Autumn Fair (4-7 September, NEC Birmingham) has announced it is partnering with Products of Change (POC) to deliver a series of one-on-one and group educational sessions and workshops as part of its Power of One® campaign to help retailers and consumers change the future of retail, one step at a time.
Products of Change is a membership network, educational platform, and content hub curated by experts across multiple disciplines within sustainability and the consumer products industries. Through this partnership Autumn Fair will be offering one-on-one and group educational sessions and workshop tasters, as well as practice guides for attendees who are keen to learn how to better align their business or products with core sustainability measures at retail and across product categories. 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.
At the show for all four days will be CEO and founder of POC Helena Mansell-Stopher, and POC Advisor and Net Zero Ambassador June Kirkwood. On Monday and Tuesday join Mike Swain, founder of Pack IDS and Senior Advisor to the UK Packaging Council, for all things sustainable packaging. James George, POC Ambassador of Circular Principles and strategic advisor at Pyxera, will be focusing on the circular economy on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Daniel Mayhew, Event Director, Autumn Fair says; “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 22 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 Autumn Fair’s 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 its sustainable filter on its exhibitor list, and 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 options 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.
Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder of Products of Change, said: “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 in Hall 6 H40.”
