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BOXES MADE CIRCULAR THROUGH NEW PACKAGING DESIGN COURSE
Gary Pope is the cofounder of Ki and the Products of Change ambassador for the children’s sector. Given the climate emergency we all face, Gary reiterates why the time to act is now.
Products of Change’s packaging design guru, Mike Swain, is to lead a two-day design and innovation course aimed at helping attendees realise the full potential of product packaging and the role it plays in the circular economy. The course is designed for anyone involved in the packaging industry, including brand owners, manufacturers, and packaging designers tasked with delivering responsible change and innovative packaging solutions. Running over two days from 12-13 October and taking place in central London in association with Products of Change, Part One of the course will deliver lessons on the context of the Circular Economy for the packaging industry. Part Two will Copyright: Pack IDS Ltd. focus on new tools and techniques to help develop solutions today and in the future as the Circular Economy becomes normality for industry and consumers. “We want this course to arm you with some answers. There is an urgency for us to do things better and we all have a part to play in heaving the packaging circular economy into action, and to ultimately leave the world in a better place,” said Mike Swain, packaging consultant at Pack4CE, packaging design course co-ordinator, and Products of Change ambassador. “Not all packaging out there is circular economy compatible, yet change is inevitable and often difficult if you are not familiar with it. This course is intended to help all those involved with this journey, irrespective of their role in the industry, with relevant and pragmatic models, tools, and methods.” Get in touch with Products of Change or Pack4CE@ consultant.com for more details.
POETIC BRANDS READIES 3D TECH TO ERADICATE LANDFILL-BOUND SAMPLING The licensed apparel specialist, Poetic Brands is working with numerous retailers to implement 3D sampling technology to “eradicate the huge amount of sample items” that have historically ended up in landfill. It’s just one part of an ongoing journey the team is currently on towards implementing better sustainability across the company and its wider supply chain. Poetic Brands’ factories are already making keen headway having adopted rainwater harvesting processes and a water treatment plant in one factory that currently recycles 20,000 litres of water a day. When it comes to energy use, solar panels generating 75,000 KWH are helping those of its factories with an average monthly consumption of 60,000 KWH give energy back to the grid.
I advocate for children through the work Products of Change does. I’m a link between grown-ups now and the grown-ups of the future. In the six months since taking on the role, it has become unquestionably clear how important this advocacy is. One of the wonderful things about the consumer products industry is that we genuinely care about the people we make stuff for. But now, more than ever, we need to double down on that care. You see, it’s them that are going to have to deal with the myriad problems climate change brings in the future. But it’s us that has the power to help now. On 4 April, the IPCC report was released. It made clear that by adapting our behaviours we can make a 40 to 70% reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions by 2050 – and that might be enough to save the future. Maybe. We need to limit warming to 1.5ºC and to do that, Greenhouse Gas emissions need to peak before 2025 and be reduced by 43% by 2030. Simultaneously, methane needs to be reduced by 30%. This is not going to happen. We will exceed this temperature threshold. BUT, we might be able to get it back down again… if we act together. NOW. It’s not you, it’s them that will have to deal with the calamity that climate change brings. We need to do something. As you think about your next big hit, consider choosing partners that are behaving as the planet needs and the children deserve. Make sure they put the consumer’s future before their quarterly reporting. Children know there’s a problem with the planet, but they don’t know how to make a difference. A Kids Industries study for POC found 41% of children in the UK and US do not think the efforts they make can make a difference, but they still want to do something. We have a responsibility to give that ambition hope. As the providers of all things that inspire, educate, and define them, we have the power to do just that.
“Like so many businesses, we’re at the beginning of this journey,” said Anne Bradford, commercial director of Poetic Brands. “The teams in the UK and at our factories are constantly looking at how we can strive towards a much greener, cleaner future. “We’re happy to collaborate and plan how we can collectively build a better future for us all.”
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