If you were looking for the practical over the theoretical, and the ultimate “how to” for sustainability in brand, licensing and retail, you needed to look no further than the Products of Change Conference this year.

Not only did this year’s Conference, held at the prestigious Royal Geographical Society in London on 5 November 2025, have the highest number of attendees ever, the speaker and content line-up and general takeaways from the day reportedly surpassed even previous years, according to the attendee feedback that has come in so far. Another first this year was having the talented Andy Gray illustrating live the whole Conference, providing visual takeaways for attendees. See the illustrations here.

It was a focus for Products of Change to showcase the “how to” and the very real business and commercial benefits of sustainability in this year’s agenda – especially with many organisations’ 2030 goals looming ever closer – it is so important that action is accelerated and widely adopted to create a thriving, resilient and innovative brand and licensing industry.

Helena Mansell-Stopher, POC’s founder and CEO, was joined by a very special guest to open the Conference: Caroline Petit, deputy director of the United Nations Regional Information Centre. Caroline and the UN have been supporting POC for a number of years now, not least previously at the 2023 POC Conference (then called SiLC). In her opening address, Caroline emphasised the importance and role of our industry in enacting real, lasting and widespread sustainable action: “Products can be catalysts for change,” she said, imploring attendees to “create products with people and planet, not for them.”

While there was some sobering statements and references to the climate crisis and the challenging situation we find ourselves in, such as from Tamara Sender Ceron from Mintel – in who’s presentation she said that 46% of female shoppers aged 16-34 bought fashion from Shein in the last year – the day was dominated by the positive action we can and are taking towards such realities. For Tamara this was explaining the opportunity of retailers to really maximise on the thrifty tendencies of shoppers through second-hand and circular fashion schemes. If they are frictionless and rewarding, consumers will engage, said Tamara.

Hilary Strong from smol, reiterated this principle: “Progress is better than perfection,” speaking to how we don’t need a hundred people doing sustainability perfectly, we need millions doing it imperfectly, therefore making it easy and accessible is essential for adoption.

The topic of packaging saw dynamic conversation covered by multiple speakers this year, including Paul Earnshaw from Tesco, Wendy Mather from RDP Creative, and Christian Lanckman from the LEGO Group, who encouraged the audience to “Challenge the status quo with your supplier,” to which Wendy dispelled the myth that sustainable packaging is always more expensive.

A highlight for many during the day was the session by IKEA’s Thomas Suchy, who detailed how the company has truly been embedding sustainability into every nook and cranny of the business, not least by upskilling all of its country managers to also be chief sustainability officers (CSOs).

While some suggest that the momentum for sustainability has somewhat lagged in recent years, the POC Conference showed this couldn’t be further from the truth, especially not from some of the biggest organisations and consumer insights specialists. Nicolai Broby Eckert from global strategy consulting firm, Simon-Kucher, asserted that sustainability is hands down the biggest consumer movement of the 21st century, and that 78% of consumers have sustainability in their top five purchasing criteria. “If you just see sustainability as a compliance issue, you are already behind the curve,” Nicolai said.

Alongside a fantastic line-up of speakers, POC hosted a number of its partners and speakers in the networking area to showcase exemplary products and strategy, including the Mills Fabrica’s innovators, Pure Table Top, Waterhaul, Teemill, Wastebuster, BioFluff, LaundRe, Universal Music Group, Organic Sound, RDP Creative, Worldly, and the Ethical Supply Chain. This is the first time the Conference has made exhibitors a core part of its offerings, and it really created a buzz in the networking area as attendees connected over the product and innovations on display.

The networking and connecting going on throughout each break and the drinks afterwards was stand-out; with such like-minded, well-placed and driven people in one place, the Conference provided a breeding ground for collaborative conversation, inspired by the sessions throughout the day.

“It’s a unique thing that POC has done – people have always been so protective, but this goes completely across the industry. It’s a really collaborative day, worth taking the time out, it’s just such an inspirational day, coming together to learn from all the case studies and the solutions people have found that you can take on board,” commented Lisa Hey, head of product development at Character World Brands.

Steve Manners, VP of global marketing and UK managing director of Licensing International, added that he was inspired by “How our community is all sharing the call to action. I was pleasantly surprised how upbeat it was. Far from being doom and gloom, real progress is not only being made but is being shared.”

Russell Watts, operations director of Penguin Random House, also commented: “The attendee list was really impressive, matched by the calibre of speakers. With collaboration being key to progress, having so many people in the same room with a shared purpose gives me hope.”

Continuing the inspiration and positive momentum of the day was the POC SDG Awards, held annually at the Conference to celebrate those in the Products of Change Community going above and beyond towards realising a more sustainable future of the brand, licensing, and retail industry.

The four awards each represent one of the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, recognising the true pioneers, innovators, and changemakers who are setting the pace for us all. After opening the first ever POC SDG Awards in 2023, Caroline Petit from the UN returned as part of the UN’s ongoing partnership with POC to present this year’s awards alongside POC’s editor and content manager, Kathryn Brand.

The awards went to:

• SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals: Eden Project, Dayrize, Pure Table Top, and Fabacus
• SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production: RDP Creative
• SDG 13 – Climate Action: Moose Toys
• SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: Universal Music Group and Bravado International Group

Products of Change is looking forward to continuing this momentum that was so palpable last week at the Conference, and continuing to enable the innovation and sustainable progress of our industry through its webinars, working groups and events. Get involved as part of the Products of Change Community.

If you didn’t make it to the Conference but want to get in on all the action, you can still buy digital tickets here which will give you access to the recordings of the whole day. Ticket holders will also soon receive this code to watch back their favourite sessions.

Recognition goes to the POC Conference official supporters which make the event as unmissable and impactful as it is:

BBC Studios, Bravado, Character World, Disney Consumer Products, Dreamtex, Fabacus, Mattel, Difuzed, ESCP, RDP Creative, Natural History Museum, TDP Textiles, Warner Bros, the Wombles, Pure Table Top, Worldly, and Poetic Brands.

About Products of Change
Products of Change is a purpose-driven organisation, structured around its not-for-profit membership, its educational resources and media arm, as well as its advisory team to support its members and the brand licensing industry on its sustainable journey. To find out more, visit: www.productsofchange.com