Should toys say goodbye to plastic?
PARIS — In shop windows, life-size dolls and teddy bears abound beneath glaring spotlights. Christmas is fast approaching, and toy shops are packed. But the enchantment of the festive season comes at a cost.
According to Ademe, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, nearly 100,000 tons of Christmas toys and games are thrown away every year.
In Feb. 2020, Agec, a new law aiming to fight against waste and encourage the circular economy tackled the problem head-on by setting up a toy recycling scheme. Since Jan. 1 2022, the sector has been encouraged to reduce tons of waste by collecting used toys, repairing and reusing them.
Farmers, schoolteachers, pirates or explorers: since the 1970s, these little plastic characters have been passed down from generation to generation.
“I've lost count of the number of grandparents who come and tell me they keep these toys for their grandchildren," says Bruno Bérard, Playmobil's Managing Director. “These figures stay in people's hearts for a very long time.”
Reuse, a priority
But not all toys follow the same fate as our Playmobil. According to Ecomaison, the government-approved organisation responsible for collecting, reusing and recycling toys, "Half of them end up in household waste, around 45% are collected at public recycling centres and less than 5% are reused."
In 2023, the watchword was to optimise the re-use of toys, through donation or resale. Five thousand collection points have been set up across the country at associations, waste collection centres and the shops themselves. The aim now is to triple the number of toys reused by 2027.
But many retailers did not wait for the Agec law to roll up their sleeves.
“We weren't starting from scratch," says Jean Kimpe, General Delegate of the Federation of Specialist Retailers of Toys and Children's Products (FCJPE). “Above all, the law has enabled us to coordinate and develop pre-existing initiatives," Kimpe says.
In 2011, Oxybul launched IDTroc, collection points for customers' used toys.
Ecodesign is undoubtedly the most complicated issue today.
“Sustainability and responsibility have been part of our brand DNA from the outset," says Anne Fauveau, Product Director at Oxybul Eveil et Jeux. “Our toys are as eco-friendly as possible so that they last over time."
The brand is determined to avoid fashion trends, instead preferring timeless designs and colour schemes to ensure that its toys last.
In spring 2021, King Jouet followed suit by launching its King Okaz stores. There are now around 10 throughout France. The toys are taken back in exchange for a voucher valid in all the chain's shops.
“We can see that we're meeting a real demand," says Coralie Gueydon, the group's corporate social responsibility manager. “Unlike platforms such as Vinted, we provide a guarantee of quality. Not only are the objects guaranteed to be bought back, but they are also cleaned, repaired and checked before being put back into circulation.”
But while the retailers promise to offer better quality and safer re-use than the second-hand platforms, the latter still enjoy a certain level of success, Gueydon admits.
"We've just entered a market where specialist retailers didn't necessarily have a place,” she said. “For the moment, our shops operate largely by word of mouth. The brand also offers a repair service, while Playmobil is currently offering 20,000 spare parts to help its products last longer.
The great challenge of recycling
With its solar panels and bicycle characters, Playmobil's ecological farm doesn't hesitate to play with the codes of a more sustainable society. Above all, like the Wiltopia collection launched in 2022, the product is made from over 80% recycled or bio-sourced materials. Most of these come from recycled refrigerators.
"Three more ranges will be designed in this way in 2024," says Bruno Bérard, who points out that the German group's objective is to be climate neutral by 2027.
Generally speaking, toys made from recycled plastics are still struggling to make their mark. Often less solid and dull, they are difficult to reuse to make new toys. Lego quickly realised this.
“So far, we've tested over 300 alternative materials for our famous brick," explains Sylvain Bouchès, Lego France Marketing Director. “Some have been successful, like bio-PE, and we're proud to have been able to develop this first alternative. Other materials have shown their potential, but have not met our requirements in terms of quality, safety and durability, or helped to reduce our carbon footprint. That's the difficulty."
Last September, the brand announced that it was abandoning the use of recycled PET because it would have resulted in higher carbon emissions over the product's lifetime.
"When we use recycled materials, the range of colors we can produce is not as rich as when we use raw materials derived directly from petroleum products," admits Bruno Bérard. “There are technical challenges to be resolved. We can't come up with a pastel red fire engine tomorrow."
For a product to be recyclable, ideally, it should be simple and made of as few materials as possible. But toys are generally made up of many materials to engage the senses of the youngest children.
In France, the aim is to triple the number of toys reused by 2027.
What will happen to toys in a plastic-free world?
All of this research takes time. Most producers agree that the organization of recycling channels in France still has a long way to go."It's all the more complicated because safety standards for children's toys are very demanding, particularly at the European level," adds Gueydon.
So should we say goodbye to plastic? Not necessarily, says Fauveau, who laments the lack of information on the subject.
“Disposable plastic is no good," she explains. "But durable plastic, which is passed down from generation to generation and is ten times stronger than wood, is not necessarily bad for the environment. Oxybul has therefore decided to favor wood only when it can replace the virtues of plastic. There is no ideal solution," Fauveau says.
“For example, biosourced plastic is interesting because it doesn't use petroleum, but it is sometimes manufactured in South America, to the detriment of local populations. Ecodesign is undoubtedly the most complicated issue today.”
Designing differently
While more and more tests are being carried out to recycle plastic, others are looking for alternative materials. In 2018, Lego launched the first elements made from sugarcane waste in its game boxes to make elements such as leaves, trees and accessories.
"While we began by making botanical elements from this plant-based plastic, we have since extended its use to more than 200 parts, almost half of our products," explains Sylvain Bouchès. The tree house comprises 180 plant-based plastic components. Today, more than 50% of the brand's products contain components made from bio-sourced materials.
The toy market is not yet mature in terms of eco-responsibility.
In terms of eco-design, Oxybul has been at the forefront for many years. Every month, all the brand's teams take part in a meeting on the issue. The brand is multiplying its alternatives through the use of FSC-labelled (Forest Stewardship Council) wood, water-based paint and recycled polyester. This year, it has co-created with Thai brand Plan Toys a range of wooden toys suitable for children aged 12 months and over.
“Plan Toys was one of the first suppliers to set up self-managed forests," explains Fauveau. “They work with rubberwood, a plant that grows back very quickly. This avoids the problem of deforestation."
The chain has also been a pioneer in reducing its packaging. In 2017, the teams decided to adapt packaging to the size of the products.
“At the time, this wasn't necessarily in the interests of business," admits Fauveau. “Suppliers generally prefer to have large boxes so that they are clearly visible on the shelves. In the early days, this even led to a drop in sales for some products, which meant we had to get in touch with customers to explain our approach.”
Signs of progress
Now, 80% of the brand's packaging is plastic-free, replaced by materials such as cardboard and paper. These are intended to be reused as storage boxes for children's toys.
Since then, the idea has caught on.
"Ecodesign is not just about products," insists Bouchès. Today, 93% of Lego packaging is made from cardboard or paper-based materials. Single-use plastic bags are gradually being replaced by recyclable paper bags certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The worldwide roll-out of new boxes for the mystery minifigures, which began in August, should enable the group to save around 30 tons of single-use plastic a year.
And the work of the designers and engineers is far from simple.
“Paper has to be able to withstand transport as well as the manufacturing process in all our plants," explains Bouchès. “Paper is more sensitive than plastic to variations in humidity and temperature. The development of these alternative production and packaging methods means that our processes will have to be radically transformed.”
Nearly 70 different papers and formats had to be tested. “This requires a lot of research and innovation," confirms Fauveau. “It's important that we can share best practice between brands and be good competitors on this issue, because the solutions will tend to be found by the big players.”
Some toy companies have decided to favor wood instead of plastic.
Products that are more local... and transparent
At a time when almost 90% of toys are imported, local products are making a comeback.
“Since the 2020 limitations, the place where toys are made has become a key issue for customers," observes Gueydon. “There has been a major new attraction for Made in France.”
Ecoiffier has been operating in France since 1945. At Playmobil , almost all its products are made in Europe.
"From the company's inception, this was a strategic move, to control our manufacturing, but also an economic one, to reduce costs," explains Bruno Bérard. Recently, the seven Maltese production sites were grouped together to avoid having to travel between different areas. “This factory operates in daylight, which means it consumes less electricity," explains the Managing Director. The heat generated by the machines is recovered for heating when necessary, and the site has a water recovery system.” For the company, local production goes hand in hand with saving resource
Consumer education in a tough market
In response to this demand for transparency and sustainability, King Jouet recently launched the Jouet Score to help consumers make the right choices.
“The toy market is not yet mature in terms of eco-responsibility," explains Gueydon.” But even though we're starting from a very long way off, we felt it was important to highlight the initiatives that have been put in place in the sector.”
Based on the Nutriscore rating system, now well known to the general public, the Jouet Score applies a rating system between 0 and 5. It is based on three criteria: the place of manufacture, the efforts made in terms of packaging and the materials used to make the toy. With the help of Ecomaison, the company has chosen to promote products made from FSC wood and recycled materials.
There's still a lot of education to be done.
The Jouet Score has been in place in all King Jouet shops and on their websites since October, and has been applied to all the toys in the Christmas catalogue. Out of 1,600 products, around 450 have a score of 2 out of 5 or higher. Bioviva, known for its nature-based board games, received the highest score. The brand is closely followed by Smoby, which manufactures its toys in France from easily recyclable plastic.
"By 2025, the aim is for 50% of our toys to have genuine eco-design features, and for the criteria to be raised," says Gueydon.
The Jouet Score also aims to encourage the industry to redouble its efforts to produce more eco-responsible toys.
“Many suppliers come to us to ask how they can improve," says Gueydon. “Others help us to rethink our criteria. The indicator is designed to evolve thanks to both suppliers and customers.”
Raising consumer awareness
So, is Christmas 2023 going to be all about eco-responsibility? Not necessarily, say the retailers.
“We don't expect consumer habits to really change at Christmas," admits Gueydon. “It's usually the children who choose the toys from the catalogue, so the eco-responsibility criterion is not taken into account.”
For the festive season, buying second-hand may also remain a barrier, even though brands are observing that this reluctance is tending to ease in society.
“There's still a lot of education to be done, whether on the realities of Made in France or recycled products," observes Fauveau. “And consumers are not necessarily prepared to pay more for an eco-designed product.” At a time when inflation is weighing heavily on consumers' shopping baskets, Oxybul has decided not to pass on the cost of its research to its sales prices.
“The Agec law has revolutionized a lot of things in the industry," says Gueydon. “It has made distributors and suppliers realize that we need to think beyond the life of the toy.”
In fact, Lego is preparing to triple its spending on sustainable development initiatives to $1.4 billion until 2025. “Every year, we receive hundreds of letters from children sharing their ideas on how we can move forward," says Sylvain Bouchès. “Having a positive impact on society and the planet, and playing a part in building a sustainable future, is a major challenge for the group.”
At the same time, Playmobil has stated that it intends to pursue a socially responsible approach. The company still belongs to a private foundation, set up by its late founder, which works for the development and protection of children. As well as offering products that illustrate a more eco-responsible society, the brand also takes into account issues of representativeness and diversity. Equipped with a green roof, the school of the famous figurines is also fitted out to facilitate access for pupils with reduced mobility.
“We're not here to preach," insists Bérard. "But we can help to raise children's awareness of issues<
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