Trade show drive for sustainability education and practice guides
Products Of Change, the sustainability membership organisation which includes several card publishers among its members, has forged a strategic partnership with Autumn Fair to deliver and drive sustainability educational sessions and practice guides at this year’s show.
As the conversation surrounding sustainability in the retail and consumer products sectors deepen, including in the greeting card sector, so too has Autumn Fair’s own journey with the subject, and partnering with POC is the team’s latest bold step in fuelling its Power Of One initiative.
Power Of One was launched back in 2018 to raise awareness of sustainability in the retail industry, igniting a forum for retail customers to talk about the steps needed to change the future and how the sector can empower customers to be more sustainable.
As a membership network, educational platform, and content hub curated by experts across multiple disciplines within sustainability and the consumer products industries, POC sets out to educate as well as inform change across business.
Belly Button Designs, Carousel Calendars, Cath Tate Cards, Danilo, Hallmark, Into The Green Publishing, Amscan, and Talking Tables are among POC’s committed members.
Through the partnership Autumn Fair, which takes place 4-7 September at Birmingham’s NEC, will be offering visitors a how-to element to facilitate the implementation of sustainability measures at retail and across product categories.
“With a breadth of partners across multiple categories including brand owners, manufacturers and retailers, Products Of Change is extremely proud to partner with Autumn Fair this year to offer a cross-category expertise on implementing better sustainability and driving positive change across business,” said POC founder and ceo Helena Mansell-Stopher.
“With audience demand for more sustainable products, and more ethical business in general, greater than it has ever been, and with so many companies implementing so many fantastically forward-thinking business practices already, we’re very excited to be able to play our part in the transition to a more sustainable – and regenerative – future for businesses, people, and the planet. We look forward to welcoming visitors to our stand.”
During the show, POC will be delivering one-on-one and group educational sessions and workshop tasters, as well as practice guides for all attendees keen to learn how to better align their business or products with core sustainability measures. Visitors will be shown the importance of transparency across supply chains as well as the benefit of working as a community towards a common goal of better sustainability and positive change across the consumer products industry.
Helena, and POC advisor and net zero ambassador June Kirkwood will be at the show for all four days on their stand 6H40 – POC is offering all Autumn Fair exhibitors and attendees a 10% discount on memberships.
And on the Monday and Tuesday Mike Swain, founder of Pack IDS and senior advisor to the UK Packaging Council, will be speaking about sustainable packaging, while on the Tuesday and Wednesday James George, POC ambassador of circular Principles and strategic advisor at Pyxera, will be focusing on the circular economy. Visit Products of Change – Autumn Fair.
Daniel Mayhew, event director at Autumn Fair, commented: “As the conversation surrounding sustainability within the retail and consumer product sectors deepens, so too, has our commitment to supporting the journey of our community.
“Power Of One creates a forum to educate and inspire, and our strategic partnership with Products Of Change enables us to provide much-needed educational sessions and workshops for our visitors to learn how they can make changes, to talk about what needs to be done to change the future, what already is being done, and how to support customers to take the right steps in becoming more sustainable.
“The campaign has really accelerated for Autumn Fair 2022 and we will continue championing the brands, suppliers, and retailers we work with along the way to help change the face of retail.”
Another key element of Power Of One initiative is its Sustainability Trail which spotlights the fair trade and more environmentally-conscious brands, allowing visitors to easily find them through the sustainable filter on the show’s exhibitor list, and also highlighted in show guides and via the Autumn Fair app.
The Power Of One campaign has, this year, also committed to three pledges to help drive better sustainability and wellbeing:
- Pass It On– with the circular economy at its heart, Pass It On empowers customers to reuse, repair, and recycle their best-loved items to give products a second lease of life and reduce the impact on finite resources.
- Do You Need It?– Showcasing the power that small steps have to make a huge change, Do You Need It encourages retailers to offer customers alternatives to single-use items such as receipts.
- Checking In– A pledge that asks staff the questions that matter, from time off to a healthy work/life balance, Checking In takes care of the beating heart of the retail industry.Top: The Products Of Change line-up includes (from left) Helen Mansell-Stopher, June Kirkwood, Mike Swain, and James George.
