BLE & Products of Change to focus on sustainability at London event

Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), the European brand licensing industry event, is partnering with Products of Change to spotlight sustainability in a new activation at this year’s event, to be held at Excel London from 17-19, November 2021, followed by an online event on November 30 and December 1, 2021. Attendees can register for free now at the BLE website.

The 220 square metres BLE Sustainability Activation in partnership with Products of Change will be front and centre on the show floor and will feature six unique zones to inspire the industry towards a more sustainable future. The zones will highlight the inroads brands, retailers and manufacturers are already making in fashion, product, material and retail innovation, as well as the impact this can have on the global licensing industry, consumers, and beyond, according to a BLE press release.

Sustainable fashion company and apparel licensee, Teemill, will showcase its circular innovation, ‘bringing to life’ the process of ‘shredding’ material to re-use. The award-winning manufacturer is a fantastic example of a business committed to making the circular economy a reality. Teemill’s shredder turns pre-loved clothing into yarn, which can be reused to create recycled clothing, ready to find a new owner. To highlight the increasing popularity of fashion rental/clothes swapping, BLE organisers are asking visitors to bring an old item of branded clothing to the event, donate to industry charity The Light Fund, and swap it for another piece of apparel.   

Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), the European brand licensing industry event, is partnering with Products of Change to spotlight sustainability in a new activation at this year’s event, to be held at Excel London from 17-19, November 2021, followed by an online event on November 30 and December 1, 2021. Attendees can register for free now at the BLE website.

The material innovation area will illustrate the processes behind recycling materials such as plastic into new products, stone into handbags and hay into lamps. The area will also showcase the latest technology platform for material impact scoring from Brand Conscience. Visitors can learn about Asda’s George for good strategic approach to sustainable production, including its core sustainability pillars, licensed product ranges and 100 per cent sustainably sourced school uniform ranges along with their new 3D technology to heavily reduce waste in production, according to BLE.

The sustainable licensed products showcase will feature brand owners and licensees from across the brand licensing industry, including Hasbro, Mattel, Lego, Keeleco, Character World, Dreamtex, Discovery, and Tesco. The Brands for Social Change area will highlight how brands are working together to drive social change and will include a stunning room set from The Eden Project: Cornwall’s hugely successful eco visitor attraction, through to inspiring products from The Natural History Museum and BBC Studios.   

“Brand owners, retailers and manufacturers have all been making purposeful and practical commitments to improving the sustainability of their products, businesses and the sector as whole through a range of initiatives focused on putting the planet before profit and we can’t wait to showcase these at BLE in November to inspire others on their sustainability journeys,” Anna Knight, VP of licensing at Informa Markets said in a statement.

“With both COVID and Brexit hitting business hard this year, it has been extremely encouraging to see the industry still focusing on transitioning to a more sustainable production model, as well as incorporating a large proportion of the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals within their sustainability framework. I cannot think of a better place to celebrate the industry’s achievements than being able to physically show them at BLE this year. It is a real honour to be working with the progressive team at Informa to bring this activation to life, and I’m really looking forward to inspiring more business to come on the sustainable journey with us,” Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder and CEO of Products of Change said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (GK)