PlaymoFriends
General => News => Topic started by: StJohn on February 02, 2022, 01:42:38
-
It was reported in inFranken.de (https://www.infranken.de/lk/fuerth/zirndorf-playmobil-kuendigt-entscheidende-veraenderungen-bei-spielzeug-an-art-5381273) of 01.02.2022 that Geobra has discovered sustainability:
The Horst Brandstätter Group in Zirndorf, which includes the famous Playmobil toy brand, has set itself "sustainable, ambitious corporate goals", according to a press release from the group.
By 2027, the group wants to be climate-neutral and avoid emissions. This also specifically concerns Playmobil toys. By 2030, the business models should be as circular as possible, i.e. with closed material cycles, the company continues.
The group will "continuously improve the environmental balance along the entire production chain through sustainable means", it says. "We support the reduction of global emissions with a wide range of activities and thus also the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius", CEO Steffen Höpfner is quoted as saying.
This is already evident when looking at "the product highlights of 2022", the group advertises. On the theme of "Discover the Planet", a newly developed product range will be launched this year, which on average will consist of more than 80 percent sustainable materials: "Post-consumer recycled materials and bioplastics" will be used.
A large part consists of recycled material obtained from discarded refrigerators. However, "like all of the company's products, the series has an enormous longevity", says the Brandstätter Group. The "colourful play world" stands for "growing up in a world where animals and nature are valued and protected".
The new range will be launched in July [2022]. "The Playmobil figures of animals from all over the world will provide lots of fun for playing, learning and collecting and invite children to discover the Amazon rainforest, which is vital for our ecosystem," writes the Zirndorf-based company. The packaging of the figures and animals is made of "almost 100 % recycled cardboard, the building instructions are made of 100 % recycled paper".
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) [amended]
-
How silly and such a feel good story . As if no one has noticed the way they package all their sets. Many are 5x the size they need to be to achieve proper shelf display — but not only does it create mass amounts of barely recycleable waste, just think of how much room this wastes when shipping them all over the world
Next they’ll claim solar is zero emissions…please ::)
Just turn on your darn nuclear power and crank out the toys
-
How silly and such a feel good story . As if no one has noticed the way they package all their sets. Many are 5x the size they need to be to achieve proper shelf display — but not only does it create mass amounts of barely recycleable waste, just think of how much room this wastes when shipping them all over the world
Next they’ll claim solar is zero emissions…please ::)
Just turn on your darn nuclear power and crank out the toys
Although it may seem wasteful having a small set in a large box, the whole thing is tied in with international shipping standards designed to get as many items in a container as it can hold, thus saving the number of shipping containers required and, ultimately the number of vehicles involved in shipping.
As regards recycleabiliity, cardboard is highly recyclable.
Playmobil have a good record, too, on recycling/reusing the plastic waste from production.
-
The original announcement contains a preview-image of the mentioned new animal/amazonas-theme:
https://www.infranken.de/storage/image/6/5/5/1/3771556_artikel-detail-bild_1x_kKh_TIHLQv.webp (https://www.infranken.de/storage/image/6/5/5/1/3771556_artikel-detail-bild_1x_kKh_TIHLQv.webp)
-
How trendy.
The way to go about sustainability is to avoid producing rubbish toys that end up lining landfills a year or less after they were produced.
PM sets are so wasteful, plastic-wise, particularly those sets with huge bases that are totally unneeded for the set’s play value.
-
The original announcement contains a preview-image of the mentioned new animal/amazonas-theme:
https://www.infranken.de/storage/image/6/5/5/1/3771556_artikel-detail-bild_1x_kKh_TIHLQv.webp (https://www.infranken.de/storage/image/6/5/5/1/3771556_artikel-detail-bild_1x_kKh_TIHLQv.webp)
I already love the tapir :love:
Bogro
-
The way to go about sustainability is to avoid producing rubbish toys that end up lining landfills a year or less after they were produced.
Agree. playmobil lasts. Or at least, it used to.
Packaging may be an issue though.
And I suppose going back to an actual system would work better than these endless weird single use parts they keep making, for gods know (maybe!) what reason.
I already love the tapir :love:
Agree! :love:
-
That’s another great point, if they stuck to stecks and system X the reusability of molds would also be in the direction they want ……”feel good points”
-
There's lots of reasons you might want all the buildings that Playmobil makes to be compatible, but the idea that it would someone be more environmentally sustainable is quite the reach.
It's great that they want to be more sustainable.
-
I would say just as much of a stretch that a Toy company, that produces tons of plastic with notoriously unnecessarily huge boxes is somehow going “green” . Oh they put a toxic solar panel on the roof….all good ;)
-
Hear is a great idea, produce the brand out of corn based plastic -PLA. That way once the child outgrows it it will just biodegrade or they can eat it
-
Hear is a great idea, produce the brand out of corn based plastic -PLA. That way once the child outgrows it it will just biodegrade or they can eat it
The problem there is that land that could be used to grow food may then be used to peoduce plastic for toys.
There is a problem to every solution.
-
Maybe they could introduce a new green box line with the toys made from biodegradable plastic.
But seriously, what will happen to the rubber band companies if Geobra cuts down on packaging waste?
-
The problem there is that land that could be used to grow food may then be used to peoduce plastic for toys.
There is a problem to every solution.
But you see…the toy is the food :lol: put a little catchup packet into each set :P
-
Eatmobil! :rudy:
-
I already love the tapir :love:
Bogro
Anteater.
-
The original announcement contains a preview-image of the mentioned new animal/amazonas-theme:
https://www.infranken.de/storage/image/6/5/5/1/3771556_artikel-detail-bild_1x_kKh_TIHLQv.webp (https://www.infranken.de/storage/image/6/5/5/1/3771556_artikel-detail-bild_1x_kKh_TIHLQv.webp)
Thanks for the picture! The anteater looks smaller than expected. It could be the young animal of course.
-
This is the oringinal link from the Horst Brandstätter Group site:
https://www.horst-brandstaetter-group.com/en/news/ambitious-sustainability-targets-of-the-horst-brandstatter-group-until-2027
And it looks like the Naruto Shippuden theme in September will be 2 figures series, existing out of 24 figures, launching on the 30th of September and the second series launching on the 18th of November:
https://geekspin.co/naruto-shippuden-characters-playmobil-figures/
-
As I suggested, the blind bag approach makes most sense for Naruto due to the lack of memorable locations that can be turned into playsets. Looking forward to collecting the bags, because I have little space for bigger sets.
-
Anteater.
Sigh ... back to the books for me for some all night studying on the proper names of animals ...
It's still cute though ;)
-
Are there any real pictures of the Anteater ?
-
Sigh ... back to the books for me for some all night studying on the proper names of animals ...
It's still cute though ;)
Not if you're an ant! :)
-
Sigh ... back to the books for me for some all night studying on the proper names of animals ...
It's still cute though ;)
I will go and polish my Pedant's badge!
-
I know you were joking (at least about the edible toys :lol:), but using plant-based plastics would be a good idea if it could be done effectively. What I mean by that is, of course, that it must be sustainable and capable of producing products of high quality. I've often wondered about what Playmobil would look like if these kinds of plastics were used, as it would make me feel much better about collecting it (if shown to be effective).
-
I still think that toys that will last a few lifetimes are not the issue. Crappy ones are, the junk that has no use or doesn't last.
-
I still think that toys that will last a few lifetimes are not the issue. Crappy ones are, the junk that has no use or doesn't last.
[/quote
Yeah - the idea that plastic=bad isn't really very sound. Even single use plastics aren't automatically 'bad' for the environment: if all drinks bottles switched to glass, for example, then the massive increase in weight would hugely increase the carbon footprint of transporting it. Using plastic massively reduces food waste. The problem is recycling and disposal of plastics, which shouldn't be a problem for Playmobil.
Being able to replace plastic with something that is bio-degradable, or plant based, and has similar properties would be great - and hopefully it will happen. Plus they have discovered enzymes that eat plastics, so there is hope there.
-
I really do not understand most of the arguments about recycling.
I have been driving a car my father bought new when he was in college. It’s a 1965 Volvo 544.
Now how in the world is buying a car every few years to update some emission standards and fuel efficiency really helping saving the planet?
Also electric vehicles use power, the power needs to be created somewhere/somehow. The batteries do not last and most of all economically it makes no sense.
So In playmobil terms, it’s a toy that lasts generations. As Tahra mentioned , it’s the disposable crap that fills up the garbage bins.
Making high quality, generational toys out of decomposing products in my opinion is going in the wrong direction. From a business perspective, if the toy “melts away” and you have to buy more…. Great
-
So In playmobil terms, it’s a toy that lasts generations. As Tahra mentioned , it’s the disposable crap that fills up the garbage bins.
Making high quality, generational toys out of decomposing products in my opinion is going in the wrong direction. From a business perspective, if the toy “melts away” and you have to buy more…. Great
^this.
-
I really do not understand most of the arguments about recycling.
I have been driving a car my father bought new when he was in college. It’s a 1965 Volvo 544.
Now how in the world is buying a car every few years to update some emission standards and fuel efficiency really helping saving the planet?
Also electric vehicles use power, the power needs to be created somewhere/somehow. The batteries do not last and most of all economically it makes no sense.
So In playmobil terms, it’s a toy that lasts generations. As Tahra mentioned , it’s the disposable crap that fills up the garbage bins.
Making high quality, generational toys out of decomposing products in my opinion is going in the wrong direction. From a business perspective, if the toy “melts away” and you have to buy more…. Great
Things are not as simplistic as you suggest, Ras, but on your last point, who has suggested making a toy that just "melts away"?
-
I really do not understand most of the arguments about recycling.
People tend to focus on recycling because it's the easiest part which doesn't impact on their life at all. The mantra should be Reduce, Reuse, Recycle in that order. Ultimately, reducing consumption should be the aim but of course none of us want to do that - recycling should be a last resort.
-
People tend to focus on recycling because it's the easiest part which doesn't impact on their life at all. The mantra should be Reduce, Reuse, Recycle in that order. Ultimately, reducing consumption should be the aim but of course none of us want to do that - recycling should be a last resort.
Amen, brother. The problem is that manufacturers read the mantra backward. Can't blame them – reduction and reuse are anathema to them. But as long as they set the agenda, so-called sustainability is getting us nowhere near goal.
-
I will go and polish my Pedant's badge!
Careful you don't run into a pedanteater <:>
-
Well, you have to read this with the knowledge of how press releases work at Geobra.
There is certainly an ambition, and even some pressure to do this. But it is also a news story, an intent, and as i observed over the years often the arrow descends rapidly after it has been shot from the bow.
Two years back the big ambition was to evolve to a multichannel brand, with tv series and cutting edge digital offerings centered around newly developed "franchises". The tv-series ended up getting side-tracked to youtube, and the big plan digital offerings where endlessly discussed but never put into motion, with the end result that the entire digital entertainment department was restructured into non-existence. It was just a "too difficult" ambition for the company, yet the only true issue was that it was not prepared to invest in a bold future.
So we'll take note of this toy fair news buzzer, and see where things stand in two years from now :-)
-
There is certainly an ambition, and even some pressure to do this. But it is also a news story, an intent, and as i observed over the years often the arrow descends rapidly after it has been shot from the bow.
What a wonderfully descriptive phrase. Does anyone know any politicians that might apply to?
Note, we have to steer clear of politics on the forum and so that is a hypothetical question and, as my great niece explained to her father when she was 9 or 10 years old, you don't have to answer it.
-
To be honest, every company talks about 'sustainability' and for about 99% this is just a bit of Green-Washing with almost no meaningful change.
-
People tend to focus on recycling because it's the easiest part which doesn't impact on their life at all. The mantra should be Reduce, Reuse, Recycle in that order. Ultimately, reducing consumption should be the aim but of course none of us want to do that - recycling should be a last resort.
So true , reduce & reuse then at last resort recycle
We’re a consumer based economy so it highly doubtful
-
What a wonderfully descriptive phrase. Does anyone know any politicians that might apply to?
Ha ha! Oh yes! And plenty who talk a good job! When all's said and done, a lot more is said than done.
-
Ya but “all talk and no action” is what most humans do, it’s hardly a politicians issue.
-
as they say out West, "All hat and no cattle" :cowboy:
-
as they say out West, "All hat and no cattle" :cowboy:
Or as most lap dog owners know “all bark and no bite”
-
"All klicky and no diorama" :blackhair: