Toy World explored how the toy industry is improving its sustainability and eco-friendly focus and spoke to companies already making their mark.

Our annual feature on Sustainable and Eco-Friendly toys always falls not long after the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference which was held at the end of 2023 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.

In 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.

To read plenty more, such as Wild Republic’s innovation in material use, Melissa and Doug’s focus on wooden toys, Keeleco’s recycled plush and to hear from Eurofins, Pat Avenue and Brainstorm, click here for the full feature which appeared in the February edition of Toy World.