The Daily Star Ireland
As global industries face mounting pressure to innovate and decarbonize their products to meet climate goals, the toy industry has come under scrutiny for its heavy reliance on plastic.
Plastic toys have a significant environmental impact throughout their lifecycle, from manufacturing to packaging, transportation, and marketing. Most toys are made from non-biodegradable, petroleum-based plastic, though alternatives exist in materials like wood, cardboard, bioplastics, and recycled plastics.
Plastic production is responsible for about 3% of global emissions, primarily due to its fossil fuel origins. Research indicates that 80% of toys worldwide end up in landfills, incinerators, or oceans rather than being recycled. In Ireland alone, approximately 5.5 million plastic toys are discarded each year.
To address toy waste, Ireland’s first digital toy exchange library was launched in June by Giorgia Anile, a PhD student at UCC. This platform allows parents to find, exchange, or donate second-hand toys for free, extending their lifespan. The platform, thetoylibrary.ie, has attracted nearly 1,000 users, who can search for toys across Ireland or list their own used toys.
Anile’s research focuses on how online platforms can support the circular economy and promote economic degrowth. She aims to foster a culture of sustainable play, where children enjoy a variety of toys while being mindful of environmental impact. Supported by ReThink Ireland, Cork County Council, and the Local Enterprise Office, her digital library encourages peer-to-peer toy swapping, reducing her direct involvement and promoting community connections. Users are encouraged to look for toys locally to maintain carbon neutrality.
Parents and children have responded positively to the initiative, seeing it as a way to tackle the accumulation of plastic toys and extend their usability. Anile’s vision is for parents to check the toy library first whenever their children ask for new toys, promoting reuse over new purchases.
Anile also hopes to disrupt the toy industry by normalizing pre-loved items and changing consumer perceptions about the value and environmental impact of new toys. She stresses the importance of embedding circularity into business models to ensure products have a continued life after initial use.
Sustainability consultant Sharon Keilthy has been advocating for greener practices in the toy industry, especially focusing on retailers to reduce the carbon footprint of toys. After founding Jiminy Eco-Toys in 2018 due to the lack of sustainable options, Keilthy has seen a shift post-pandemic, with more brands experimenting with eco-friendly toys.
Keilthy argues that eco-friendly toys should not be seen as niche and that colorful, appealing designs are necessary to attract consumers. She believes that retailers need to lead the change in consumer behavior towards sustainable purchasing. Large brands that license characters for toys, like Disney, can drive significant changes by demanding reduced plastic use.
Although companies like Mattel, Hasbro, and Lego are making efforts towards sustainability, the complexity of their product lines poses challenges. Smaller companies with fewer designs can transition to recycled plastics more quickly.
Keilthy highlights the need for toy libraries and swaps to be hyper-local and normalized to become mainstream. She underscores the carbon footprint of the toy industry, which is comparable to deforesting an area the size of Portugal, and calls for a combination of sustainably made new toys, reuse of existing toys, and toy repair.
To truly address the plastic problem in the toy industry, Keilthy suggests the establishment of an independent global science-based think tank. She advocates for more regulation to make sustainable practices financially viable.
Wyon Stansfeld, co-owner of Pinocchio’s Toys and Gifts in Cork, observes that demand for plastic-free toys is growing in Ireland.
