Kids Industries co-founder and chief executive officer, Gary Pope, has been appointed as the children’s ambassador for Products of Change, global educational hub and membership organization driving sustainable change within the consumer products sector and beyond.  

The mission of Products of Change is to encourage companies and brands to meet their sustainability goals through education and working together to share best practices. 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 schoolteacher 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,” says Pope. 

“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,” added Pope. “I’ll be promoting the work of Products of Change with children wherever I can to raise awareness of the great work the organization is doing.”  

Pope has developed a three-point plan to achieve his goals as children’s ambassador:   

Pope 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 (BLE), which takes place Nov. 17-19 at ExCeL London.   

“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,” says Helena Mansell-Stopher, founder, Products of Change. “To me that’s why having a children’s ambassador within the POC community is a must, and I am so honored that Gary with his decades of experience in this space is giving up his time to bringing their voice to the table.”