Kids Industries’s Gary Pope appointed as children’s ambassador for Products of Change
Products of Change’s mission is to encourage companies and brands to meet their sustainability goals through education and working together to share best practice. As children’s ambassador, Gary will support this aim by representing the views, needs and wants of children in that process.
“I’m a dad, I used to be a school teacher and Kids Industries works with kids and families every day, so I’m passionate about understanding what kids need to develop, thrive and enjoy life and then I want to be able to play a part in making that happen,” he said.
“As the Products of Change children’s ambassador, my role is to be an advocate for children. To give their views on sustainability in the consumer products space a voice; I hope brands, designers, retailers, manufacturers and more will listen because it’s their planet now, not ours.
“I believe in empowering children and giving them autonomy and so I’ll also be working alongside them to ensure they access to the information they need to understand how to positively impact the world of consumer products. I’ll be promoting the work of Products of Change with children wherever I can to raise awareness of the great work the organisation is doing.”
Gary has developed a three-point plan to achieve his goals as children’s ambassador:
- Convene a children’s steering group six times a year to monitor opinion, bringing their views and needs to Products of Change group meetings and beyond
- Represent the children’s perspectives in external Products of Change initiatives and communications
- Identify and share useful and relevant research and information among Products of Change members that positively impacts children and furthers their views
Gary will be delivering some of the initial findings from the first children’s steering group meeting alongside Products of Change founder Helena Mansell-Stopher at Brand Licensing Europe, which takes place 17-19 November at ExCeL London.
Products of Change founder Helena Mansell-Stopher: “With just under half of the global royalty value from the industry coming from products made for children, it is an imperative that we make sure all elements of our communication, recommendations and business plans must include their voice.To me that’s why having a children’s ambassador within the POC community is a must, and I am so honoured that Gary with his decades of experience in this space is giving up his time to bringing their voice to the table.Watch this space for the first piece of work due to be delivered for BLE this year.”
