“Great potential” for bioplastics in toy industry 

Toys made from plant-based plastics instead of crude oil were the centre of focus at the first edition of bio!TOY conference held 27-28 March 2019 in Nuremberg, Germany.
 
The event, organised by Bioplastics Magazine and German innovation consultancy Narocon, attracted major players from the entire value chain and covered topics ranging from technical and ecological issues to practical examples in the market.
 
According to the organisers, participants at the event agreed that “there is great development potential” for the materials in the toy industry.
 
Some 90 delegates, including representatives from brands such as Habermaaß, Mattel, Playmobil and Zapf Creation attended the conference.
 
Speakers and exhibitors from the bioplastics industry included DuPont, Hexpol, Neste and Total-Corbion, as well as compounders such as Tecnaro and FKuR.
 
In her presentation at the event, Nelleke van der Puil, vice president material Lego Group, said the Danish toymaker was “fully committed” to transitioning to the use of sustainably sourced biobased plastics.
 
The company, she added, already produces a number of sustainable elements from biobased PE derived from sugar cane.
 
Additionally, Braskem, Brazil’s leading chemicals supplier with a strong bio-based portfolio, is already considering the toy industry as a target group.
 
"We are experiencing strong demand," said Patrick Zimmermann of FKuR, a company whose product portfolio includes a bio-PE from Braskem.
 
"The bio-pioneers of the industry are role models," explains Michael Thielen, publisher of bioplastics Magazine, "they have attractive materials, good products - and convincing ideas. Although the ‘bio-toy’ industry is still in its infancy, experts are confident of its potential for development.”