Carousel Calendars’ Plastic Detox

As a company, particularly one in the publishing sector that relies on packaging, paper and plastics, we know we need to do better for the environment. As such, we have been trialling new packaging options for our products, and seeking ways to remove more plastic. The plastic we currently use is polyolefin, which is recyclable, but it is still far better to reduce usage.

For 2020, we have:

• Replaced the outer shrink-wrap on a selection of wall calendars for an easily-recyclable cardboard envelope.
• Removed all plastic on our standard box page-a-day calendars – as far as we know we are the only major publisher to make this move. This has reduced over 4,000kg of plastic – as much as four small cars!
• All our diaries are unpackaged and will remain so.

For 2021:

• We are rolling out an even newer format which removes all product packaging on a significant number of calendars. This removes the packaging all-together and while we realise this increases the risk of damage, it still feels the right thing to do. If this is successful, it paves the way to removing packaging for a very significant percentage of calendars for future years.
• We are changing our mini box page-a-day magnetic calendars and removing all the plastic in the product and packaging.

Such efforts are also important to the brands and organisations that we work with, particularly those with an environmental focus. It is also gaining traction in the calendar industry as a whole, as the two products by us that were awarded at the recent 2019 Calies ceremony were both plastic-free packaged products. These changes are part of an overall wider environmental scheme from Carousel Calendars that seeks to: look at what other materials can be used as packaging, or even removing packaging altogether; continue to work with key partners to develop alternative solutions; and ensure all our plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable.

A Carousel Calendars 2020 Retrospect

The new year is upon us again, but while everyone is saying goodbye to 2019, we’re already looking back on 2020 and working hard on 2021! Our 2021 range of calendars and diaries is already in design with our fantastic studio and product team in Exeter, as well as putting together the brochure for all our published and distributed products for that year. Our range has expanded once again, and it’s quite a daunting task taking on so many products, but it does enable us to offer a selection as comprehensive as possible to suit the needs of our different types of client and their own unique customers.

In terms of numbers, last year we distributed over 1,400 products and 6.5 million units. We distributed for ten other major publishers and approximately 30 smaller publishers.

More Products Than Ever in 2020

To put the range size in perspective, the regional calendars (over 250 titles) require approximately 3,250 images. All these need to be researched and designed and captions written. The spread of the locations needs to be worked out as well as seasonality and caption checks. And even while we are working hard on regionals, we also are developing styles and agreeing covers and styling for all the licensed products with our valued licensing partners and working on the comprehensive range of generic calendars.

2020 has seen us concentrating on environmentally-conscious processes, though while looking at a book we recently published it reminded me that plastic-free packaging isn’t new! The book shows a plastic-free 1963 Colourful Canada calendar, though I cannot claim to have played any part in it. For Carousel Calendars last year, however, for a small range of calendars, we reintroduced plastic-free packaging. It was a small trial and I didn’t know if our customers would fully support the development, but sales were good and for 2021 range we will have another 50 plastic free calendars planned. This is on top of the 30 boxed calendars that are now completely plastic free and all 114 diaries we produce that have no product packaging. Our range of plastic-free packaged calendars and diaries is therefore likely to extend to approximately 200 titles next year.

Our Commitment to the Environment

Other successes from the 2020 range include publishing over 100 exclusive bespoke titles for some of our UK and overseas customers. For our clients, it enables them to have a range entirely designed for their own unique customer base. I also believe many of these ranges of bespoke product will move to plastic free in the coming years.

Plastic isn’t the only environmental issue we know we need to tackle; we still have to work on our energy reduction (along with our carbon footprint reduction) and we also have to  ensure our products are made in factories that, in short, respect the Ethical Trading Initiative, to ensure that they treat all staff fairly. The ETI base code has what I like to refer to as the ‘Nine Key Commandments’ that are basic requirements, whether manufacturing in the UK, Europe or Asia.

Ethical and environmental performances are, and always have been, key issues. As a company, we will update you further in the new year on other developments we are working towards.

Carousel Calendars’ Regional Range is Biggest Ever

Carousel Calendars’ regional range has been extended even further for 2021, offering the largest collection of regional calendars available in the UK.

Covering almost every county, major city and area of interest around England, Wales and Scotland, as well as choice locations in Northern Ireland and Ireland, the range is the most comprehensive for retailers and customers. There are over 250 products available, covering diverse formats including wall, slim, A4, A5, easel and box desk calendars. A4 is by far the most popular of the formats, which has grown year-on-year to over 100 titles; new additions for 2021 in this design include the Lizard Peninsula, the Brecon Beacons, St Ives and Tunbridge Wells, among others.

Our Massive Regional Range

As a special feature, all of the calendars from Carousel Calendars that focus on locations in Wales include dual-language captions and dates for Welsh speakers.

The regional range also involves special collections, such as the ‘Memories’ titles, showcasing historical black and white images of famous towns and cities, showing how much – or how little – has changed in the intervening years. Along with this, Carousel Calendars are continuing a successful licensing partnership with the National Railway Museum, using their archive of beautifully nostalgic poster artwork to create calendars celebrating the heyday of rail travel. These cover major British regions such as the South West, Yorkshire, Wales and North West England, and have proven to be a popular purchase.

A Slice of Home

Regional calendars are a firm favourite with customers, appealing to buyers due to their showcasing familiar sights and favourite locations from where they live. As all regional products come with an envelope included, they also make an ideal gift, bought by those looking to post a little slice of home to friends and family elsewhere. Having been updated to present a more modern, clean and functional look, but still providing the well-loved beautiful photography and helpful location captions, Carousel’s regional calendars are sure to continue their appeal to new and old customers alike.

Sea Change – The Plastic Detox from Carousel Calendars

Currently available from Carousel Calendars is the new 2020-dated ‘Sea Change’ calendar, created in collaboration with the Marine Conservation Society. This leading marine charity is dedicated to protecting the seas around the UK through the creation of well-managed protected areas. As many of us are aware, a particularly hot-button topic at the moment is plastics polluting the oceans, and it is this issue that brought together MCS and Carousel Calendars to create the new product.  

The calendar promotes the work that the organisation does, to spread the message of the dangers to the oceans, and the changes that can be made to combat them. It is packed with information, including statistics that highlight the plight, quotes from famous environmentalists, scientists and advisors, and tips and tasks that provide clear and easy to follow advice on how to reduce reliance on plastics and non-recyclable materials.

Reducing Plastics

With the health of our seas being such an important issue currently, the work of the MSC is more vital than ever, but just recently they were mentioned in the media in conjunction with something more unusual: an image of a giant barrel jellyfish, dwarfing diver Lizzie Daly, photographed by fellow diver Dan Abbot off the coast of Cornwall. The pair were on their final day of Wild Ocean Week, where they had been capturing documentation of marine wildlife all around the UK coasts and raising funds for the Marine Conservation Society, when the giant creature emerged from the gloom. Having originally been in the area to search for blue sharks, spending half an hour with this surprise visitor was an unexpected twist in their marine adventures, and afterwards proved to be very popular with new sites and social media fans across the internet, as well as drawing attention to the variety of life in our seas.

The MCS ‘Sea Change’ calendar is part of Carousel Calendars’ own commitments to reducing plastic waste. For 2020, the calendar company has been trialling a new packaging idea, replacing the outer shrink wrap for an easily-recyclable cardboard envelope, and as a product that is focusing on protecting the environment, the ‘Sea Change’ title was a clear choice for this new initiative. It is one of a select group of similar products that will be available with this new-look packaging.

Environmental Commitments

This change in packaging is part of a wider environmental scheme from Carousel Calendars. Other commitments that the company is pledging include: looking at what other materials can be used as packaging, or even removing packaging altogether; aiming to make all their plastic packaging reusable or recyclable; and removing plastic wherever possible, such as the four-tonne reduction that has come as a result of replacing their box calendar stands with cardboard.  Carousel are proud to be working with the eminent conservation organisation on such an important topic, and hope to continue this successful partnership into 2021 with further educational and informative Marine Conservation Society products.

Bird Photographer of the Year Calendar launches at Rutland Bird Fair 2019!

Bird Photographer of the Year Competition and Carousel Calendars are delighted to announce their partnership to publish an annual Bird Photographer of the Year Calendar.

The calendar will be launched at Bird Fair 2019 on Saturday 17th August (held at Rutland Water) with the winning photographer available to sign copies following the formal award ceremony and prize giving for all the prize winners, led by head judge Chris Packham.

Exciting New Product

Rob Read of Bird Photographer of the Year says: “Year Four of this competition proved to be a real milestone, with more than double the number of entrants, images and countries represented compared to our first year. The Competition has real global reach as demonstrated by the number of different nations represented by the winners.”

The 2020-dated calendar has been designed and published by Carousel Calendars and will be distributed to and available for purchase from retailers in the UK.

Martin Rees-Davies, Head of Licensing for Carousel Calendars, says: “We are delighted to be working with BPOTY. The amazing quality of photographs that are being submitted have created a stunning product that is sure to be a huge success and appreciated by bird lovers worldwide.”

Carousel Calendars and National Geographic Partnership Extends to Europe

Carousel Calendars and National Geographic are continuing their successful partnership into a third year – and it is set to be an extraordinary one that will deliver more new titles, new formats and, in a major move for the calendar company, extend the reach of the range into new countries.

The current range published by Carousel Calendars includes a number of wall calendars, two slim calendars and a Photo of the Day box calendar, all of which include the stunning imagery for which National Geographic is well-known. For the 2021-dated collection, additions such as an A5 diary and an exciting 59 X 48cm large scale format will offer fresh and attractive new options, with the large formats developed in particular to really showcase the beautiful photography of National Geographic. Up to 15 extra titles will be added, which means the range will offer over 30 different titles in total, focusing on National Geographic’s strong animal and landscape imagery.

Extending the Partnership

Having performed very well in sales in the UK, Carousel Calendars is pleased to announce that the partnership will lead them to branch out into Europe, and the new 2021 range will be available in major European countries including France, Norway, Spain and the Netherlands among others. Expanding a licence into Europe is a major step for the calendar company, and is indicative of the successful work with National Geographic that has led to the organisation choosing to go forward with Carousel Calendars for this endeavour.

With National Geographic’s approach to the planet, Carousel Calendars are seeking to develop this range to make it as environmentally friendly as possible. The company has made a number of recent changes in this direction, including replacing shrink-wrap packaging with recyclable options, removing and replacing excess plastic, and using responsibly-sourced paper, and will join National Geographic’s commitment to the environment in the production of the products.

Carousel Calendars Round-Up

It has been another successful year for Carousel Calendars – they distributed more titles than ever for 2019.

An impressive 1,674 titles were distributed in the UK and the rest of the world, as Carousel Calendars continues to increase its presence here, and overseas as they take on new exporting opportunities. Included in this number were 163 exclusive own label titles, again published for both UK and overseas clients.

New Titles for 2019

The 2019-dated range included the largest regional collection ever available from Carousel Calendars. There were 229 titles in total, covering locations across the UK and Ireland, offered in five different formats and retail prices. It was also the first year of Carousel’s successful partnership with the National Railway Museum, leading to the creation of popular vintage railway poster art calendars that present wonderfully nostalgic artwork from the heyday of rail travel.

For 2020, Carousel will continue with these areas of strength. Further new titles will be added to the regional range to produce the most comprehensive offering to customers, including products focusing on areas such as the Malverns, Southwold, the Norfolk Coast and UK National Parks. Also making a return in 2020, after a long gap, are three of the best-selling ‘red and black’ titles. These A4 portrait, A4 landscape and A3 portrait calendars are simple and straightforward with large lettering for ease of use. 

Carousel Calendars’ strong line up of licensed products will be joined by three new big acquisitions for 2020, in the form of two rather different but equally charming animal-based animations, and a major fashion brand.

Famous Brand Licences

First seen in the Wallace and Gromit series from Aardman Animations, Shaun the Sheep has become a breakout star with his own television programme and will be appearing in his second feature film, ‘Farmageddon’, later this year. Carousel Calendars has entered a partnership with Aardman Animations and Start Licensing to produce three new products that will accompany Shaun’s big screen outing, including a slim calendar, wall calendar and handy diary.

Watership Down, the classic by Richard Adams, has been beautifully reimagined as a four-part animated television event for Netflix and the BBC, following the story of a ragtag band of rabbits fleeing the destruction of their warren in search of safety and a better future. The 2020 range from Carousel Calendars will include a wall calendar, slim calendar and A5 diary, which feature wonderfully delicate imagery that perfectly complements this epic story.

Well-known Faces

Carousel Calendars are very excited to be creating a partnership with renowned fashion designer Orla Kiely, using her globally-recognised iconic designs and patterns to provide the basis for a range of sophisticated, high-quality 2020-dated products. The collection is planned to include a comprehensive variety of calendars and diaries, from traditional formats such as the slim and wall calendar and A5 diary, to more compact options like the easel, slim diary and magnetic memo.

National Geographic Licence for Carousel Calendars

Carousel Calendars, the largest calendar publisher and distributor in the UK, today announced a new deal with National Geographic to produce a series of licensed products for 2019, in an agreement brokered by IMG.

The partnership with the renowned society will see the designing and publishing of products by Carousel Calendars that showcase National Geographic’s stunning imagery, with formats including ten wall calendars, two slim calendars and a 365 page-a-day box.

Exciting New Partnership

Topics covered by the wall titles include Australia, great mountains, tigers, penguins and elephants, among many more, as well as the beautiful world and penguins in the slim format. The box is based on the popular National Geographic ‘Photo of the Day’ website feature.

Martin Rees-Davies, Head of Licensing, Carousel Calendars, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be working with such a prestigious brand as National Geographic. It is known the world over and the subject and quality of their imagery and archives is second to none.  The designs look fresh, stunning and make you want to be in that location or place at that very moment. I know it will be a must for retailers and consumers for 2019 and beyond.”

New National Geographic Calendars

Natalie Horne, Senior Licensing Director, IMG, added: “Carousel Calendars is a perfect partner for National Geographic, sharing the brand’s drive for premium quality and inspiring design. With National Geographic’s unparalleled visual storytelling, we have no doubt that this diverse new range of calendars will be a huge success.”

New Licences Join Carousel Calendars’ Line-Up for 2019

Carousel Calendars currently publishes over 150 licensed products, including big brands and famous artists, creating a varied range available in all formats and spanning the most sought-after genres. For 2019, the Exeter-based publishers have secured a number of high-profile and exciting new partnerships that look set to produce stunning titles.

New NRM Products

A three-year deal has been signed with the National Railway Museum to create a range of Vintage Railway poster products, displaying retro artwork from the heyday of rail travel in a variety of formats and covering all the popular locations around the UK. Carousel are thrilled to be working on this project, which will add an artistic flavour to their already considerable regional collection.

Another new addition that will feature delightfully nostalgic artwork is the ‘Golden Days’ title from Trevor Mitchell, which recreates familiar and comforting scenes from the recent past. 

Exciting New Partnerships

Carousel are very excited to announce a partnership with National Geographic for 2019, where they will work closely with the famous, well-respected organisation to design 13 products, including a 365 box calendar, that showcase their phenomenal photographs of the natural world. As well as these new licences, Carousel Calendars continues to work closely with many recognisable faces, including Forever Friends, Guess How Much I Love You and Country Companions, renowned artists such as Emma Bridgewater, Madeleine Floyd, Matt Sewell and Beryl Cook and eminent charities RHS, Perennial, RSPB and National Trust, among a wealth of others.