The Toy Association Statement on Packaging / Environmental Sustainability

Sustainability

Though toys comprise less than 1 percent of the typical household waste stream, there is an industry-wide understanding that everyone has a role to play in support of sustainability.

For nearly 30 years, The Toy Association has worked with its toy company members to strengthen the industry’s commitment to environmental protection. These companies work toward improving the environmental sustainability of their products and activities, including, among other efforts, reducing packaging and increasing the use of recycled / biomaterials and renewable energy sources in production —all while continuing to provide safe, quality merchandise that meets strict standards for safety as well as customer and consumer needs.

Recognizing that caring for our environment is a shared responsibility, The Toy Association also supports public education and community efforts related to responsible recycling. We encourage the leveraging of existing recycling infrastructures and curbside collection of recyclable components and packaging, as these are the most efficient means for addressing consumer waste, allowing packaging to be re-used in the production of other products. We also support efforts to create new partnerships and opportunities for innovative products and packaging that can be reused or used for new product raw materials.

Toy Packaging

The toy industry has been working for some time to reduce packaging; however, it should be noted that packaging plays a vital role in assuring that a toy reaches the consumer in the same form that it left quality control at a manufacturing site.

Tamper-resistant packaging ensures that a product is not lost, broken, or damaged during shipping and display, and that small items or those that have multiple components are received in their intended state and are operational and safe upon purchase. A toy package’s primary purpose is to protect the product from damage in transit and thereby avoid creating an unintended hazard to a child.

Packaging also helps mitigate counterfeiting and theft and often conveys critical consumer information ― such as age grading, warning labels, and other important safety and usage instructions ― which are required by law to ensure child safety. Mandates to reduce toy packaging or deselect certain materials must consider overarching safety requirements for children’s products, including the placement of vital safety information and preserving the integrity of the product.

This statement was reaffirmed by The Toy Association in October 2025.