Feature
Eco-friendly / Sustainable toys
Changing the world
one step at a time Our annual feature on Sustainable and Eco-Friendly toys always falls not long after the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference which, from 30th November – 12th December 2023, was held in Dubai, UAE (ironically, one of the world’s biggest crude oil producers). As always, the COP28 conference hammered home the need to protect our planet and its inhabitants with actions both big and small, from overhauling our transport and energy sectors to reassessing small consumption choices – such as which toys to buy our kids.
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n the 12 months since we last ran this feature, toy companies have continued to step up their efforts when it comes to creating products that tread more lightly on the earth. Packaging plays an important role in this: in August 2023, Sambro took one step further in its ESG commitments by launching cardboard packaging to replace the egg-shaped plastic designs it was using for its collectibles, while Winning Moves has eliminated unnecessary single-use plastic from its Top Trumps Collector’s Tins and Ridley’s Games has switched the internal trays across all its Selfish titles from black plastic to pulp waste materials. Consumers familiar with the Brainstorm Toys brand, meanwhile, will see that the company is also one of those that has been busy redesigning its packaging to make it more eco-friendly. To help consumers understand the options available to them, the company has introduced a clear eco-friendly packaging logo on its Brainstorm Toys and distribution lines, and all its products carry the recognisable ‘Recycle’ logo so consumers know they can recycle packaging themselves at home. All these small changes add up to big reductions in the amount of plastic heading to landfill (and after all, the packaging is the one part of the toy that’s supposed to be got rid of). What’s inside the packaging also continues to benefit from innovations in material use and end-of-life options. Wild Republic, for example, has recently announced the launch of its National Parenting Product Award (NAPPA) winning biodegradable toy line, headed up by the Green Guardians range of play sets. Established in 1979 by G.B.
and Kamala Pillai, Wild Republic was founded with a clear mission: to foster wildlife education and conservation by forging a deep connection between children and animals through play. Their accomplishments were celebrated at the annual Toy of the Year Awards in New York this past September, with a prestigious Champion of Sustainability award from The Toy Association. Part of its ongoing mission to protect the environment and promote sustainability, Wild Republic's CEO, Vishnu Chandran, emphasises that this new biodegradable toy line is not just about play, rather, it's a testament to the brand's unwavering dedication to environmental stewardship and a shared vision of a world where humans and animals coexist peacefully. "Our new biodegradable toy line represents a significant milestone in our—and the toy industry at large’s—journey towards a more sustainable future," said Vishnu. "We don't just focus on our own products and business. Instead, we are working sector-wide to urge collective action to inspire and mandate greener and more sustainable manufacturing. Our company is on a mission to spearhead and redefine our industry's impact on the planet." Melissa & Doug approaches the production of toys in a similar fashion, placing sustainability at the heart of everything it does and always keeping kids’ futures in mind. David Lubliner, head of Customer Marketing – Europe at Melissa & Doug, says the company’s toys are crafted with care to be passed down from generation to generation, or shared family to family, relying on wood whenever the company can because it’s both natural
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and renewable. He adds that all Melissa & Doug toys are designed to be durable, with the intention that they will never be sent to a landfill. “Whether it’s creating high-quality toys that are made to last, planting trees to help restore the resources we use, or ensuring our products inspire open-ended play for all kinds of kids, sustainability is at the heart of what we do here at Melissa & Doug,” David adds. “In partnership with One Tree Planted, we’re planting 10m trees by 2030, and in 2023, 100% of our innovation and paper products were made with FSC certified materials. At Melissa & Doug, we take sustainability seriously and have a genuine commitment to making the world a better place. We prioritise our sustainability improvements and have rigorous processes in place to ensure that statements we make are indeed true, accurate, and something we can stand behind. In fact, the Forest Stewardship Council honoured us with a 2022 FSC Leadership Award, for ‘Uncommon Excellence’ in the use of FSC-certified products and our commitment to responsible forestry.” From the hardness of wooden toys to the softness of plush ones, Keeleco, from Keel Toys, is a charming soft toy collection crafted from 100% recycled materials. As Patrick Downs, head of Design at Keel Toys explains, each and every Keeleco soft toy is manufactured and filled with 100% recycled polyester made from plastic waste. He explains: “This process gives plastic a second life and uses less energy to produce than virgin polyester. For example, 10x 500ml water bottles will produce enough fibre to make an 18cm toy. The iconic Keel logo and hangtag are now
