Are wooden toys killing planet?
Well are they? Are wooden toys killing the planet?
Are too many wooden toys produced? Are enough old wooden toys recycled? Can wooden toys be recycled? Do people actually care?
I have always brought wooden toys whether it be for family or friends. There is something charming and quaint about wooden toys which is why I like to give them as presents. Children love them, parents know you have spent a bit longer choosing them, but until now I have never really stopped to think as to whether my liking of wooden toys is having a negative effect on the planet?
Does a simple product like a wooden toy have a negative effect on the planet – simple answer – YES, here’s how, in a very simplistic form.
Stage 1 – Fell tree (Needs cutting equipment)
Stage 2 – Transport tree (Needs transport, oil)
Stage 3 – Process tree (needs machinery)
Stage 4 – Processed timber shipped to toy manufacturer
Stage 5 – Manufacturing process begins
Stage 6 – Packaging applied
Stage 7 – Shipped to distribution centre
Stage 8 – Shipped to retailer
Stage 9 – Purchased by consumer
Stage 10 – Packaging discarded
Stage 11 – In the rubbish bin
Now we all know there are going to be a lot more wasteful processes when producing a wooden toy, but as you can imagine the periphery requirements from these 11 stages would be an enormous amount of resource – For just one wooden toy.
So are wooden toys killing the planet? You tell me?
Written by EcoGirl on June 24th, 2008 with
1 comment.
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#1. October 11th, 2008, at 3:57 AM.
I think I completely disagree. By the same argument, you could claim virtually everything is killing the planet, but it just wouldn’t be true. Toys are an integral part of childhood, and stopping short of not giving your children toys, giving them wooden toys is probably one of the safer things to do. Examining your list, few of the points are actually referring to the toy being wooden- plastic toys go through a very similar process. The only difference is, a discarded wooden toy is still a natural product that will, over time, break down and be re-absorbed (or in rare cases petrified). If you want to go the extreme route, you can always make the toys yourself and save the shipping damage, but in the end, the manufacturing of wooden toys is not a significant cause of global destruction. Focusing on something this trivial takes away much needed attention to the things that are actually causing significant damage.