As someone who is raising my kids on LEGO sets, but also a lot of talk about disposable plastic toys, I am so happy to see the news that LEGO is introducing sustainable, plant-based pieces starting this year, as part of their commitment to incorporate sustainable materials in core products and packaging by 2030.
For starters, you’re going to see their botanical elements (trees, leaves, bushes…you know, shrubbery!) made from a polyethylene, which is still plastic, but it’s actually sourced from sugarcane.
That’s so cool!
I also love that they’re doing this in partnership with the WWF, one of my favorite orgs.
I know that “eco-friendly” isn’t quite the appealing buzzword for parents that it was back when we started this site, in part because of the added cost associated with making products more environmentally-friendly, organic, or sustainable. So the idea that LEGO is going to just go ahead and do this, because it’s the right thing to do, is pretty terrific.
While these polyethylene LEGO pieces are only 1-2% of the 19 billion LEGO elements produced each year, it does add up. 2% of that 19 billion comes out to 380 million pieces — and no, I didn’t just do that in my head — that will now be sustainably made. And that’s a whole lot of pieces.
One more benefit: Because this type of plastic is flexible, it’s very possible that these LEGO trees and bushes will hurt less when you step on them in the middle of the night.
