Toys Are the New Fast Fashion
This may sound strange coming from a toy maker, but we don’t buy toys for our kids. Between birthdays, Christmas, and grandparents, our kids receive enough toys to overflow their toy box and spill out into every corner of the house. They even receive toys when they go to other kids’ birthday parties. We’ve gone so far as sending birthday invitations that politely specify “no gifts” to try to stem the influx of toys into our home.
The cheaply-made plastic toys are the first to go in the trash. We don’t donate them because we don’t want to pass the problem along to another family, and often, the types of plastics that comprise these toys aren’t accepted by our recycling center. It dawned on us after repeating the cycle of collecting and tossing toys that, purposefully or by negligence — most toys are designed to be thrown away.
Designed for the Dump
With some notable exceptions, toy companies are baking disposability into their products. Every part of the toy design process, from material selection to structural design to packaging, is geared towards achieving a minimum quality threshold. Toys need to be made just well-enough that they won’t result in product recalls, and the results are evident in the literal tons of broken or unwanted toys that end up in landfills every January and February.
Most toy companies strive to be “hit machines” that pump out new, hot-selling toys every year. Come Christmas-time, the market is flooded with thousands of new toys in a race to launch the next Shopkins or Hatchimal. The toy industry is bent on selling what’s on trend at this very moment, not toys that will deliver quality play for years and years.
Toys are the New Fast Fashion
The rapid pace of toy manufacturing comes with serious environmental costs, and it’s surprising that the toy industry hasn’t yet experienced a backlash akin to the movement against “fast fashion.” Huge brands like H&M, Forever21, and Zara are desperately trying to avoid being cast as environmental villains as consumers grow wise to the tremendous pollutionassociated with low-quality, short-lived clothing.
It‘s only a matter of time before the biggest toy companies will have to do their own explaining. 90% of toys sold in America are made from plastics, often derived from petroleum, and more and more of these toys end up in landfills. Growing landfills result in increased production of the greenhouse gas methane and a host of other problems, including chemical seepage into groundwater. For an industry that supposedly benefits children, toys aren’t doing much to sustain the world those kids will inherit.
Fewer, Better Toys
There’s a better way to make and sell toys, and it comes with a fundamental shift in how people view toys. The idea is to buy fewer, better toys. Fewer toys equate to less waste, and better toys mean higher-quality play experiences. For many millennial parents (like us!), throwaway toys are a hurdle towards adopting a clutter-free lifestyle. Choosing a few, excellent toys for our kids is one step towards changing the toy industry and kicking the habit of disposable toys.
