by Vivian Nelson Melle

It was only a matter of time before toy companies came around to a green way of doing business. You can’t make a living off of a generation while dimming their future from environmental devastation. One toy company, Hasbro, has been named a 2011 Sector Leader by Climate Counts which is a non-profit organization rating corporations regarding their efforts to curb the climate crisis. By making sustainability a part of their business plan Hasbro is one company leading the way towards profitability while lowering the amount of harm done to the earth. Here are a few ways Hasbro is Greening the Toy Industry.

By 2013, Hasbro is looking to eliminate PVC from the packaging of its more than 2,000 products. This one step eliminates the more than 31 million tons of PVC packaging used for their popular toy lines which include the Transformers, My Little Pony, PlaySkool, and Play-Doh.

You know those wire and plastic ties that out-number the stars in the solar system? Well, Hasbro eliminated their use back in 2010. Instead the company uses ties made from paper rattan or bamboo mix. This is one way the company has chosen to reduce the use of PVC and the results is 34,000 miles less of wire ties polluting the earth. A picture reference would be those ties encompassing the earth with leftovers. A positive side effect is that the new version seems far easier to remove from packaging.

Back in 2010, Hasbro’s annual goal was at least 75 percent of their paper and board packaging to come from recycled material or sources practicing sustainable forest management. There next big goal is to increase that to 90 percent by 2015. Hasbro works with suppliers on this policy which has become part of its company-wide quality assurance procedure.

Life Cycle Management looks at the process of raw material usage form acquisition to the end of the product’s life. Hasbro is researching methods for handling these stages in a more ecologically-minded manner. The result could mean a reduction in the following: energy use, emissions, water, some chemicals and waste.

While not directly related to the environment, there does seem to be a correlation between companies practicing fair trade and working toward sustainable business practices. Hasbro is focusing its efforts so its company-owned and operated factories, third-party factories, and licensee factories practice fair and safe labor conditions.

Reprinted with permission from Green Living Ideas