designed to recover and reuse materials from old Mattel toys to live a new life while supporting the company’s goal to achieve 100% recycled, recyclable or bio-based plastic materials across all products and packaging by 2030.