Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - July/August 2020

RETAILERS AND BUSINESSES FACED WITH NEW PLASTIC PACKAGING TAX The Chancellor has announced that UK’s retailers and businesses will be faced with a new plastic packaging tax, in an effort to increase usage of recyclable plastic and reduce carbon emissions. Retailers will pay an excess £200 per tonne of plastic packaging made up of less than 30% of recycled plastic. Sunak also declared that this tax is projected to increase usage of recyclable plastic by 40% in the coming years. The plastic packaging tax is in keeping with the sustainability movement in the retail sector. A recent study by TetraPak showed that 97% of retailers are working to change their processes to improve sustainability and reduce plastic waste due to consumer demand, whilst many of the UK’s biggest grocers and retailers; including Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s M&S and Waitrose; have all introduced new sustainability initiatives to dramatically cut plastic waste. These initiatives include self-packing and refill stations, ban on plastic wrapping for tins, and the introduction of “sustainability stores.” Will Broome, CEO and Founder of retail tech pioneers Ubamarket, is one of the UK’s retail professionals working to help retailers and consumers to reduce their plastic waste, having created an app which provides plastic alerts and a sustainability score for all shoppers, helping them to shop in a more environmentally aware manner. It also provides retailers with much greater access to consumer behaviour data. Will Broome discusses the introduction of the plastic packaging tax and provides insight on the role of technology in reducing the plastic waste produced by retailers: “It’s extremely encouraging to see that the government is responding to the growing concerns surrounding the quantity of plastic waste and resulting carbon emissions in the retail sector. Consumers and retailers alike are already aware of the issue, and 97% of retailers have already announced their efforts to make tangible, sustainable changes to their business to meet consumer demand. However, now that the government is introducing a tax for businesses and retailers, dedicated to creating a sustainable future, it is clear that sustainability is no longer just a passing trend or a hashtag – it is now the future of retail, and must become one of the cornerstones of every retailer’s plans for development in the UK. “One way that retailers can reduce plastic waste is to implement tech solutions. Ubamarket’s Plastic Alerts feature is an example of one such solution, which allows customers to shop according to the recyclability and environmental footprint of different products, by providing information on the recyclability of every product and providing overall sustainability scores for each shop. I for one am excited to see how retailers respond to this tax, and Ubamarket is committed to providing further solutions to help the UK’s retailers grow and prosper in the coming months and years.” SMAAK LAUNCHES INTO THE UK Smaak has announced its launch into the UK. Here, the company tells us about its journey. “Andre Grundmann used to run his own fashion boutique in Amsterdam. Constantly struggling to find good bags that were of superior quality, but at affordable prices, he decided to create his own collection and, ten years later, Smaak Amsterdam is an international brand selling across Europe, in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and, now, the UK. “A chance phone call from the L&M Agency in London to Andre in Amsterdam started the ball rolling. Lynn and Mandy from L&M had seen a couple of bags that friends had bought on a recent trip and were completely bowled over by their gorgeousness. Until this point Andre had been busy establishing his business nearer to home, but L&M made a convincing case for launching onto the UK market. They felt a fresh, new handbag brand was way overdue. “L&M is now Smaak’s UK agent with the brand having launched at Scoop International in February. Causing quite a stir, retailers have been loving the bags, their designs and great colours. Retailers are also encouraged by the ‘live’ B2B system that Andre introduced to the brand a couple of years ago. This gives businesses the freedom to react to customer’s shopping habits without committing large chunks of budget, many months in advance.” Visit www.smaakamsterdam.com WOMEN’S JEWELLERY NETWORK APPOINTS RACHAEL TAYLOR AS CREATIVE DIRECTOR The Women’s Jewellery Network has appointed Rachael Taylor as its new creative director. A jewellery industry media and events strategist, Rachael is a regular writer for The Financial Times, Condé Nast, Retail Jeweller and Rapaport, and was the founding editor of Professional Jeweller and WatchPro magazines. Speaking about the appointment WJN managing director Victoria McKay said, “This announcement gives me immense pleasure; I am personally over the moon to welcome Rachael to the WJN Board. Rachael is an indisputable jewellery industry heavyweight and the entire team is buzzing with excitement to hear her insights on our evolving strategy and direction. I’ve always valued Rachael’s opinion; from the moment I met her, I could tell she was a force to be reckoned with. “So, when I started WJN, I was so pleased to recruit her as a founding Ambassador. Given where we have moved the organisation, and with a mindful eye on where we want to take this movement in the future, Rachael’s appointment to the Board is both exciting and timely.” She joins the WJN leadership team of managing director Victoria McKay, research & insights director Kathryn Bishop and communications director Nyasha Pitt. WJN’s wider team includes 45 ambassadors globally and four advocates based in the UK. www.womensjewellerynetwork.com 102