Hasbro is phasing out plastic from its product packaging starting next year. The Rhode Island-based toyco’s goal is to eliminate almost all plastic for new products by the end of 2022, including polybags, elastic bands, shrink wrap, window sheets and blister packs.
Hasbro hired a team to manage this transition and it’s going to work with employees, customers and partners to drive progress. It also outlined goals for 2025, including a 25% reduction in energy consumption, a 50% reduction in waste to landfill and a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
The toymaker has been making strides to be more environmentally friendly for the past decade, after it stopped using wire ties (replaced by paper rattan or bamboo) in its packaging in 2010. Hasbro later went on to include a standardized labeling system on its products in 2016, which instructs consumers on how to recycle. The toyco stepped up its efforts last year with the introduction of a plant-based packaging called bioPET and with the launch of its toy and game recycling program, which it expanded to more countries last week.
In the past few years the toy industry has been facing a growing demand among consumers for more sustainability in how products are made and sold. A recent Viacom survey of 5,724 kids ages six to 11 in 30 countries found that 74% of children say they care “a lot” about the environment. And 45% of kids surveyed worry they aren’t personally doing enough to protect the environment.