Tag Archives: eco-friendly

Green age waste ban | The Insights Family explores sustainability in the kids’ market

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This article appears in the Spring/Summer edition of ToyNews

With greater purchasing power comes greater social responsibility… or words to that effect. Undeniable though, is the increasing demand and interest in sustainability and eco-consciousness among target audiences. Here, The Insights Family’s founder, Nick Richardson explores the issue

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Figures from the latest Kids Insights data shows that over half of UK kids aged three to 12 have “a lot” of influence over the toy purchases their parents make. In addition to this, UK kids spend a collective £709m of their own money on toys and games in 2020.

However, children’s purchasing power has changed with growing interest in the environment.

Sustainability is becoming a way of life for many consumers as more people are choosing to buy greener, healthier, ethically sourced, and more environmentally sustainable products. Eco-friendly products accelerated their infiltration into toys in recent years and companies – the likes of Hasbro, LEGO, Mattel, MGA, Playmobil and Clementoni included – also understand that a clear and transparent environmental strategy can give them a competitive advantage while staying relevant.

This trend will increasingly affect families’ purchasing habits and toy brands are strongly recommended to emphasise their environment friendly credentials when planning their marketing campaigns.

The increasing penetration of smartphones and tablets among children is stimulating social activism while also driving eco-friendly product purchases. So-called ‘Greta effect’, named after Greta Thunberg following her “how dare you” speech at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, raised the awareness further.

There is also a large eco-influence coming from parents. According to our Toys & Games Global Report 2020, over a third of UK pre-school parents think that it is important for their children to take care of the environment – a year-on-year increase of 56 per cent. Over a third of parents hope to teach their child to take care of the environment before they have even reached their fifth birthday.

Brands have already started to work on producing eco-friendly toys, or at least use more recyclable packaging. According to our Kids & Family Industry Report 2021, 69 per cent of toy companies believe they can make a difference in the sustainability sector.

As a good example, LEGO is another toy manufacturer which has made substantial progress and commitments to change by 2030. The company introduced reusable plastics for bricks and is said to be considering the idea of a LEGO subscription service. In an effort to improve the brand’s sustainability, a rental service could reduce the fossil fuels required to make LEGO, all while keeping eco-conscious parents happy. LEGO is also making a switch towards paper bags instead of single-use plastics.

Meanwhile, Mattel introduced its own MEGA Biobloks at 2020 Nuremberg Toy Fair with the aim of reaching its 100 per cent recycled materials goal by 2030. Likewise, Clementoni revealed its Baby range made from 100 per cent recycled materials in January 2020 as part of its own sustainability push.

The same with Amazon, the favourite online shop of two million kids aged three to nine in the UK, has revealed plans to roll out 500 electric delivery vans in the UK as part of their Climate Pledge. From manufacturing to distribution, there are opportunities for corporations to make improvements to their sustainability practices to engage sustainable consumers.


What does this mean to you?

Brands need sustainability to be incorporated into long-term business strategies, with public transparency and accountability surrounding these targets, to show their loyalty and awareness.

We believe the brands that will succeed at appealing to the sustainable consumer will be the ones who make it straight-forward and rewarding for customers to change the way they consume, purchase, or behave.

Children’s influence on their parents and brands continues to grow every day. Therefore, understanding what attitudes kids hold in real-time and how this affects their purchasing decisions is a critical advantage for brands.

With the purpose to provide children, parents, and families with a voice to shape their worlds, The Insights Family is highlighting why brands need to pay attention to trends like this and carefully reflect on consumers opinion.

The Insights Family® has released its Kids & Family Industry Report 2021 where we have shown how companies are also responding to societal needs, with 64 per cent reporting their business decisions will be affected by a drive towards sustainability.

To read the Kids & Family Industry Report 2021 and learn more about the attitudes, behaviour, and consumption patterns of kids, parents, and families, and to get freemium access to The Insights Family® real-time data portal, please visit: https://try.theinsightsfamily.com/toynews

The Insights Family (formerly The Insights People), is a global leader in kids, parents, and family market intelligence, providing real-time data on their attitudes, behaviour, and consumption patterns. Every year the company surveys more than 362,100 kids and more than 176,800 parents.

Amazon launches dedicated eco-friendly shopping platform to the UK and Europe

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Amazon has launched a new dedicated ‘eco-friendly’ shopping platform to help consumers in the UK and Europe find household products that are driving the sustainability movement forward. The platform lists more than 40,000 items that will carry certificates from the likes of Fairtrade International and the Carbon Trust.

The move has been made as a means of enabling customers to pick products on their environmental merits. It follows Amazon’s recent step forwards in the sustainability drive, when it launched its Climate Pledge Friendly label in September this year.

The online goliath has come under fire for its use of excessive cardboard and other packaging materials, and last year faced burning criticism for using new-style packaging that could not be recycled. The new scheme has been billed as its own step to ‘lessen the company’s impact on the environment.’

The dedicated section of the website will house products badged with a special logo from any of the 18 independent certification schemes. These logos will be shown in shopping results, with extra sustainability information on the product page.

The platform was launched in the US in September and is being rolled out this week to the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. It supports Amazon’s wider commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be at net zero carbon by 2040.

GB eye launches new eco-friendly gifting range in partnership with local companies

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The posters and giftware specialist, GB eye Ltd is launching a new eco-range of sustainable gifts in collaboration with a local Sheffield manufacturer that will tap into some of the biggest IP of the moment, including Pokemon, PLayStation, Harry Potter and DC Comics.

The partnership is the latest move from the gifting manufacturer and distributor to expand its environmentally friendly ranges, tapping into the shift in consumer mindset for more sustainable products at retail. The new range focuses on reducing the carbon footprint from design conception to the end product.

GB eye is adopting a strategy to source local and reduce international manufacture and import.

The range is set to launch in mid-October with the introduction of the new stainless-steel water bottles. Made within a stone’s throw of the GB eye headquarters in the city of Sheffield, the water bottles will be available across a collection of licences including top tier names such as Pokémon, PlayStation, Harry Potter, and DC Comics, which will appeal to environmentally aware consumers.

Also joining the range in late 2020 will be the tote bag collection. Produced locally from natural fibres, the tote bags aim to help reduce the amount of single-use plastic bags used daily. With favourite names including Pokémon, DC Comics, Harry Potter, Dragon Ball and Stormtrooper, the tote bags will become a key product staple within the eco-range which will see further products join the collection in early 2021.

Nicola Hallam, head of product at GB eye Ltd., said: “The eco-range has been a core focus for us throughout 2020 as we continue to look at ways in which to reduce our carbon impact on the environment.

“Expanding our product ranges to include more sustainable products is the first step as we explore new ways to better protect the world around us. We look forward to adding to the collection in 2021 with further internationally recognised licensed names.”

The sustainable launch comes as part of a continued focus on GB eye’s environmental impact. The company has printed its extensive poster ranges on FSC-certified paper for over 12 years and is committed to making internal process changes where possible, to streamline design and sourcing processes, ensuring the drive to run on a zero-waste policy.

Pokémon Shirts teams with Newsed to re-purpose fabric waste as pop culture keychains

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The pop culture apparel specialist, Original Stitch and its Pokémon-centric brand, Pokémon Shirts has kick-started a new initiative to re-purpose and create a collection of Pokémon keychains from fabric remnants left in the creating and tailoring process of its popular line of clothing.

As part of the initiative, the first 2,000 customers who now purchase a Pokémon Shirt will receive a specialty re-purposed acrylic keychain as a gift. These keychains are made from the fabric cut offs created when tailoring one of Pokémon Shirts’ shirts out of a roll of fabric.

Pokémon Shirts are made to order and are already manufactured with the consideration of creating as little waste as possible. Original Stitch is also collaborating with The Pokémon Company to release a documentary film featuring the process of designing, fabric printing, and tailoring its customisable shirts, featuring unique prints of hundreds of Pokémon.

The documentary will feature interviews with Pokémon Shirts craftspeople involved in the manufacturing process, allowing fans to see how their shirts are made after placing their order online. There will also be a Newsed edition, which details how the fabric remnants from the tailoring prcess are re-purposed into keychains.

Newsed is the up-cycle brand at the centre of the re-purposed keytchain initiative. The firm’s ethos is centered on the concept of “reviving something into a new thing by looking at the old item with a new perspective, rather than labeling it as scrap and creating waste”.

Pokémon Shirts is a company providing customization options for button-up shirts, Hawaiian style shirts and polos that combine all 251 types of original printed fabrics (Pokémon that appear in Pokémon Red/Green and Pokémon Gold/Silver) or plain fabrics.