Driving SusTOYnability

More than 110 participants from 18 countries met in Nuremberg (and online) for two days to report on success stories and developments in the realm of sustainable plastics and the toys made from them. For the first time, the political framework conditions and goals were also discussed. All agreed on one point: there is a need for action in view of the short time frame to stop climate change from reaching catastrophic dimensions. The range of climate-friendly solutions is growing, and toy manufacturers are getting more and more involved.

No other event combines recent developments of sustainable material solutions and the tasks that still lie ahead more comprehensively, right from the cutting edge of technology and current practices. About 30 companies presented their solutions and goals for replacing fossil materials with biobased and/or recycled raw materials. A good two-thirds of the presentations focused on corresponding material offers and their implementation in toys, including leading companies such as Lego and Braskem. But the scope went further than simply discussing which sustainable materials are available or already in use – the need for certification in connection with digital, blockchain-based, traceability was brought up. There were discussions on land use, 1st vs 2nd & 3rd generation feedstocks, and whether such arguments even make sense looking at the bigger picture. After all, the biggest threat to agricultural land use is climate change itself. One fact crystalized from the discussions, good communication to end consumers is as important as it is difficult, but end consumers play a key role for the necessary market pull.

The political dimension was part of the event for the first time. After an introductory presentation by Maarit Nyman from the EU Commission DG GROW, industry representatives from the toy industry and the plastics supplying industry discussed the current status and the necessary next steps. All agreed that sustainability is not a trendy topic but must be the future foundation of both industries. While the toy industry is still very much focused on the topic of toy safety, the plastics industry has meanwhile shifted its focus very strongly to the circular economy and alternative non-fossil raw material sources. Alexander Kronimus, Managing Director for Sustainability at Plastics Europe Germany, was very pleased with the great interest shown by the toy industry and extended an invitation for joint talks welcoming representatives of both industries, associations, academics, and policymakers to work together to formulate the most pressing needs of the industry as well as potential approaches on how to satisfy them. Cooperation is the key – a core message from the podium and the audience.

“Safety and sustainability are two sides of the same coin”, was also said, and further: “Sustainability creates the preconditions for children’s safety and will be decisive for their quality of life”.

The presentations by company owners were also particularly impressive, as they put their motivation in a nutshell. Both Ulrich Betzold from the full-range retailer Betzold that started its own production and Filippo Gallizia from toy manufacturer GEOMAG had recently made far-reaching decisions to significantly convert the companies and the toy range to sustainable materials. One credo was, “we have to offer solutions to our customers now, we can’t wait for the holy grail”. But the discussions did not shy away from tough realities such as material prices, “consumers are willing to pay ‘some’ of the extra costs (10 % to be exact, according to Betzold). We have to absorb the additional costs to a large extent, and for a while, we will need to get used to the idea that we shouldn’t aim to make more profit with these new products”. Whether in far-reaching or in smaller steps: the bio!TOY Conference creates comprehensive knowledge and inspires the participants to find concrete solutions through the exchange of ideas and cooperation. A more comprehensive review will be available in the next issue of bioplastics MAGAZINE

Quotes from the 3rd bio!TOY 2023

Harald Kaeb, Sustainability consultant and Co-organizer:

“If we act now, but really ‘act now’ not wait much longer, we can still keep the fall out of the climate crisis in a dimension that is not too painful and not too chaotic”.

Sonia Sánchez, Impact & Sustainability consultant:

“It is in the toy industry’s DNA that we can’t compromise on safety – a part of this is due to regulations that say, ‘this is the way it needs to be’. Many seem to say ‘sustainability is important but don’t push me too much because we cannot compromise on safety’. I think we need to reframe this mindset – sustainability is safety in the long term. Sustainability and climate change are a matter of safety. The truth is that for some children in countries affected by climate change, it is not even a long-term consideration of safety – it is a matter that affects them today”.

Christian Ruthard, Product Manager at INEOS Styrolution:

“There are some solutions available now, and there are some solutions available in maybe 5 years – but we don’t have time to wait 5 years, we see climate change is increasing more and more, we need to be able to offer solutions now. Right now, we can offer mechanical recycling and bio-attribution where we use renewable materials, but that doesn’t mean we will stop there, it’s just a simpler solution to get started right now”.

“Mass balance is probably the most complex technology to communicate, but in my point of view, it is the quickest solution to save CO2 emissions. As a scientist, I believe it should be the solution we use right now because it is implementable quickly. Whether or not it is accepted really depends on the customer, some see the value of it some do not yet”.

Søren Kristiansen, Senior Director of Technology at The Lego Group:

“I think communication is much more complicated than finding a new polymer. The basic rule is: say what you do. Without using too fancy words while being as concrete as possible”.

“For me as a technician, plastic is a material that you use if you want to make the products that we are making, large volumes of precise elements which are safe and not too heavy. Plastics are wonderful materials – but obviously we should avoid, that plastics end up in the wrong places such as the environment”.

Alexander Kronimus, Managing Director for Sustainability at Plastics Europe (Germany):

“The toy industry and plastics industry have common goals”.

“Mass balance is a method to scale up new technologies and I think we need to speed up the scale-up”.

“Taxes or other financial incentives to promote more recycling or more biobased materials can help, but we need to be very careful what we are actually incentivising with a tax on a single material like for example a plastic tax – that might lead to the rise of alternative materials that are not necessarily more sustainable. We have to be careful to not move backwards with such financial instruments. Instead of increasing the taxes for the things we want to avoid we could try to follow the US model by decreasing taxes for sustainable technologies to foster investment there”.

“A global CO2 tax is the vision of my sleepless nights, it’s the perfect instrument it would create a perfectly even playing field worldwide. It’s still a dream, but we can make steps towards that dream”.

Rafaela Hartenstein, Sr. Director Government & Corporate Affairs, EurAsia at Hasbro:

“Even as a global player in the toy industry our need for materials seems large to us, but we are a small fish in the ocean of the plastics industry. Horizontal legislation could fix that – making it an even playing field, then we would all sit in the same boat – right now, we are not”.

“Sector-specific legislation and horizontal legislation are not really aligned. Substances in many recycled materials are in direct conflict with toy safety regulations. If an orange was a toy, it would be banned. That is how strict the regulations are”.

“It’s all about collaborations at some point having one sustainable material will not be an advantage anymore – if we all work in silos, we all have to do the same learning. The more knowledge we have the more swarm intelligence we can use and get creative with it. We saw with covid how fast we can act if we collaborate”.

Filippo Gallizia, CEO at Geomag:

“We cannot be educational without being sustainable”.

“Sustainability means the reduction of emissions – all the rest is bla-bla, it’s nothing”.

“We cannot take care of the healthy growth of kids without taking care of the planet – it’s a simple idea, but difficult to be achieved”.

Maarit Nyman, Senior Expert on Bioeconomy at DG Grow of the European Commission:

“We know that there is a need for a level playing field, we know that the fossil-based industries have an advantage over biobased industries and biobased materials. There is a question of what kind of tools, what kind of policies and what kind of mix is optimal – that is a tricky question”.

“What we do in practical terms to help with the green transition is to give a roadmap – a transition pathway, and these are very concrete for member states, for the commission for different industries or for everybody to implement”.

“Actions and proposals need to be based on broad cooperation, no industry can do it alone, all stakeholders have to cooperate be it public authorities or member states – which is not easy”.

Sharon Keilthy, CEO of Jimminy Eco Toys:

“A lot of toy makers are saying there is not enough safe recycled plastic around. Maybe I am ignorant, but the role of regulation is not to reflect the current state of the industry – the role of regulation is to affect the future, to create that supply of safe recycled plastics and to fix the associated cost problem”.

Source

bioplastics MAGAZINE, press release, 2023-03-28.

Supplier

Braskem
European Commission
GEOMAC
Geomag
INEOS Group Limited
Jimminy Eco Toys
LEGO Group
Plastics Europe

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