In a recent announcement, Playmobil, stated that they are making a switch to be more sustainable and this switch involves manufacturing all of their toddler toys out of at least 90% plant-based raw materials.

In order to continue manufacturing their popular toys, whilst being better for the environment, Playmobil has decided to manufacture all of its Playmobil 1.2.3 (toddler) range out of bio-attributed plastics. This is the first time a major toy manufacturer has done a switch for more sustainable materials on such a large scale.

Playmobil is a German toy manufacturing company and up till now, the company have been manufacturing the toys out of fossil-based acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic. However, now that the decision to switch to an innovative, alternative material has been made, Playmobil will be launching their new plant-based range during February and it will be called Playmobil Junior.

These new playsets are manufactured out of raw materials such as, materials left over from food or paper production. Furthermore, when it comes to packaging, the company has ensured that all of its packaging is made out of 100% recycled paper and at least 90% recycled cardboard.

All of these changes to be more sustainable and to do better for the environment, have occurred through Playmobil listening to their customer’s preferences. These preferences made it very clear that consumers want sustainable and quality materials. In order to gather this information, Playmobil organised a representative survey of more than 3,000 parents of children that were between one and four and their answers led the company to making the switch. The survey collected information about play behaviour, the role of parents and the parents’ expectations for the toys for young children. This study was conducted throughout Germany, France and China and it was parents from  Germany and China who stated that it is often toys that are more environmentally friendly and sustainable that are chosen.

This switch is the first time that plant-based materials have been used to make toys more sustainable, but it is not the first time that Playmobil has aimed to be more sustainable. In August of 2022, the toy company launched Wiltopia, a line of toys that were 80% manufactured out of mechanically recycled plastics. This portrays that being better for the environment and making toys more sustainable is something that Playmobil is very committed to and has been developing and improving for a while.

A speaker from Playmobil commented, “The results show that parents around the world attach great importance to the sustainability and quality of the toys their children play with.”