Opinion


Time to consider the rising cost of living and its impact on families


It's a simple formula: energy bills and inflation go up, disposable household income goes down. Gary Pope, co-founder and CEO of Kids Industries, ponders what it might mean for the toy sector


Parents always want what’s best for their kids. And unfortunately, that’s about to get tougher. In the coming months we’re


going to be hit hard. All of us. As if it wasn’t enough that the energy companies are about to do us all up like a shoal of North Sea kippers with bills predicted to rise to £3,000 per year, but now the government is hiking up


national insurance and inflation is making a can of beans a luxury to some… and none of this is funny. Right now, 31 per cent of children in the UK are living


in poverty, rising to nearly half of children in single-parent families. That means 4,132,410 children in the UK are officially in poverty. These families barely have enough money to heat and feed themselves. So how is that going to play out once the price hike in energy and the NI bill bites? Households are considered to be below the UK poverty line if their income is 60 per cent below the median household income after housing costs for that year. So, having crunched a few numbers and taken a couple of averages, it works out that these 4.1 million children live in homes where there is just £147 per week for food, clothing, heating, electricity and the internet (which is supposed to be a right). There’s probably very little left for toys. And while parents may well want things for their children,


luxuries like toys – yes, luxuries – will be foregone in lieu of light, heat and food. This is the reality in 2022. Lower-income families just won’t be able to cut back much further. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. One of the reasons


that I love being a part of the wonderful, fun and collegiate industries that make stuff for children is because what we collectively do gives a little slice of wonder to families. Even when times are tough, the things that people like you make, shine a light of happiness into the world. Toys are essential. There is a reason that the United


Nations enshrines the right to play in the children’s charter. Kids need play in order to develop, and they need toys to make the very most of that play. The danger as we move into a time when money is tighter than usual is that we make things that are cheaper and more disposable, and I’m not sure that’s the right thing to do – either on commercial or moral grounds. With my Products of Change Children’s Ambassador hat on, I implore brands, designers and toy manufacturers to think the opposite. The need for sustainability presents an opportunity for both manufacturers and consumers. In our own recent survey, we found that parents reported only 14 per cent of used toys get thrown away. Millennial parents want to hand down quality toys to other kids that need them. It’s in their DNA. I implore the UK toy industry to carry on making good


toys that go the distance. They don’t have to be expensive, they just have to be fun and they have to last. And surely that should be true of all toys.


“The danger as we move into a time when money is tighter than usual is that we make things that


are cheaper and more disposable, and I’m not sure that’s the right thing to do”


Gary Pope is co-founder and CEO at full-service family focused marketing agency Kids Industries. A firm believer in furthering education and advocating for children, Gary was appointed Children’s Ambassador for Products of Change and is an advisor to The Children’s Media Conference.


Spring/Summer 2022 | ToyNews | 9


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