The age of plastic Legos is coming to an end

Legos have been one of the most popular children’s toys in the world for decades. For years, these plastic building blocks have given children a way to express their creativity and turn their ideas into an actual, physical creation. That’s why Legos have been so successful, and is also why they’ve continued to be successful even in the Digital Era where so many other iconic toys have started to fade away. But while the LEGO Group doesn’t need to later Legos themselves, modern ethics and a desire to become more sustainable have driven the company to change what Legos are made of.

As I mentioned above, these iconic building blocks have always been made from plastic, which isn’t the most environmentally-friendly material out there, and with tens of billions of Legos being produced every year, these beloved children’s toys take quite a toll on the environment. That’s why the LEGO Group has decided to invest about $150 million over the next fifteen years to develop a new, more sustainable material to make Legos out of.

“This is a major step for the LEGO Group on our way towards achieving our 2030 ambition on sustainable materials,” said Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, the CEO and President of the LEGO Group, on the company’s official website. “We have already taken important steps to reduce our carbon footprint and leave a positive impact on the planet by reducing the packaging size, by introducing FSC certified packaging and through our investment in an offshore wind farm. Now we are accelerating our focus on materials.”

Part if the investment will go towards the establishment of a Lego Sustainable Materials Centre in Denmark, the LEGO Group’s home country, which will employ more than a hundred specialists and is expected to open before the end of the year. The company also plans to make the packaging that Legos are contained in more environmentally-friendly.

“Our mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. We believe that our main contribution to this is through the creative play experiences we provide to children,” said Kjeld Kirk Kristianse, the current owner of the LEGO Group, in response to the company’s announcement. “The investment announced is a testament to our continued ambition to leave a positive impact on the planet, which future generations will inherit. It is certainly in line with the mission of the LEGO Group and in line with the motto of my grandfather and founder of the LEGO Group, Ole Kirk Kristiansen: Only the best is good enough.”

“The testing and research we have already done has given us greater visibility of the challenges we face to succeed on this agenda and we respond by adding significant resources in order to be ready to move into the next phase of finding and implementing the sustainable materials,” said Jørgen Vig Knudstorp. “I am truly excited by the full commitment of the Board of Directors and our owner family to significantly boost the work to ensure a lasting positive impact.”