The move is under consideration as part of the company’s drive to improve sustainability and improve environmental impact.

The Financial Times has reported that Lego is looking at offering a rental service to customers, as the demand for more environmentally friendly products continues to soar.

Tim Brooks, vice product responsible for sustainability, discussed the possibility of Lego offering the service at an FT conference on the future of manufacturing.

Lego has faced criticism over its overwhelming use of plastic and has tried to find alternatives to fossil fuel-based plastics; a quest which is proving challenging for bricks with “clutch power”, although certain pieces are already starting to be made from alternative plastic options.

Tim admitted that the idea was in its early stages and that company had already identified potential “technical barriers”, which included the high piece count of many Lego sets. “What are the chances of giving them to an eight year-old child and getting them all back again? There is a lot of technical thinking that needs to be done…we are right at the beginning of that.”

He went on to say that a rental scheme as just one of several ideas being looked at, in order to extract the highest value from products while consuming the least resources. Lego has expressed the desire to balance value to the consumer with generating revenue streams.

A widely rolled out rental scheme would potentially have an impact on sales of Lego worldwide; it will be interesting to see what retailers think of the initiative.