Issue 04/2016

Toys
Toys are not child’s play
And there is no better way to experience this first hand than with visiting
a toy fair and being overwhelmed by the abundance of ideas, innovations
and markets presented there.
At these fairs you often find a green corner, packed with
wooden toys. Unfortunately the love for educational toys and
natural materials, that eco-conscious parents often have, is not
always shared with the offspring, who rather prefers the shiny
plastic stuff. Biobased plastics could help to bridge the gap
here, but the reasons for their application in the field of
toys are as diverse as are the resulting products.
Wooden toys have a very long history and wood
still is the go to for toy designers when putting
emphasis on sustainability. It is very durable and
can handle rough jobs but of course there are
limitations, for example when it comes to flexibility or
water contact. Biobased plastics can soften the boundaries
and open the way for these applications too, while maintaining the renewable
platform.
A charming example for an innovative and young toy company is Tic Toys
(Leipzig, Germany), from the beginning concentrating on the use of wood and
paper. They started out reinventing classic games and toys, always with a
new touch to it. For a new sporty field game, inspired by a hoop game from
the 17 th century, they were searching for the right material for the ring. It
should be tough enough to get back to its ring shape even after a sharp hit
onto a concrete floor and of course: be biobased. Together with TECNARO
(Ilsfeld, Germany) an ARBOBLEND ® grade was chosen and since 2013
their Tualoop ® is on the market, with a growing fan base. It can be played in
variations like field game, golf or throwing targets and is recommended for
children from the age of 6 but soon became a fun sport for adults, too.
A different field in the realm of toys is pioneered by the young company
Boxine (Düsseldorf, Germany), digital innovators revolutionizing the concept of
radio play. Steered by microchips and enabled through WiFi and the cloud, little
figurines – the Tonies ® – trigger a little radio cube – the toniebox ® – to reveal
audio content, which can be custom made or readily purchased together
with the figurines. This concept opens doors to many new possibilities
that are still being explored. But this is not only a digital revolution – to put
the cherry on the cake Boxine starts to make figurines from Arboblend
bioplastics.
Children can really put their environment to the test. For products
especially designed for children, like toys, material engineers and quality
managers have to anticipate, model and standardize these tests. Apart
from the European children’s toys directive EN 71 there is a multitude of
quality standards to be met, specific to the kind of toy.
Toy bricks also started out as wooden toys, later being replaced by
injection moulded alternatives (already with a short period where
bioplastics were used) steadily improving quality and becoming the
interlocking bricks now so common. The newly launched LUCKYS ®
Natural Bricks (by EckPack from Darmstadt, Germany) are made
from a novel biobased Arboblend grade specially designed as an
equal alternative to ABS. Once again it is young, innovative and agile
companies leading the way (back) to the future. MT
www.tecnaro.de | www.tictoys.de
www.tonies.de | www.luckys4kids.com
30 bioplastics MAGAZINE [04/16] Vol. 11