The demand for safe, sustainable toys is looking like the next green trend to hit to marketplace. This category has gown so much that mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart, Mattel and Wham-O are getting in the game. Bloomberg reported as bigger companies are backing toys made from natural or recycled materials, sales of green toys may reach $1 billion, or as much as 5 percent of toy sales in the next five years.
The green toy trend follows the environmentally friendly movement recently seen in household cleaning products and personal care products; and like those other categories, consumers are willing to pay more for the safer alternative. While Bloomberg noted green toys are still less than 1 percent of the market, the number of them showing up on store shelves is increasing. However, they added sales may be hampered by the higher prices in a bad economy.
At Wal-Mart, consumers have been increasingly purchasing Garanimals blocks and puzzles made with wood from renewable forests, as well as plush animals made from recycled plastic bottles. Amazon.com also said it has seen increased demand for eco-friendly toys, such as those made from bamboo and modeling dough made from rice flour and vegetable extracts. Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc. have plans to create more green toys and reduce the amount of packaging materials. Wham-O Inc. recently purchased Sprig Toys, which makes paint-free toys from reclaimed wood and recycled plastic, and uses kinetic energy instead of batteries to power the toys’ lights and sounds.