Home > Guidance > Environmental

BTHA Guidance

Environmental

Promoting environmental sustainability is a core part of our work at the BTHA. Our members make an annual commitment to reduce their environmental impact across product and packaging design, production and distribution wherever possible. To help our members achieve environmental best practice we provide comprehensive guidance and advice across a variety of environmental issues.

Getting to grips with sustainability

We want to help all businesses, large and small, to reduce any negative environmental impacts of their business. To do this we have created four new guides produced exclusively for BTHA members by environmental design consultants Beyondly. These practical guides outline best practice and design considerations for both sustainable toy packaging, and toy product design and reuse.

BTHA Sustainable Design Guides *NEW*

Sustainable Packaging Design Guide
Quick Tips for Sustainable Packaging
Circular Product Design Guide
Quick Tips for Circular Product Design

Sustainability in Toys

We recognise the need for toy manufacturers to work to reduce their environmental impact. Our members are committed to having a positive impact on the planet and show this ongoing commitment through initiatives to reduce waste by recycling and reusing, but also to build more sustainable materials into packaging and products.

Sustainability in Toys

We commissioned a study in 2012 to investigate the levels of toy and hobby packaging. Approximately 0.7% of retail packaging that enters the home comes from toy and hobby products and it is estimated that 90% of toy packaging could be recycled, of which 72-73% presently is. Toy packaging has a critical function as primarily it is there to protect toys and ensure that children have undamaged, safe toys to play with when they receive them. Toy packaging must also carry important safety information, a legal requirement of all EU toy companies.

When we look into the impact of toys on the environment, we also look into the life of a toy. Toys are a relatively unique consumer good as they are often reused, passed on or stored away compared to other product categories due to their considerable emotional and sentimental value. A study we undertook in 2012 to understand this behaviour showed that 70% of people pass toys on when they finish playing with them, with 62% giving them to family or friends, and 39% giving them to a charity. We found that the main barrier to passing on toys was people not knowing how to pass them on safely.

An updated study we undertook in 2019 suggested that 75% of people now passed on toys to family and friends when they finished playing with them, 64% gave them to charity (particularly among middle aged parents with more than one child) and 32% now sold them online (compared to 21% in 2012). Parents were more likely to pass on toys so that other children could enjoy them and to clear space. As in 2012, parents said they would pass on more toys if there was easy access to places that accepted them, if toys were more durable and if they had more information about where and how to pass on toys safely.

Extending the life of toys through reuse enables toys to circulate for longer which has a positive impact on the environment. To help consumers pass on more toys, we have created our top tips to help consumers pass toys on safely.

Top tips when passing on reused toys

Top tips on receiving reused toys

European Sustainability Requirements

Toy companies have to comply with various sustainability directives and regulations in the European Union. The requirements cover issues such as sourcing sustainable materials, as well as producer responsibility obligations for preparing batteries, electrical and electronic goods for recycling and reuse. We have produced a number of guidance documents to help our members understand and comply with these regulations.

Sustainability Directives

French requirements

BTHA French Triman Guide

UK Sustainability Requirements

In addition to European regulations, there are a number of UK-only requirements which toy companies have to comply with. Rather than product and packaging, these rules cover companies’ energy use. We have produced a number of guidance documents to help our members understand and comply with these regulations.

UK Sustainability requirements

BTHA Guide to WEEE Regulations

BTHA Guide to Greenwashing

Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (ESOS)

Comply Direct Guide - ESOS Phase 2

Comply Direct Guide - Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) Fact Sheet

Comply Direct Guide - Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) Service Options

Greenhouse Gas Reporting

Packaging

The UK government is phasing in the implementation of the Packaging Waste: Extended Producer Responsibility regulations. Under the new regulations, UK organisations will be responsible for the full cost of managing packaging waste. If you are in scope, you must start taking steps to comply from 1 January 2023.

Packaging

In the UK, there are several packaging regulations that affect toy companies. These are covered in law by:

Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulation
Producer Responsibility (Packaging Waste) Regulation
Plastic Packaging Tax

The regulations governing the recycling and recovery of used packaging is being radically revised, and through the Environment Bill, the government is introducing Extended Producer Responsibility Schemes in 2023. This includes making producers responsible for the full net cost of managing packaging once it becomes waste, setting more ambitious targets for producers, and introducing clear and consistent labelling for recyclability. These changes will have an impact on the choice of packaging systems used for goods, and on the costs imposed on producers and importers.

The BTHA is involved in representing our members’ interests to government and provides support and guidance to help members comply with changing regulation.