With an increasing number of children in the UK living in poverty, Baby Bank Network in Bristol is using the food bank model to provide for families in need. This shows there's an opportunity for brands to forge meaningful partnerships that benefit both those in need and their bottom lines.

Subscription boxes have helped FMCG brands get their goods directly into customers’ hands with minimal effort. With the Pause box, mental health charity Mind is looking to establish the same kind of automatic commitment to boost its donations and help subscribers improve their mental health.

The end of China's one-child policy is proving profitable for the toy industry, and Mattel intends to capitalise. Partnering with e-commerce giant Alibaba, the brand aims to take over the country's toy market by developing a tailor-made toy line with China’s little ones in mind.

The gender divide in the toy industry is easy to spot: trucks for boys and dolls for girls, with research showing a stark divide in imagery used in catalogues too. But change is afoot, with marketers and brands increasingly adopting a more gender-neutral approach to toy advertising.