Bags will be replaced with ones made from sustainably sourced paper.
The LEGO Group has revealed that it will phase out plastic retail bags in all LEGO Stores globally in 2020.
The move – which is part of the LEGO Group’s ambition to use 100% sustainable materials in its packaging by 2025 – will see all plastic retail bags replaced with ones made from sustainably sourced paper across the fleet of more than 500 stores.
The new paper bags will be introduced in stores once they have used up existing stocks of plastic retail bags to ensure no unnecessary waste is generated. The paper bags are made from 100% Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper and are fully recyclable.
The LEGO Group’s sustainable packaging ambition focuses on finding sustainable packaging alternatives by 2025 that are:
- Renewable: 100% of LEGO boxes, bags and special packaging are to be made from recycled or sustainably sourced renewable or recycled materials
- Efficient: exploring ways to optimise packaging, balancing consumer appeal with environmental action
- Recyclable: designing packaging that can be recycled by consumers
The LEGO Group has taken a number of steps so improve the sustainability of its packaging to date.
These include beginning to use recycled plastic in packaging ‘blisters’ (the transparent windows which allow consumers to have a sneak peek into some LEGO boxes); replacing plastic trays in advent calendars with recyclable paper-pulp trays, saving up to one million plastic trays from going into landfill; reducing the average size of a LEGO box by 14% over the past five years; and making sure that 75% of cardboard used to make LEGO boxes comes from recycled material.
Want to read more news like this? Simply sign up to our daily digest in the box below. You can also follow @LicensingSource on Twitter.
