Program Set for BLE Day Three

The third and final day of this year’s Brand Licensing Europe (BLE), taking place from September 20 to 22, will focus on sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion.

Among the scheduled events are a sustainability case study with Hasbro, a culture and unity catwalk featuring Black Lives Matter Movement fashion collections and spotlighting Black-owned businesses, the Kelvyn Gardner License This! final and more.

In addition, Products of Change, together with the United Nations and Junk Kouture, will present an educational 15-minute set with presentations and performances centered around the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Within the set, Junk Kouture will host an exclusive catwalk show, presenting designs from its worldwide competition, in which 13- to 18-year-olds were empowered to create sustainable apparel from recycled materials.

The day three keynote will take place at 1 p.m. featuring a panel of industry change makers who will debate how leading with purpose can create a competitive advantage for licensors, retailers and licensees alike. Moderator Will Stewart, founder and CEO of The Point.1888, will be joined by Nicolas Loufrani, founder and CEO of The Smiley Company; Veronica Hart, executive VP of global franchise planning and consumer products marketing at Paramount; Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder and CEO of Products of Change; and Kingston Myles, head of commercial development at English Heritage.

These scheduled events are in addition to the sustainability, purpose-driven and DEI initiatives taking place throughout all three days of BLE. For example, the BLE & POC Sustainability Café will recycle materials from last year’s Sustainability Activation and showcase sustainable consumer products and fashion lines, the Products of Change Lounge will offer attendees the chance to meet with the Products of Change team to receive advice on sustainability action plans, and more. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet with the Black Lives Matter Licensing team to learn more about how they amplify Black voices across the consumer products sector and can support Ukrainian businesses such as the Ukrainian Association of Football and ReadyMadeLicense.

“Through partnerships with Products of Change, Licensing International, Black Lives Matter Licensing as well as Junk Kouture and many more brands, all aspects of the day three program will aim to educate, inspire and invite action within the brand licensing community,” said Anna Knight, senior VP of licensing at Informa Markets.

“Sustainability is not a limitation to fashion, but rather a trigger for bringing real creativity and passion into the industry,” noted Caroline Petit, deputy director of the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe.

Katie Brill, senior VP of PR and communications at Junk Kouture, added, “At Junk Kouture, we’re honored to have our efforts recognized by the United Nations, Products of Change and Informa, as we aim to drive change through youth creative expression and by reaching our goal of delivering against six of the 17 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals across a range of activities led by the world’s youth—‘the circular engineers of tomorrow’— who hope to inspire the audience on day three of BLE to drive meaningful change through creativity.”

Knight concluded, “As consumers continue to expect more from the brands they love and the products they buy, it’s essential that we provide a platform as organizers to inspire, share ideas and educate, which is why we’ve framed the last day of the event around driving purpose and change. There is so much great innovation going on in this space. It’s essential to learn from one another as we strive for a cleaner, better future.”