Lego Wants To Completely Remake Its Toy Bricks Using Plant-Based Or Recycled Materials (seattletimes.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Seattle Times: Lego is trying to refashion the product it is best known for: It wants to eliminate its dependence on petroleum-based plastics, and build its toys entirely from plant-based or recycled materials by 2030. The challenge is designing blocks that click together yet separate easily, retain bright colors, and survive the rigors of being put through a laundry load, or the weight of an unknowing parent's foot. In essence, the company wants to switch the ingredients, but keep the product exactly the same. [...] Lego emits about 1 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, about three-quarters of which comes from the raw materials that go into its factories, according to Tim Brooks, the company's vice president for environmental responsibility. Lego is taking a two-pronged approach to reducing the amount of pollution it causes. For one, it wants to keep all of its packaging out of landfills by 2025 by eliminating things like plastic bags inside its cardboard packaging. It is also pushing for the plastic in its toys to come from sources like plant fibers or recycled bottles by 2030. The billion-dollar company is reportedly investing about $120 million and hiring about 100 people to make these changes possible. "Lego is already using polyethylene made from sugar-cane husks in flexible pieces like dragon wings, palm trees and fishing rods, but these constitute only 1 to 2 percent of its output, and the material is too soft for the company's toy blocks," reports The Seattle Times. Lego has already experimented with around 200 alternatives, but most of the materials have so far fallen short.

Comments

Re:Why

[religionofpeas]

They are doing it because of marketing. They're trying to sell more toys by pretending to care about the environment.

Re:Why

[blindseer]

They are doing it because of marketing. They're trying to sell more toys by pretending to care about the environment.

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!

We have a winner!

We are seeing a new generation of parents that have been raised by their tree hugging a pot smoking parents. They want toys that are intellectually stimulating, environmentally friendly, contains no toxic chemicals, and all that other nonsense. Legos are some of the best toys for children as they are. I loved them growing up, as did my brothers and friends. Lego made a big push to get girls to like them with girl friendly color palettes, kits, and marketing. It must have worked because all my nieces and nephews love them. I buy Lego kits for them all and they love me for giving them Lego kits. I just need to buy the Star Wars kits for the boys and the bright pastel colored kits for the girls. Because boys and girls are different.

My siblings aren't all that concerned about Lego being eco-friendly but their spouses are. If there were some eco-friendly way to make the blocks then that would make the Lego kits that more attractive.