Company Profile - Schleich

Sustainability a holistic approach

Dr Philipp Hummel, head of Sustainability at Schleich, tells Toy World readers more about the company's recently announced promise to make all its figurines either recyclable or biodegradable by 2027, how packaging plays a big role in Schleich’s plastic reduction goals, and why a commitment to the planet aligns with the company’s ethos.

What has prompted Schleich to set this sustainability goal for itself?

Sustainable play has always been firmly anchored in Schleich’s DNA. For over 85 years, we’ve been producing high-quality - and therefore long-lasting - toys with great attention to detail. Our figurines are timeless and therefore passed down from generation to generation: the longevity of our products reduces their ecological footprint very organically. But this isn’t enough for us. We want to meet our responsibility to children and their future on a healthy planet head-on. That’s why we’re transforming all areas of the company, making each one even more sustainable and further minimising our ecological footprint.

Why is Cradle to Cradle certification such an important part of your commitment?

We’re optimising and certifying our figurines and packaging in accordance with Cradle to Cradle circular economy principles, one the most sophisticated yet holistic approaches available. Cradle to Cradle seeks to use the planet’s resources - for example, the material from which our figurines are made - for as long as possible, and then reuse them again and again. It’s worth nothing that our products are so durable, and of such high quality, that they’re only thrown away in very rare cases. If this does happen, however, the consistent implementation of Cradle to Cradle principles can turn an old Schleich dinosaur into a new Schleich dinosaur (or a lion, horse or unicorn) instead of a product with reduced material quality. The Cradle to Cradle approach also demands that both the production and supply chains are designed to improve the social and environmental impact of all products that adhere to it and the companies that make them.

What kind of feedback have you received since making the announcement?

Initial feedback has been very positive, chiefly because of the holistic approach we have taken. We’re not only looking at the material that goes into making our toys, but at many other factors too. We’ve also received positive feedback on our adoption of the Cradle to Cradle principles as they are the most sophisticated circularity principles a company can possibly follow.

What does the move mean for your customers from a commercial perspective?

Although we’re unable to give any information about future prices at this stage, we firmly believe that consumers will see the benefit of investing in toys that offer greater eco-friendly credentials and long-term play value, and that retailers will therefore see the opportunities presented by offering Schleich toys onshelf.

The prices of our products are based upon various factors and not only on the materials used. To help our retail partners tell the story of our products in-store, we’re preparing B2C communication incorporating POS materials for this year. This will include example videos specifically designed to help children understand our plans.

the initial press release, Schleich drew attention to the role of packaging in the company’s sustainability efforts. Can you elaborate?

We’ve already achieved a lot in terms of packaging, having been significantly decreasing the plastic in our packaging and replacing components with both recycled and recyclable materials. Compared to 2020, we’ve reduced plastic in all our packaging by around 20%. From Christmas 2022, the insides of our Schleich 2022 Advent calendars are now completely made of cardboard, saving around 40 tonnes of plastic per year. Since July 2022, all Schleich Horse Club and Farm World sets have been shipped in packaging without plastic windows, while the packaging for the new Sofia’s Beauties product line will also eliminate plastic windows, saving about 15 tonnes of plastic annually. We’re also increasingly using displays that don’t use plastic holders for our figurines, and most of our displays are already made from FSC-certified cardboard too.

All our packaging will be Cradle to Cradle certified by the end of 2027 and produced in a way that uses resources effectively. In circular economy, this means our packaging can be reintroduced into the production process, so that an old piece of packaging can become a new piece of packaging at the end of its useful life. By 2025, all our packaging will be recyclable, and as early as this year, we’ll only use FSC-certified paper to make it.

After packaging, where are we likely to see the next biggest changes to the Schleich product line?

By the end of 2027, all our figurines will be either recyclable or biodegradable. In addition, we’re working hard to find recycled or bio-based materials for the future production of our toys.

Secondly, our figurines need a place to play - and so do our children. With this in mind, we’re committed to making a positive contribution towards the protection of our planet, so our children and their children will be able to enjoy healthy, vibrant spaces where their stories can unfold. Our goal is to reduce our ecological footprint. That’s why we continually work to regionalise our production and thus shorten our supply chains. In the future, our products will be produced mainly where they are sold: this means relocating more elements of our production operations to Europe.

In addition, as part of the Net Zero Carbon Programme from our sea freight provider Kühne + Nagel, we’ve reduced our sea-freight-related carbon footprint by 1,000 tonnes per year (compared to 2019), and our site in Schwäbisch-Gmünd will be equipped with a photovoltaic system that will produce green energy for our operations.

As you strive to find more recycled or biobased materials, what options are you considering?

We’ve already looked in to both recycled and biobased material options intensively. However, there are inherent challenges that come with producing real biodegradable toys: often, they are only biodegradable under very specific temperature or duration conditions. As such, we’re currently focusing on making our figurines fully recyclable, working with partners and suppliers such as BASF and EPEA to develop a material that is compatible with the Cradle to Cradle principles we are striving for, and producing new figures and high-quality products out of that recycled material.

This doesn’t mean we’ve completely rejected the option of making biodegradable figurines and we’re still looking into different methods and technologies. However, we will only produce biodegradable figurines if we find the solution for real circularity of biodegradable toys, which we currently don’t have.

It’s a major challenge for the entire toy industry to find sustainable materials that meet the high levels of safety, quality, attention to detail and durability which plastic offers – but we’re confident Schleich is on the right track.