State of the Nation

LSB takes a look at some of the latest sustainability developments from across the licensing industry, including from some members of Products of Change. Green smiles

Inset: The museum's iconic Charles Darwin statue was transformed for the event.

Gaming plays lead role in NHM Lates event

The role that games and gaming has to play in raising awareness of conservation, nature and the environment was cast into the spotlight when the Natural History Museum hosted its Playful by Nature evening in March, a late-night event devised to place natural sciences at the centre of the pop culture scene today. Its first since the onset of the pandemic, the Lates event witnessed gamers and pop culture fans fill out five of the Museum’s eventing spaces, where they got the chance to explore nature through video games and board games, while chatting with developers and scientists. Guests of the event were given the chance to play video games such as Ustwo Games’ Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. Ustwo Games is a certified B Corp games studio, as well as an active member of the Playing for the Planet initiative. Through this platform, the team has made a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 30% by the end of 2022 and work to move to sustainable energy sources within its corporate offices. It's also made a commitment to inspire action among its audiences.

Inset: Grow2Know was founded by Tayshan Hayden-Smith in 2017 in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Peter Rabbit launches gardening campaign

Penguin Random House is marking the 120th anniversary of Beatrix Potter’s first book - The Tale of Peter Rabbit - with a new gardening initiative that will design and develop three Peter Rabbitinspired community garden makeovers between now and 2024.

The campaign – called Grow with Peter Rabbit – will draw on the character’s insatiable appetite for vegetables while conveying the environmental, social and mental benefits of being outdoors with nature.

The three-year project is a partnership between Beatrix Potter’s publisher Penguin Random House Children’s and Grow2Know, a charity established in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017. The first garden will be in a disused plot attached to St

Clement & St James CE Primary School in

Kensington – near to Grenfell Tower and in the same borough where Beatrix Potter was born in 1866.

Families across the UK will be encouraged to join the Grow with Peter Rabbit challenge during National Children’s Gardening Week this year and grow vegetables at home using upcycled materials and a packet of seeds.

RSPB adds commercial environmental specialist

The UK’s leading conservation charity-turnedlifestyle brand, the RSPB has welcomed the qualified marine Above: Freddie will initially focus on getting the charity up to speed with biologist and former the new Plastic Packaging Tax. industry marketing and retail executive, Freddie Hack to the newly created role of commercial environmental specialist. Freddie joins the team as the RSPB sets out aims for introducing new and expanding existing sustainability measures up and down the company, from day-to-day business operations to its licensing

and CP output. His initial aim is getting the charity up to relevant speed with the Plastic Packaging Tax introduced in April. Following this, he will then extend his remit into other areas of sustainability and ethical sourcing across the business. “It’s exciting to see how much the conversation around sustainability is growing,” commented

Louisa Skevington, product licensing manager at

the RSPB. “We are finding increasingly that prospective suppliers and licensees have sustainability at the front of mind, and this really opens up opportunities for new conversations, partnerships and product ranges.”

Golden Bear underlines sustainability commitments

Golden Bear is continuing to build its collection of recycled plush – with the company saying that it is passionate about being part of the change for a more sustainable future.

“The Golden Bear ethos is if there is a more sustainable material we could use, we should challenge ourselves and drive positive change,” explained

Rebecca Henchey, the company’s

product and innovation director. “We are working hand in hand with our supply chain, learning together and setting ourselves some challenging timelines. We know that to make change you need to be bold and make tough decisions in the short-term to see benefit in the longer term.” Hey Duggee was the first licence to be delivered as recycled plush, and it has also now rolled out across Mr Tumble and The Baby Club.

Rebecca continued: “Sustainability is no longer a nice to have, it will soon be an expectation and we are passionate about being part of the change. We all have a role to play, as individuals, as businesses and industries, and toys is no different.

“We are committed to positive change and we will continue to challenge ourselves on what more we can deliver,” she concluded.

Inset: Explore and Snore Camping with Duggee is among the recycled plush.

Mattel sets new plastic packaging goal

Mattel has set a new goal to reduce plastic packaging by 25% per product by 2030. The new target has been listed within the company’s 2021 Citizenship Report, providing an update on Mattel’s

“There is no right time to make a change, just change”

Dreamtex has been outlining its sustainability ambitions for 2022, while also sharing some advice on how companies can start their own journeys.

“By the end of 2022 we want to have successfully launched our first BCI cotton collection, implemented new company policies regarding energy saving initiatives and staff training on greener practices and taken our first step towards reducing the company’s carbon footprint,” said Anthony Duckworth, md of Dreamtex.

The licensee – which is a proud supporter of Products of Change and SILC22 – began its sustainability journey using Repreve fabric on bedding, towels, blankets and cushions for brands such as National Geographic and The Gruffalo. Since then, it has expanded its Repreve collections and developed fully recyclable duvet sets, towels and curtains in 100% BCI cotton. Its BCI launches this summer include Bluey bedding and towels.

Anthony continued: “There is no right time to make a change, just change! We recognise that we have a responsibility to increase the wellbeing of people and the planet with our products. This is why we have developed Dreamtex Earth which is our longterm sustainability strategy designed to reduce the environmental impact of our activities and help to create a greater shift towards sustainability within the licensing industry.”

Inset: Dreamtex has partnered with big names including National Geographic and Bluey.

Environmental, Social and Governance strategy and established goals.

With its new packaging goal, Mattel is focused on reducing plastic materials from product packaging, including polybags, window sheets and blister packs as part of its packaging strategy and reduction approach. “We are proud of the progress we have made in the past year toward our ESG goals and recognise that there is much more to be accomplished,” said Pamela Gill-Alabaster, svp

global head of sustainability and social impact at

Mattel. “Our new plastic packaging goal responds to increasing global attention on single-use plastic packaging waste, and addresses changing consumer preferences.”