LEGO Is Phasing Out Single-Use Plastic Packaging—And It's All Because of Kids

Kelly Vaughan
·2 min read

LEGO Is Phasing Out Single-Use Plastic Packaging—And It's All Because of Kids

The toy company is designing a plant-based "bio brick" as an alternative to the popular product.

While kids build castles and moats, landscapes inspired by Harry Potter or Disney World, or explore in a submarine or airplane simply by using LEGOs, they're also dreaming up a better future for the world—one that requires less plastic. After many kids wrote to the Danish toy company asking them to use more sustainable materials, the company complied.

"We receive lots of letters from children asking why we still use single-use plastic in our boxes, which inspired us to begin to make this change," said Tim Brooks, vice president of environmental responsibility at LEGO, in a statement. "This is part of our ambition to make all our packaging sustainable by the end of 2025," he added.

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The company will invest $400 million into sustainability efforts over the course of the next three years. Currently, the LEGO Group uses about 5,000 metric tons of plastic each year just to box its products, which accounts for 10 percent of its total packaging. The LEGO pieces themselves require 90,000 metric tons of plastic a year.

While LEGO has yet to improve their plant-based "bio brick" made out of sugar cane, the company is encouraging children to hand-down old LEGOS to friends or kids in need to prevent the plastic blocks from ending up in a landfill. The LEGO Replay program allows families to box up and ship their old LEGO pieces to the company using a pre-made shipping label so that the toys get a second life.

"As a company who looks to children as our role models, we are inspired by the millions of kids who have called for more urgent action on climate change. We believe they should have access to opportunities to develop the skills necessary to create a sustainable future. We will step up our efforts to use our resources, networks, expertise, and platforms to make a positive difference," says Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of LEGO Group.