On August 28, 2024, iconic Danish toy manufacturerLEGOannounced that it’s ditching fossil fuels used to make its popular bricks, turning to recycled and renewable plasticmaterialsinstead, which happen to be about 70% more expensive.
Sustainable Plastics Issues
Making the switch to sustainable plastic alternatives hasn’t been easy. These materials have limited availability, and the little going around is used to make biodiesel. Despite the higher costs of swapping to more sustainable materials, LEGO says it’s committed to this transition, and will even take on the extra cost themselves so that customers won’t have to.
In trying to find a sustainable alternative to oil, LEGO has tried out over 600 different materials. It even tried making blocks fromrecycled plastic bottlesbut eventually found no decrease in carbon emissions.
LEGO’s Shift to Green Materials
Not to be deterred, LEGO is forging ahead, saying it wants to reduce the oil content in the toys, and have over half of its plastics certified as sustainable by 2026. By 2032, the company hopes that 100% of its products will be made from renewable and recycled materials.
Other toy manufacturers, including Hasbro and Mattel, have also stated their desire to switch to sustainable materials for the manufacturing of their toys, but LEGO is set to be the first such company to completely phase out oil-based plastics by 2032.
LEGO Switches to Pricier Renewable Plastics
LEGO is prepared to pay up to 70% more to replace the raw plastic used in itsbrickswithcertified renewable resin. The company doesn’t seem too bothered, though. While most toy companies worldwide are struggling in the current market, LEGO has seen a surge in sales and profits.
For the first half of 2024, there was an increase of 26% in profits, reaching an impressive $1.2 billion, and a 14% increase in sales. LEGO says that its family-owned structure allows it to absorb these costs without raising prices for consumers.
LEGO’s Manufacturing Evolution
Founded in Denmark in 1932, LEGO originally made wooden toys with a milling machine, only working with plastic in 1947 when the material first became available in the country. After buying a plastic injection molding machine, the company started making toy bricks in 1949, and soon abandoned wood altogether.
In 1964, LEGO swapped cellulose acetate for ABS plastic for brick-making, which is more durable, less toxic, and doesn’t warp or discolor as much. It’s currently still being used to make LEGO bricks. In 1908, the company added 10 new molding machines, and today, it has five manufacturing facilities around the world.
In 2022, LEGO announced that it has started working on a carbon-neutral 1.7 million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Virginia, that will employ over 1,760 workers and cost $1 billion. Quite an improvement from that one piece of plastic injection molding equipment in the early days.
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Philip Lange
