A spokesman for innovative recycling organisation TerraCycle explained: "Where it becomes more complicated is when a waste item is made out of a complex material, or several materials, as is the case with most toys. The process of recycling these materials is complicated and costly and the end product is worth less than the cost of recycling the waste, so the economics simply do not work."

Earth-Friendly Boredom Busters to Celebrate 50 Years of Earth Day!    It’s the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and this year’s theme is Climate Action. We can use every day to teach the importance of conservation to help make our world greener, brighter, and healthier. We’re all in a worldwide crisis, but we still can’t stop seeing the bigger picture here. As we stay home, safely social distance, and flatten the curve, I have some fun toys to keep kids busy, but also lend to reducing our carbon footprint. At this year’s New York Toy Fair, the majority of my appointments this year were discussing how toys were going to change a lot from production to the way it’s marketed—less waste, even higher quality, and more thoughtful packaging. As with all Green Toys™ products, the Cargo Plane, Fire Plane, and Shape Sorter Truck are made in the USA from 100% recycled plastic with no BPA, phthalates, or PVC and are responsibly packaged with recycled and recyclable materials printed with eco-friendly inks. Eco-Friendly Plastics that Encourage Eco-Mindful Play Green Toys are my go-to toys! They are well made, made in the USA, and are just so much fun! With cool varieties like tea sets, haulers, and even themed book sets—there are plenty of ways to pretend, play, and reduce your carbon footprint! At Target, you can get an additional 20% off via the Target Circle app right now! Walmart is also sharing 35% for toys by Green Toys all month long! More about these great products on my blog! Fellow Disney fans also note—they’re coming out with Disney Green Toys soon—I can’t wait!!! You can find them on Amazon, too!       MGAE geniuses behind Little Tikes, L.O.L. Surprise, and more amazing toy lines promise to deliver products that are more mindful of an eco-friendly world. In 2019, L.O.L. Surprise collectors could turn in their packaging waste to TerraCycle, and continues this initiative today. Isaac Larian, CEO of MGAE promises that "Beginning 2021, the entire L.O.L Surprise! packaging line will be completely degradable."       Little Tikes will now be launching a Go Green line of products that have that same Little Tikes high quality, high playability we love, but will also reduce the company’s carbon footprint. MGAE’s answer to this crisis of toy waste is their new patent-pending compound that breaks down plastic in landfill conditions. Larian also adds that "Beginning 2025, MGAE will only manufacture products that will degrade when disposed of properly."       Currently, MGAE is working to provide PPE for COVID-19 support via its Operation Pac-Man initiative. This company does so many wonderful things for its community and fans!             Little Tikes Go Green! Playhouse encourages pretend play and teaches children the power of energy conservation and environmental awareness by means of a water bottle sunlight, real garden, and even a water collection barrel. Amazon         LOL Surprise Lights may be the last series with the iconic ball. The latest leaks of the newest series features new eco-friendly packaging, and less waste. Find products by MGAE on Amazon, Walmart, and Target.   Mattel/Fisher-Price is taking the eco-initiative and turning their widely popular baby toy line into a stepping stone to lowering their carbon footprint. Not only are they using sustainable products but they’re using really cool materials!       Fisher-Price Baby’s First Blocks bundle and the iconic Fisher-Price® Rock-a-Stack® have been produced using sugarcane-based plastics! They hope to produce 100% recycled, recyclable or bio-based materials in both its products and packaging by 2030. Mattel has also donated their production line to producing masks and more PPE to help support the frontline employees during the COVID-19 crisis.       Fisher-Price Rock-a-Stack & Baby's First Blocks Bundle is not available yet with the new material, but this would be the sets that you can see being transformed into 100% eco-friendly toy!         ZURU is a company that knows how to party, and they just announced something to definitely celebrate! Their widely popular Bunch O Balloons starting in 2021 will be 100% certified recycled plastic with TerraCycle. How cool is that?       You can also reuse a lot of their packaging like 5 Surprise for example, the segments can be turned into little display shelves for toys thus reducing the carbon footprint! Find their whole line of toys and party products on Amazon, Walmart, and Target!       Bunch O Balloons Slingshot (3 Bunches of Bunch O Balloons) is great to keep kids busy outside. Who knows how long we have during this shelter in place? Why not get wet and have a blast while sheltering in place? Find this awesome set on Amazon! Hasbro already has pledged to reduce their carbon footprint by removing plastics from their packaging. They also teamed up with TerraCycle to accept donations of well-loved toys and games. The toys are then transformed into the beautification of outdoor play spaces like park benches, and flowerpots. Hasbro hopes to phase out plastics from their packaging entirely by 2022.       You can find Hasbro products on Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Be sure to add in Play-Doh, plenty of board games into your Boredom Busters collection.

Eco-Friendly Plush

            Wild Republic announced in 2019 that they would be producing a 100% eco-friendly plush called, Eco-kins Ecokins are made of 100% recycled materials —plastic bottles to be exact, which is an amazing technology. They are very soft, and come in a variety of wild animals and mythical creature. Swipe to see some fun rubber duckies too- a peacock, skunk, and unicorn add a lot of storytelling during bath time and pool time. We love their rubber duckies! Find Wild Republic products on Amazon like this cute Stuffed Leopard.       Headstart Toys is known for making awesome toys - a lot of our favorite toys are by Headstart, so when they announced that they would be creating a fully sustainable plush toy line, I was not surprised.   Re-softables are super cuddly and totally eco-conscious. Did you ever think that your bottle of water can turn into a super cuddly and cute plush toy? Re-softables are revolutionizing the plush world with a 100% recycled line of plush toys - cuddly mini koalas, unicorns, kitties, pups to medium and large plush that are comforting to children and good for our beautiful world. Each Re-softables has a recycle symbol on its tush and what looks like to be the lid had been turned into a tag shaped as the recycle symbol. The fur is very soft, the colors are earthy yet bright, and would be perfect for Easter or any other occasion. Headstart Toys is also changing the way they produce their other toys lines and this is a very big step in the right direction.         Hairdooz are a fun and exciting new doll line that encourages pretend-play with the packaging and the doll! You just simply recycle the outer wrapping, plastic ties, and used sticker sheet and keep the rest. Perfect boredom buster! Find Hairdooz and other toys by Headstart on Amazon, Walmart, Target, and even at Five Below!   Aurora World makes 100% eco-friendly plush. With their licenses spanning from Dr. Seuss's The Lorax to Breyer to the adorable show on Netflix Yoo-Hoo, Aurora World quickly captures the essence of cuteness! They are known for their adorable plush that can be found on shelves from Zoo and Aquarium gift shops to flower shops to the toy shelves into your kid’s heart.   They made efforts starting in 2018 to reduce their carbon footprint by making small changes to their plush toy line. Now their plush will be 100% sustainable even down to the eco-friendly recycled biopolymer pellets inside the plush! I love their Shoulderkins and licensed plush! Find Aurora toys at Walmart and Amazon like this adorable Turtle Shoulderkins on Amazon!    

Toys with an Eco-Friendly Message

  Jay at Play is launching Super Cuties a new toy line featuring adorable babies with superpowers! Not only are these toys just adorable, but they will also convey important messages about environmental awareness. Their plans are to focus on saving humankind from villains all while saving the planet, and spreading awareness of how important kids' roles are in saving the environment too! Plus, these dolls are just so adorable and perfect for pretend play that they would make great teaching tools!   Playbrites use very little packaging to draw the consumer in! This toy has multiple functions as its a night light, a mini disco light, and a buildable toy that can be mixed and matched with other Playbrites!   Boxy Girls are a fun collectible doll line that promotes pretend play! The packaging is so beautiful that I actually keep everything it comes with, I just recycle any plastic pieces which are just ties to keep the doll in place. Boxy Babies will also be coming out later this year with larger packaging, and dolls that are bigger to hold. The packaging is encouraged to be kept as it turns into a high chair for the baby. Find Jay at Play products on Amazon, Walmart, and Target.  

Sustainable Wooden Toys

    HABA is the industry leader in sustainability as they have spread environmental awareness with their toys for many years. They only work with wood suppliers that are PEFC* certified, and only use beech and birch woods from sustainable forestry. HABA cares from their core—their environment awareness starts with their employees to the very hands of the child playing with their awesome toys.   *PEFC = Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification       Bonita Garden is a peg stacking toy that is not only fun to play with but also really beautiful!      Zooing Around Large Playset is a large playset with animals and even a zookeeper to encourage open-ended play. The whole package is the playset!     Le Toy Van is a firm believer that is “wood is good,” Le Toy Van is reducing our overall carbon footprint by creating thoughtful toys made from re-purposed Rubberwood trees that have reached the end of their life. Their products run the gamut from busy toys to tactile toys that facilitate pretend play and expand the imagination! Dollhouses with intricate details, toys for a baby that rattle and shake, and all made from sustainable wood!   Find Le Toy Van products on their website and on Amazon - like this adorable Daisylane Holiday Camper Van. Toys With Less Waste and More Play   LEGO is the perfect boredom buster, and they are also the pinnacle of sustainability as they are all compatible with each other, and have been a generational toy—sanitize and hand them down to the next kid. LEGO’s functionality, durability, and overall fun factor hold their value as the industry’s top toys for sustainability. There is a great selection on Amazon, Walmart, and Target.   Check out the latest Star Wars LEGO sets that are perfect for display and play!    

LEGO Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Resistance Y-Wing Starfighter

  The Mandalorian and The Child Razorcrest LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian The Razor Crest 75292 Building Kit, New 2020, Amazon Exclusive (1,023 Pieces)       Basic Fun! Toys has a great line of Tonka trucks that will encourage kids to dig in the dirt and get to know Mother Nature more closely. You can find them on Amazon, Walmart, and Target.         Check out the Metal Movers Tonka trucks line that is perfect for pushing rocks and bits of grass - making way for some pretty flowers!     Playmonster has a lot of toys that I found to be very eco-conscious - not only are they big on fun, but they are big on being thoughtful with their toys! Playmonster's Fuzzikins are adorable figures that are flocked and can be decorated over and over again with the included washable markers. All you have to do is rinse them off, wipe clean, dry, and enjoy again. Fuzzikins encourages imaginative play, so even the packaging is used to create an adorable world for the Fuzzikins. My Fairy Garden encourages kids to want to garden, and each set includes everything you need to create a magical world for the fairies. Kids can learn about the wonders of plant life and the importance of water conservation. The My Fairy Garden Nature Cottage includes a water collecting barrel that connects to a simple piping system and it collects the dripping water to re-use!     Fuzzikins Cottontail Cottage uses the entire package for play! Cut out extra characters, color the figures and wash for extended play, and more! Find this set on Amazon!   My Fairy Garden has a wide selection of sets! One in particular that I love is one we just unboxed which included a piping system to collect the water that drained from the soil. This is a great way to teach water conservation! If you're looking for something smaller, but still teaches about gardening and gives the a great starter for eco-conscious homeschooling lesson, then check out the Unicorn Garden Paradise on Amazon. Find Playmonster products on their website, Amazon, Walmart, and Target.   Skyrocket encourages fans of their Blume dolls line to reuse the packaging for gardening! The packaging container is not only for great shelf display, but can be used as a home for the doll, and even used as a flowerpot. You can find exclusive sets on Amazon with extra pieces for more fun!     Blume dolls are adorable dolls that live in flowerpots! The company encourages kids to use the package as the doll's home. You can also use it as a neat flower pot! Amazon Baby Pop is my favorite toy! This toy has about zero waste, recycle the wrapper, and used sticker sheets, and then you can keep everything! Blume House is a full playset that is just magical from top to bottom! Again there is very little waste with this toy! The same premise and concept of environmental awareness is encouraged. Find Blume Dolls and Blume Baby Pop on Amazon, Walmart, and Target.     Just Play Products' encourages pretend play and brings kids (and even parents, too!) into a world of joy and imagination! Their line of Ryan's World toys blows me away! Ryan's World safes, in particular, are a full-on playset with a unique storage system. This set encourages open-ended play where they can unbox surprises that can be used for hours of pretend play. You throw away the wrapping, and keep the rest! The new Ryan's Mystery Playdate Ultra Mystery Box is a full playset once opened leaving very little waste.   Just Play also makes Hairdorables, a really neat line of dolls with big hair and positive attitudes. Their latest Scented Series got a packaging revamp where the collector keeps the container to store their doll and accessories. You just have to recycle the blind bags and sticker sheets, and keep the rest! Find Just Play products on Amazon, Walmart, and Target.   IMC Toys makes adorable babies and other cool products. Their Cry Babies are very popular, and the miniature versions, Cry Babies Magic Tears, actually has great play value and minimal waste once unboxes.       The Cry Babies bottle houses and pet houses are adorable figures that cry when they are fed. Each of the bottle houses includes accessories for a fun unboxing experience. You just discard the wrapper and used the sticker sheet, and keep everything else! Get the 3-pack on Amazon for the ultimate in boredom busting! Find Cry Babies on Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Do you have any more suggestions on how to bust boredom in a more eco-friendly way? Let me know in the comments below! Sharing is caring, too!  

The way we do things is changing so quickly in this crazy world in which we live. As we navigate the ins and outs of our new normal, I want everyone to remember to keep recycling. To do our part in making the world a better place to live, Nyquist Elementary School is part of the TerraCycle, Plant Green and ColorCycle programs. We are trying to save the planet one brigade at a time. We are slowly getting people to recycle the unique items that can be reused and kept out of the landfills.   TerraCycle is a program that not only recycles those hard to recycle items but also offers fundraising opportunities. While the school has bins in place at their facility, Emily Miller felt a need to make them more accessible to the community to help raise awareness on the importance of recycling. You will find bins for Eos products at Spire Credit Union, Colgate oral care (accepting all brands of toothpaste tubes, floss containers and packaging) at the Isle Dentist office, personal care beauty products (accepting lipstick tubes, mascara tubes, pump tops from lotion bottles, shampoo bottles, etc.) at JJ’s Shear Beauty. Isle Hardware Hank has a bin for Febreze products such as air freshener cartridges, plugins, packaging, and Febreze one trigger spray bottles. On your next stop to Thompson’s Lake Country Drug, be sure to bring your disposable razors to be recycled. They will accept all brands, packaging and disposable razor heads. The following items can be recycled at the school. GoGo Squeez pouches and caps, Contacts blister packs and contacts, Arm & Hammer and Oxiclean Laundry soap pouches, L.O.L. Surprize Packaging, accessories and products, #6 Rigid plastic cups (Solo) and not Solo, Popsockets, Swiffer refills, and Bunch O Balloons packaging, balloons, stem, etc.   The ColorCycle program accepts all brands, sizes and types of markers. You may drop your old, dried up markers in the bin at City Hall.   Plant Green offers recycling for ink cartridges. Those items may be dropped off at First National Bank.   For more information on what products can be recycled, please visit the bin locations. Each bin contains an information sheet on what they accept. I will also add information to my webpage on the district website. I want to thank Emily Miller and the area businesses for partnering with Nyquist Elementary on this project and helping to keep our Earth clean and beautiful. I encourage you to start collecting these highly used items and drop them off on your next trip to town. As one person, you may feel that you cannot make an impact, but as a community, we can start to change the world. Now, imagine if everyone in every community participated. Imagine the impact that would make on our environment. I hope you will get out and help save our planet. Afterall, Earth is for everyone.   Guest columnist Melisa Maxwell is the dean of students at Isle Public Schools.

The way we do things is changing so quickly in this crazy world in which we live. As we navigate the ins and outs of our new normal, I want everyone to remember to keep recycling. To do our part in making the world a better place to live, Nyquist Elementary School is part of the TerraCycle, Plant Green and ColorCycle programs. We are trying to save the planet one brigade at a time. We are slowly getting people to recycle the unique items that can be reused and kept out of the landfills.   TerraCycle is a program that not only recycles those hard to recycle items but also offers fundraising opportunities. While the school has bins in place at their facility, Emily Miller felt a need to make them more accessible to the community to help raise awareness on the importance of recycling. You will find bins for Eos products at Spire Credit Union, Colgate oral care (accepting all brands of toothpaste tubes, floss containers and packaging) at the Isle Dentist office, personal care beauty products (accepting lipstick tubes, mascara tubes, pump tops from lotion bottles, shampoo bottles, etc.) at JJ’s Shear Beauty. Isle Hardware Hank has a bin for Febreze products such as air freshener cartridges, plugins, packaging, and Febreze one trigger spray bottles. On your next stop to Thompson’s Lake Country Drug, be sure to bring your disposable razors to be recycled. They will accept all brands, packaging and disposable razor heads. The following items can be recycled at the school. GoGo Squeez pouches and caps, Contacts blister packs and contacts, Arm & Hammer and Oxiclean Laundry soap pouches, L.O.L. Surprize Packaging, accessories and products, #6 Rigid plastic cups (Solo) and not Solo, Popsockets, Swiffer refills, and Bunch O Balloons packaging, balloons, stem, etc.   The ColorCycle program accepts all brands, sizes and types of markers. You may drop your old, dried up markers in the bin at City Hall.   Plant Green offers recycling for ink cartridges. Those items may be dropped off at First National Bank.   For more information on what products can be recycled, please visit the bin locations. Each bin contains an information sheet on what they accept. I will also add information to my webpage on the district website. I want to thank Emily Miller and the area businesses for partnering with Nyquist Elementary on this project and helping to keep our Earth clean and beautiful. I encourage you to start collecting these highly used items and drop them off on your next trip to town. As one person, you may feel that you cannot make an impact, but as a community, we can start to change the world. Now, imagine if everyone in every community participated. Imagine the impact that would make on our environment. I hope you will get out and help save our planet. Afterall, Earth is for everyone.   Guest columnist Melisa Maxwell is the dean of students at Isle Public Schools.

You know that special feeling of emotional exhaustion you get after an hour at the toy store with an indecisive child? (Yes, I’m a sucker.) Imagine that but for 15 hours, and you will know the simultaneous overwhelming and wonderful nature of New York Toy Fair. I spent a day and a half watching grown men and women play with the newest (and also oldest) toys out this year, and now I kind of want all of them.   Since I know that toy choice overwhelm is a thing for grownups too, I will spare you and save much of the fun intel I gathered to roll out throughout the year. But to get you prepared for what your kids might be begging for soon, here’s a quick overview of the trends that toymakers are betting on for 2020.  

Baby Yoda is everywhere

  Sorry, “The Child,” as I was kindly corrected multiple times over the past few days. Thanks to the Mandalorian’s secrecy, we still won’t be able to own these toys for a bit longer, but they were adorable to behold, however briefly. In August, LEGO will release a BrickHeadz versions of the little guy, and in September there’s an impressive kit for the Mandalorian’s ship, the Razor Crest, which does also include the Child and his foster dad.   Hasbro’s animatronic version of The Child doesn’t come out until December, but he’s already sold out. (“It” doesn’t seem like the right pronoun for this, sorry!) I am ready to search out the black market. He is CUTE.     We’ll have a much shorter wait for Mattel’s plush version, which (who?) comes out in May. Pre-order him here.  

Toys that won’t fill the Earth with plastic

  Every time I have bought my kid one of his beloved L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls I have wanted to weep about the amount of wasteful packaging involved in creating that all-important “unboxing” experience. But now the surprise is for me, because MGA Entertainment, which makes L.O.L., announced last week that it’s taking steps toward being more sustainable. First, the company partnered with TerraCycle, so that now you can mail the packaging to be recycled for free.  By this summer, the company said all L.O.L. accessory bags will be made of paper and degradable resin, and by next year all of the dolls’ packaging will be degradable.     MGA’s Little Tikes brand is one of several looking for a more sustainable plastic option for little kids toys. Little Tikes’ new GoGreen line is all made of recycled plastic. Some of Mattel’s Mega Bloks are made of plant-based material now, with the goal of making the entire Bloks brand plant-based, recyclable, or made of 100 percent recycled material in the next 10 years. That’s already the case with Green Toys, the toddler brand made entirely of recycled plastic.  

The real world & digital world can live in harmony at last

  Toymakers are listening to all of that parental anxiety over our kids being too addicted to their screens — but not so much that they’re tossing their digital content entirely. Instead, in nearly every booth I visited, there were toys that integrated an app, online game, or electronic gadget to go with the real-world product. There are Hot Wheels cars with chips to measure their speed, virtual reality goggles to help kids conduct science experiments and learn magic tricks (see: Professor Maxwell’s VR Science Lab), and an app for future engineers to make meticulous plans for their GraviTrax marble run.

Surprises and slime are 4-ever!

  I know “blind” boxes (those toys hidden in clever packaging until you buy them) are meant to encourage kids to collect all the toys, but they might serve another purpose too. Skip all the hemming and hawing at the store and buy one of these, sight unseen. My favorite surprises of the moment are the Blume Dolls, colorfully coiffed, spritely girls that pop out of a flower pot when you water them. In 2020, they’ll be getting Blume Baby Pops and Petal Pets. There’s also Mattel’s deadly cute entry into the category, Cloudees, which invites kids to add water and create cloud fluff before they unveil their new tiny pets. My Little Pony is also in on the reveal “magic.”   For the kids who prefer slime and war to birth and flowers, this fall, Skyrocket toys will release Mutaters, “alien-created” bio-mechanical warrior figures housed in a containment unit that requires a decoder to unlock before you can play with the monstrous mutants inside.   Parental nostalgia will go on, too   How many kids do you know who are really excited about Scooby-Do, Back to the Future, or Ghostbusters? Not a lot. But their parents might want to share their childhood fandoms, which is the logic many toymakers are banking on.     I mean, I was very excited about the Playmobil Delorean and Mattel’s Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, anyway. And after all, we’re the ones paying for these guys, right?

You know that special feeling of emotional exhaustion you get after an hour at the toy store with an indecisive child? (Yes, I’m a sucker.) Imagine that but for 15 hours, and you will know the simultaneous overwhelming and wonderful nature of New York Toy Fair. I spent a day and a half watching grown men and women play with the newest (and also oldest) toys out this year, and now I kind of want all of them.   Since I know that toy choice overwhelm is a thing for grownups too, I will spare you and save much of the fun intel I gathered to roll out throughout the year. But to get you prepared for what your kids might be begging for soon, here’s a quick overview of the trends that toymakers are betting on for 2020.  

Baby Yoda is everywhere

  Sorry, “The Child,” as I was kindly corrected multiple times over the past few days. Thanks to the Mandalorian’s secrecy, we still won’t be able to own these toys for a bit longer, but they were adorable to behold, however briefly. In August, LEGO will release a BrickHeadz versions of the little guy, and in September there’s an impressive kit for the Mandalorian’s ship, the Razor Crest, which does also include the Child and his foster dad.   Hasbro’s animatronic version of The Child doesn’t come out until December, but he’s already sold out. (“It” doesn’t seem like the right pronoun for this, sorry!) I am ready to search out the black market. He is CUTE.     We’ll have a much shorter wait for Mattel’s plush version, which (who?) comes out in May. Pre-order him here.  

Toys that won’t fill the Earth with plastic

  Every time I have bought my kid one of his beloved L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls I have wanted to weep about the amount of wasteful packaging involved in creating that all-important “unboxing” experience. But now the surprise is for me, because MGA Entertainment, which makes L.O.L., announced last week that it’s taking steps toward being more sustainable. First, the company partnered with TerraCycle, so that now you can mail the packaging to be recycled for free.  By this summer, the company said all L.O.L. accessory bags will be made of paper and degradable resin, and by next year all of the dolls’ packaging will be degradable.     MGA’s Little Tikes brand is one of several looking for a more sustainable plastic option for little kids toys. Little Tikes’ new GoGreen line is all made of recycled plastic. Some of Mattel’s Mega Bloks are made of plant-based material now, with the goal of making the entire Bloks brand plant-based, recyclable, or made of 100 percent recycled material in the next 10 years. That’s already the case with Green Toys, the toddler brand made entirely of recycled plastic.  

The real world & digital world can live in harmony at last

  Toymakers are listening to all of that parental anxiety over our kids being too addicted to their screens — but not so much that they’re tossing their digital content entirely. Instead, in nearly every booth I visited, there were toys that integrated an app, online game, or electronic gadget to go with the real-world product. There are Hot Wheels cars with chips to measure their speed, virtual reality goggles to help kids conduct science experiments and learn magic tricks (see: Professor Maxwell’s VR Science Lab), and an app for future engineers to make meticulous plans for their GraviTrax marble run.

Surprises and slime are 4-ever!

  I know “blind” boxes (those toys hidden in clever packaging until you buy them) are meant to encourage kids to collect all the toys, but they might serve another purpose too. Skip all the hemming and hawing at the store and buy one of these, sight unseen. My favorite surprises of the moment are the Blume Dolls, colorfully coiffed, spritely girls that pop out of a flower pot when you water them. In 2020, they’ll be getting Blume Baby Pops and Petal Pets. There’s also Mattel’s deadly cute entry into the category, Cloudees, which invites kids to add water and create cloud fluff before they unveil their new tiny pets. My Little Pony is also in on the reveal “magic.”   For the kids who prefer slime and war to birth and flowers, this fall, Skyrocket toys will release Mutaters, “alien-created” bio-mechanical warrior figures housed in a containment unit that requires a decoder to unlock before you can play with the monstrous mutants inside.   Parental nostalgia will go on, too   How many kids do you know who are really excited about Scooby-Do, Back to the Future, or Ghostbusters? Not a lot. But their parents might want to share their childhood fandoms, which is the logic many toymakers are banking on.     I mean, I was very excited about the Playmobil Delorean and Mattel’s Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, anyway. And after all, we’re the ones paying for these guys, right?  

The 117th annual New York Toy Fair took place this weekend at the Javits Center in Manhattan. An opportunity for toy manufacturers to preview their latest and greatest products for the year ahead, this year’s show featured more than 1,000 vendors as well as a dizzying cocktail of costumed characters, glitter-coated signs, life-sized action figures, chirping electronics, and kidfluencers upon kidfluencers. There were stuffed animals. There were coding kits. There were augmented reality toys. There was a performance by a Trolls band. Shaq was there on behalf of Tonka Trucks but wandered over to the Care Bears booth because why not?   Despite the technicolor madness of Toy Fair, the show acts as a barometer for the toy industry — and showcases the larger trends within the wide world of play. Here, then, are 11 major takeaways from Toy Fair 2020.   Animatronics Everywhere   While Hasbro’s Baby Yoda, aka The Child, was the animatronic darling of the show, many toymakers debuted similar creations of their own. Hasbro released some more additions to their FurReal line, including FurReal Mama Josie the Kangaroo Pet, which has more than 70 sounds and interacts not only with your kid but also her own kids (she comes with three little joeys and responds to them in a very nurturing way). Skyrocket Toys debuted Moji, the Lovable Labradoodle, which features more than 150 sounds/motions and 10 tricks to learn including high-five and speak. There was even a robot “dog” named Squeakee that looks like a Jeff Koons-esque balloon animal and features more than 50 sounds and interactions. Even toddlers can get in on the action, with such releases as the V-Tech Explore & Crawl Elephant that, well, crawls, flaps its ears, lights up, and has more than 45 songs and sounds. The elephant encourages kids to walk and crawl after it and also teaches kids about colors and shapes. Toys are getting more intelligent.   Augmented Reality’s Strange Half-Life   Years after the debut of the first augmented reality toys, AR remains just short of ubiquitous at Toy Fair. This has a certain trying-to-make-fetch-happen quality. As many parents have found out, integrated toys tend to become digital or physical toys in relatively short order. Though tech-forward toys and, let’s be real, video games, aren’t going anywhere, the uncomfortable marriage of digital UX design with material toy design seems destined to end badly. The sooner the better.   Let’s Hear It For the World   To no surprise, sustainability was a big push for many toy companies. Mattel, which recently announced a promise to achieve full-environmental sustainability by 2030, showed off a new version of the classic Fisher-Price Rock-A-Stack toy made entirely of plant-based plastics and packaged in 100-percent recycled/sustainably sourced material. L.O.L Surprise!, which recently announced a partnership with waste-management company TerraCycle, dropped the news that, by 2021, all of their packaging will be degradable. The always eco-friendly Green Toys released three new toys — a Fire Plan, Shape Sorter Truck, and Cargo Plane —  each of which are not only made of 100-percent recycled materials as well as BPA-, phthalates-, and PVC-free. Here’s the truth: Some companies made big strides; others announced initiatives that only served to make it seem like they were moving towards sustainability. Still, a focus on environmental initiatives was seen at nearly all booths.   Blind Bags, Blind Bags Everywhere   Call it the LOL Surprise! effect: Despite the show-wide sustainability focus, many, many toymakers are releasing or have released blind bag-style toys — those that come in plastic containers and have plastic bags full of plastic accessories and paper stuffing and plastic plastic plastic. While, yes, kids certainly have a fondness for receiving a surprise toy inside of which might be any number of cool items, these toys are, for the most part, an exercise in waste.   The Gendering of Everything and Nothing   The evolution of gendered play saw two competing trajectories. While many brands continued with or innovated gender-neutral approaches to toys (Plan Toys’ Fire House is essentially a dollhouse that is nonbinary; Brio’s Builder Motor Set encourages building without gender signals; the Playmobil large hospital is the non-gendered pretend play toy of our dreams), the march to genderize play by a slew of other brands continued and got more extreme. Several ride-on tractors and play trucks, scary costumes, and STEAM toys were clearly directed at boys, but it was the girlie stuff that got even girlier. Ballet costumes were so froufy and lacy, they looked like bizarre lingerie, play heads had interchangeable wigs and makeup went beyond the most over-the-top pageant look, while purses for makeup were marketed to younger and younger girls — all while 6-year-old girls walked a nearby catwalk with a little more model technique than was comfortable. The better brands are moving very much in the right direction, understanding that kids need to explore their interests, be they nurturing or problem-solving; the other brands, not so much.   A Move to Inclusivity   Inclusivity in toys has improved on several fronts over the past few years. This year was no different. Multiple vendors showed off toys of varying ethnic diversity, physical capability, and appearance. Mattel, for instance, continued to diversify Barbie by including a number of new, diverse dolls in its Fashionista line. They debuted a doll with the skin-disease vitiligo. There was a Ken with long hair, an African-American Barbie with natural hair, and another Barbie with no hair at all. The play people of Playmobil, Magformers, and Manhattan Toys, for instance, showed off dolls and characters with a diversity of skin tones. This is good news for kids who haven’t seen themselves reflected in play.   The IP Backlash   Marvel, DC Comics, Star Wars, and Minions are so overwhelmingly present at Toy Fair that it’s easy to miss the fact that many brands are going the other way. Maybe not by choice — licensing is crazy expensive — smaller brands are stripping their toys down to core functionality, some even going so far as to eliminate color. This is happening because there has been a hollowing out of middle-class IP. If it’s not part of the Rebel Alliance or the Avengers Initiative, the branding likely isn’t worth much. The good news for parents and kids is that this means there are more toys standing on their own, sold on functionality rather than ancillary content or characters.   Animal Deep Cuts   The big-name animals are always going to be there. The toy market is bullish on bears, ponies, dinosaurs, and cats. But there’s the lesser known members of Kingdom Animalia are starting to make the scene. There were echidna and axolotl toys. There were alligators, satiated hippos, and a praying mantis from Breyer. The metazoic revolution hasn’t arrived just yet, but it’s coming.   The Return of the Best Toy   Every year, the actual best toy at Toy Fair is the tired looking lab working security out front. This year, he seemed particularly put off by a bizarre runway show featuring the strained smiles of heavily coached six-year-old girls. He looked at these young models with some deep understanding in his eyes. They don’t need bedazzled clothes, he seemed to think, they need to take me for a walk. Not wrong.

Toymakers are looking to a mix of evergreen properties and a broad selection of IP based on streaming platforms, YouTube channels and influencers and videogames to drive their license-based sales, manufacturers told us at Toy Fair New York. In the days before Toy Fair, Disney grabbed attention by unveiling a slew of “Baby Yoda” products, Hasbro gave financial analysts and media a look at its plans for eOne, and Mattel talked up its increasingly robust content development plans.   While an assortment of major films will hit theaters and store shelves throughout 2020, there’s a general expectation they won’t reach the product sales levels of last year’s big theatrical releases. So many toymakers are placing their bets on properties from other platforms with intense fan followings such as Netflix’s “Umbrella Academy” (Just Play and Funko), Amazon Studios’ “The Boys” (Jazwares) and the “Subway Surfers” mobile game (Alpha Group).   Evergreen Growth   Other companies are taking shelter under evergreens. For example, NECA, which traditionally has relied on nostalgic horror properties for its figures, is expanding its acquired line of Clapper (Clap on! Clap Off!) and Chia Pet products with licenses, such as a Bob Ross-licensed Chia Pet and a Clapper connected to A Christmas Story, along with another bearing “The Child.” “It is kind of a brave new world; it is not just the key theatricals or television content anymore” that are fodder for licensed toys “because videogames, streaming services and YouTube channels and influencers” are increasingly grabbing kids’ attention, says Matthew Sherman of Alpha Group, which is readying a line of two- and four-inch Subway Surfer figures that will be exclusive to Walmart for a year starting in August. It will add RC vehicles in 2021. “In one regard it’s a new opportunity, but it is a lot more competitive with more challenges because the retail footprint isn’t as big any more. You are literally fighting for every foot of shelf space.”   In general, streaming services are still reluctant (if not totally unwilling) to share viewership data, which makes it difficult for potential licensees to evaluate the opportunity. Plus, for the streamers who “drop” entire seasons of shows into the market at one time, it’s difficult for manufacturers and merchants to stockpile product and anticipate consumer engagement and product demand.   On the other hand, classic TV series such as “Friends” and “The Office” that are among the most-watched shows on those platforms have been consistent generators of product sales far beyond what would have been expected without that continual exposure.   Also at Toy Fair:  

• Even as Hasbro announced plans to make toys for shows such as Peppa Pig, PJ Masks and Ricky Zoom it gained via the eOne acquisition, those properties’ current licensees such as Jazwares (Peppa Pig), Just Play (PJ Masks) and Tomy (Ricky Zoom), all mounted major displays of new product. “It’s been business as usual,” says Jimmy Chang, Senior Marketing Director at Just Play, whose company was introducing a new playset for PJ Masks.

 

• Mattel’s decision to bring plush inhouse rather than licensing its IP out for the category was prompted “by us seeing a lot of opportunity left on the table” and “this gives better control of a category that will be key for us moving forward,” a Mattel spokesman said. Meanwhile, Mattel, which fielded Toy Story 4 products last year, has extended its license with Disney to include all of Pixar’s films including Monster’s Inc., Cars and others, the Mattel spokesman said. Mattel also is readying the first International Olympic Committee-(IOC) licensed toy collection that stretches across the Barbie, Hot Wheels and Uno playing card lines. While Mattel has fielded “Team USA” Barbies since the 1976 Olympics, the new line marks the first  time for a broader IOC-licensed line. The Barbies are designed around the five sports being added to the Olympics this year:  softball,  surfing, rock climbing, skateboarding and karate.

 

• Sustainability was a theme in many booths at Javits. Mattel introduced two Fisher-Price products and three Mega Bloks building sets made from sugarcane-based material, as a step toward its previously-stated goal of having all its products and packaging made from recycled, recyclable or bio-based plastics materials by 2030 Meanwhile, MGA Entertainment, building on its work with recycling company TerraCycle, launched the biodegradable Little Tikes “Go Green” ride-on line that’s made from recycled resin. MGA is targeting having all of its product be biodegradable by 2025. It has a recycling program with TerraCycle for L.O.L. Surprise packaging, and will shift the brand’s accessory bag to paper later this year. L.O.L. Surprise packaging will be biodegradable by next year.

 

• New dual-branding strategies. McFarlane Toys introduced a seven-inch Spawn/Mortal Kombat action figures with game publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Warner Bros. will collect royalties on sales of the action figures, while McFarlane gets them when the Spawn figure is bought as an in-game purchase within the “Mortal Kombat 11” mobile game.

 

• Meanwhile, Just Play expanded the number of licenses it’s applying to its Hairdorable products, adding to a line that started with JoJo Siwa last year. New versions are based on Minions, Hello Kitty and Trolls.

 

• The calming influence of toys? Spin Master’s Cardinal Industries is introducing a series of 60-400-piece “Relaxation,” “Serenity” and “Balance” puzzles under the brand of meditation firm Calm. (founded in 2013 by Michael Acton Smith, who also founded Mind Candy, known for its Moshi Monsters online world).

 

• Licensed collectible power Funko wants its non-licensed toy business to account for 20% of revenue over the next several years. It unveiled Snapsies, toys that are dispensed through a touchscreen-equipped vending machine that allows the user to customize its various characters. The machine continually displays short videos supporting the characters produced by Funko Animation Studios. Funko leases space for the machines at retail stores. Funko also installed the vending machines at GameStop and ThinkGeek stores for its new Paka Paka capsule collectibles. It has no immediate plans to license out the brands, but is continuing to pursue deals for its Wetmore Forest label, CEO Brian Mariotti said. Meanwhile, the company is expanding the board game business it acquired when it bought Forest-Pruzan Creative a year ago, adding licenses for PanAm, Back to the Future and Godzilla. The expanded assortment of games and owned IP are part of Funko’s plans to double sales to $2 billion within 5-7 years, says Mariotti.

There’s no question about it: Sustainability has become one of the most prevalent topics in today’s marketplace. Eco-friendly initiatives and actions are up for discussion on social media, at protests, and on the political debate stage.   According to last year’s Computer Generated Solutions (CGS) U.S. Consumer Sustainability Survey, 68% of consumers rate sustainability as an important factor in their purchases. While toys don’t yet rank as one of the top-five categories that consumers consider most critical for eco-friendly options, the industry is far from immune to this trend. At Toy Fair Dallas, sustainable toys and packaging were prevalent, with the trend expected to pick up steam this year and beyond.   Green toys, recycled materials, and other sustainable initiatives in the toy industry certainly aren’t new, but the second half of last year brought an especially high number of packaging-focused sustainability efforts from some of the biggest names in play. LEGO added to its list of eco-friendly actions by deciding to eliminate plastic shopping bags in its retail stores — with the promise of more announcements on the way this year — while Hasbro, MGA Entertainment, and Mattel all revealed plans to move toward sustainable packaging.    

WHY SUPPORT SUSTAINABILITY?

Despite the many conversations around packaging waste, toys make up less than 1% of the typical household waste stream, according to The Toy Association’s official statement on packaging and sustainability. Al Kaufman, The Toy Association’s senior vice president of technical affairs, says the public perception that toys contribute a higher volume of waste comes from what he calls the Christmas-morning effect.   “Kids open up their toys, all of the gift opening is done, and then the parents look at this huge pile of packaging in front of them and get the impression that toys are overly packaged,” he explains. However, despite toys’ relatively small waste impact, Kaufman and The Toy Association both fully support sustainable packaging efforts.   “I think it’s important for everybody to do their part,” Kaufman says. “I think every industry — large and small, whatever their impacts are — [has] a responsibility to do everything that it can to lessen the impact of their product. … We want to be good corporate citizens and good citizens of the world and do what we can to minimize our impact.”   Many other toy companies share this sentiment, expressing a desire to set a good example for the next generation and to help ensure that kids can grow up on a better, cleaner Earth.   In addition to moral motivations, there are also business-oriented incentives for embracing sustainable packaging. Kathrin Belliveau, senior vice president of government affairs and corporate social responsibility at Hasbro, explains that as more consumers prefer to shop sustainably, regulators and retailers respond by requiring companies to reduce single-use plastic in their packaging. This means that toy companies must look toward sustainability in order to stay competitive.  

GOODBYE, PLASTIC

When it comes to actually producing sustainable packaging, toy companies have options. Hasbro, for example, plans to remove virtually all plastic from its new product packaging, starting this year and finishing by 2022. There will be a few minor exceptions to this, such as Easy-Bake food packaging, some storage containers, tape, glue, and stickers. In place of polybags, elastic bands, shrink-wrap, window sheets, and blister packs, Hasbro will switch to open packaging in some cases and replace the plastic with either paper or alternative materials in others.   “Our in-house packaging team is continually innovating, testing, and validating new materials; exploring new solutions; and developing best practices to improve the sustainability of our products and packaging,” Belliveau says.   MGA Entertainment (MGAE) CEO Isaac Larian announced in November that the popular L.O.L. Surprise! unboxing dolls — which feature multiple surprise layers for kids to unwrap — will also switch to paper and sustainable materials. Consumers can already recycle the L.O.L. Surprise! wrapping, dolls, and accessories through MGAE’s program with TerraCycle, but these new sustainability efforts will make it even easier to recycle the packaging. Larian says this transition will roll out across L.O.L. and other MGAE products this year.   He also says that this packaging change won’t impact the unboxing experience kids enjoy with L.O.L. Surprise! “If the experience changes, it will be because our fans are wanting something different,” he says. Larian even hints at plans for biodegradable toys on the way from MGAE in the second half of the year.   Switzerland-based construction toy company Geomagworld is also making a big move toward sustainability this year, launching a full green line for consumers in June. The packaging in this line includes cardboard boxes made up of more than 70% recycled materials and 80% regenerated PET containers. The products themselves are sustainable, too,  made with 100% recycled plastic. “Some cynics might question our motive for such a move — are we jumping on a bandwagon or finding an ‘on trend’ new toy category?” says Nikki Jeffery, senior marketing consultant at Geomagworld. “Our answer to that would simply be, ‘no,’ and this is something we couldn’t be any clearer on. Geomagworld has always been — and will continue to be — committed to all of our social and environmental responsibilities.”  

THE COST OF GOING GREEN

Moving to sustainable packaging materials may seem like a no-brainer, but there are some difficulties and downsides to making the switch. In the case of open packaging, in-store theft is a major concern. And replacement materials — such as PET and sustainably sourced paper — are more expensive and can require new manufacturing equipment or molds.   According to CGS, about 35% of consumers will pay 25% more for sustainable products. However, it can be harder for small- and medium-sized toy companies to swallow the costs associated with redoing their packaging. The Toy Association knows this and offers all of its members a Smart Packaging Initiative Tool.   The tool separates toys by category, asks retailers questions about the toys’ packaging, and gives the packaging a score from 0-100 (with 100 being the best). Manufacturers can see how their packaging scores compare to the industry median score in that category, get suggestions about how to improve the packaging, and try out several different designs. Kaufman says this can really help companies that don’t have the resources to do this in house. He also thinks the tool will have a positive impact as companies work to improve their scores to reach industry standards.   “That median score is going to go up as all people work to try to improve their scores,” he says. “So it’s a moving goal, and it sort of drives continuous improvement, which I think is also an excellent part of the tool.”

PACKAGING = PLAY

  In addition to replacing plastic packaging with sustainable materials, some companies are opting to make their packaging part of the toy’s play pattern to completely eliminate waste. One example of this is Educational Insights‘ new Design & Drill Bolt Buddy line. The toy itself is a character or vehicle that preschoolers can assemble, but each box folds out to become a color-me playset.   Heather Weeks, director of product development at Educational Insights, says it is important for toymakers to be mindful of details like this. “Incorporating packaging into the play is one more way to spark a child’s imagination, and in the process take a step toward being a responsible steward for our planet,” she says. “As adults, we set the example. Children may not always appear to listen, but in actuality, they are watching very closely.”   Educational Insights’ Director of Marketing Lori Mannion says the only downside to incorporating the packaging into play is making sure that parents and kids notice the extra layer instead of throwing it away out of habit.   “This is a great teachable moment between parents and kids, to take care of the box and reuse it over and over again. …” she says. “We always joke that the kids get so many toys for Christmas and their favorite thing ends up being the cardboard box. We’ve taken that insight to the next level.”  

BEYOND PACKAGING

  There are, of course, other sustainable efforts throughout the toy industry that go beyond packaging. Some companies, such as MGAE, are moving toward biodegradable toys. Others, including Mattel, have introduced recyclable, bio-based plastic toys, such as the new Mega Bloks sets. Educational Insights, meanwhile, aims to disrupt the idea that toys only have a lifespan of a year or two, offering some of the same toys for more than 15 years.   “These toys become heirlooms that are passed down from sibling to sibling and parent to child,” Weeks says. “There is a cycle of play here that we believe is a responsible way of creating toys. No one wants to create product that they feel is quickly destined for a landfill.”   Geomagworld takes things even further in its efforts to help reduce toys’ environmental impact, working with LifeGate PlasticLess to fund a Sea Bin in Marina degli Aregai, Italy. While the material caught in the bin doesn’t directly become Geomagworld products, the device collects around 500 kilograms (about 1,102 pounds) of debris from the water each year.   “We are very aware that what [Geomagworld is] doing is only really going to have a minimal impact on the overall environmental crisis our planet is currently facing,” Jeffery says. “But if we, as a relatively minor player in the market, can make these small but significant changes, imagine the impact if, as an industry, everyone did something! I am sure both our kids and our planet would appreciate it.”