Wooden Toys
Richard Gottlieb -- Gifts and Dec, 10/7/2011 8:44:22 AM
Richard Gottlieb
It's time for another look at a natural material.
REUBEN KLAMER, CREATOR OF HUNDREDS OF SUCCESSFUL TOYS including the Game of Life, was the first person to use soft plastic in toys in the 1960s. Previously toys were made of hard plastic which broke easily. Soft plastic made for toys that held up well, were inexpensive and could be molded into a myriad of shapes.
Reuben is to be honored for introducing soft plastic. The material helped generate the toy industry's rapid growth in the last half of the 20th century. I don't think, however, that Reuben or anyone else imagined that traditional materials would have been left by the wayside.
Prior to the invention of soft plastic, toys were largely made of metal and wood. They were heavier, as well as more expensive and challenging to manufacture. But they were also more durable. Kids played with the toys that older siblings and parents passed down.
Today in North America and parts of Europe, wooden toys are rare and metal ones are almost exotic. The notion of toys as durable has given way to toys as disposable.
But do the qualities that made plastic so viable still apply? Has the playing field changed while we in the toy industry were busy building our molds and extruding our toys?
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China & Plastic, A Perfect Match
The Chinese toy industry was in large part built on its ability to create plastic-based toys at incredibly low prices. It was able to accomplish this by leveraging a massive work force and low wages. However as the Chinese economy has become more robust, workers have begun to demand higher wages. This, plus increased costs for the resins from which plastic is made and a slow rise in the value of the Renminbi, has caused the production costs for plastic toys made in China to rise steadily.
If Not There, Where?
These factors, plus China's desire to move its focus from producing lower value goods, such as toys, to higher value goods, such as computers and cars, are leading many in the toy industry to talk about moving production elsewhere. What we as an industry are beginning to discover, however, is that there is simply no other country that has remotely the capacity or infrastructure that China has ... as long as we are making plastic toys.
Weaning to Wood?
Perhaps one answer may be: Don't just change the country of origin; change the material. By doing so, importers will be able to find countries that are ready to produce now.
For example, my client Wonderworld is the largest producer of wooden toys in Thailand. Through speaking to Wonderwood's founder and owner Suthichai Eamcharoenying, I have gotten a much stronger understanding of wooden toys, the country of Thailand and its stewardship of forests as a renewable source of raw materials.
Thailand is known for its rubber wood. It is grown on plantations, where the trees are tapped for 25 years for the latex used in making rubber. The trees used to be burned once the latex ran out. Today, they are instead used to make, among other things, toys. To make sure the supply never runs out, Wonderworld has a program called "Tree plus." For every tree cut down, one tree is replanted by the farmer and another by Wonderworld. From 2008 to 2011, Wonderworld planted more than 60,000 trees.
Back to the Future
Toys made from materials like rubber wood meet the criteria of consumers who care about the earth. And with the price of plastic rising to reduce the difference between it and wood, might it now be possible to again make at least some toys out of wood that have been made out of plastic for the last 50 years?
If so, the demand for resin would go down, as would the carbon footprint and the price of raw materials. Children would get the benefit of hands-on play with toys made from natural materials. And last but not least, families would again acquire toys that would last for generations.
The 21st century toy industry needs to take a step back and think hard about its over-dependence on plastic. The world needs high quality, affordable toys. Maybe they just don't always have to be made of plastic.
We would love your feedback!
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China's Growing Pains
Jul 25, 2011 -
Eco-Friendly Toys — How to Go Green
Jun 15, 2010 -
Thai toy sales could rise
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