Protecting the environment, protecting the earth, and green and sustainable development are becoming global trends. Both developed countries in Europe and the United States and developing countries represented by China are constantly tightening environmental protection policies and calling on manufacturing companies to use environmentally friendly materials. In the toy industry, plastic is the most commonly used raw material. Plastic materials are used in infant toys, remote control cars, dolls, building blocks, blind box dolls, etc. There is still a certain gap between the plastic materials commonly used in the industry and future environmental protection policy requirements.
China’s toy industry is constantly changing and progressing in the use of plastic materials, but it still needs to comply with the general trend of sustainability and environmental protection and plan the application of new materials in advance.
General plastics are widely used
The most commonly used plastics in the toy industry are ABS, PP, PVC, PE, etc. Plastics such as ABS and PP are all petrochemical synthetic polymer plastics and are general-purpose plastic materials.” Even for general-level plastics, the materials produced by different equipment will be different. Two basic requirements for toy materials,the first is environmental protection,which is the red line of the industry; the second is various physical tests,including the impact performance of the material must be very high to ensure that it will not rot or break when dropped on the ground, to ensure the longevity of the toy and when children play security.
Personal needs gradually increase
To make a plastic toy,a toy company requires a 30% increase in strength and a 20% increase in toughness. Ordinary materials cannot achieve these properties.
On the basis of ordinary materials, their properties are improved so that the materials can meet the requirements of the enterprise. This kind of material that changes properties is called modified material, and it is also a form of personalized customized materials, which can greatly enhance the product competitiveness of toy companies.
Pay attention to changes and keep up with trends
More than ten years ago,due to imperfect environmental regulations and supervision, the use of plastic materials in the toy industry was relatively unregulated.By 2024, the use of plastic materials in the toy industry has become relatively mature and relatively standardized. However, the overall use of materials can only be said to be step-by-step, and it is not enough in the pursuit of higher quality and higher added value.
First of all, the current market is changing, even revolutionary; the consumer demands faced by toy products are also changing. Secondly, laws and regulations are also changing. Today’s laws and regulations are more complete and tend to protect consumers, which requires the materials used to keep pace with the times and be more progressive and innovative. “In order to protect the earth and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, Europe has taken the lead in launching a call for the use of sustainable materials, including recycled materials, bio-based materials, etc. These will be a major material change in the toy industry in the next 3-5 years. Popular.
Many companies have reported that the performance of new materials cannot completely replace old materials, which is the main factor that restricts them from changing materials. In this case, sustainable development and reduction of carbon emissions are global trends and are irreversible. If a company cannot keep up with the general trend from the material side, it can only make changes on the product side, that is, by designing new products to adapt to new materials. “Companies either need to change on the material side or on the product side. There is always a port that needs to change to adapt to the trend of environmental protection.”
Industry changes are gradual
Whether it is materials with better performance or environmentally friendly materials, they will face the practical problem of being higher in price than general-purpose plastics, which means that the company’s costs will increase. Price is relative, quality is absolute. Better materials can improve the quality of toy companies’ products and increase the added value of their products, making their products more competitive and marketable.
Environmentally friendly materials are certainly expensive. For example, recycled materials may be twice as expensive as ordinary plastic materials. However, in Europe, products that do not use sustainable materials are subject to carbon tax, and each country has different carbon tax standards and prices, ranging from tens of euros to hundreds of euros per ton. Companies can earn carbon credits if they sell products made from sustainable materials, and carbon credits can be traded. From this perspective, toy companies will ultimately benefit.
Currently, toy companies are already cooperating with universities, research institutes, and technology companies to develop new environmentally friendly materials. As AI becomes more and more mature, there may be more intelligent terminal devices in the future, which requires the development of new materials that are more visual, more interface-friendly, and more bio-aware. The speed of social change in the future will be very fast, and it will get faster and faster. The toy industry should also prepare in advance to adapt to changes in the market and consumer demand.
Post time: Mar-28-2024
