Mattel, Inc. has announced the expansion of its Mattel PlayBack programme to now include Fisher-Price toys. Fisher-Price joins Barbie, MEGA, and Matchbox brands in the toy takeback initiative, which enables families to extend the life of their Mattel toys once they are finished playing with them.
The new programme is designed to recover and reuse materials from old Mattel toys in future Mattel products and keep materials out of landfill, and supports the company’s goal to achieve 100% recycled, recyclable, or bio-based plastic materials in its products and packaging by 2030.
“The Mattel PlayBack programme has been eagerly received by consumers and has provided tremendous learning specific to the durability and disassembly of our products, which will aid in the future design of products made for the circular economy,” says Pamela Gill-Alabaster, SVP Global Head of Sustainability and Social Impact, Mattel. “We are also exploring new technologies in plastic processing and recycling, with our longer-term goal to use materials collected through Mattel PlayBack in future toy production.”
Launched in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. in 2021, the company celebrates the successful one-year anniversary of the Mattel PlayBack programme, which will now include non-electronic Fisher-Price toys including Laugh & Learn, Little People, Imaginext brands, and more. The inclusion of the number-one Infant, Toddler and Preschool property globally extends the programme’s benefits to even more consumers than ever before.
“At Fisher-Price, we design toys to be loved, cherished and passed on from one generation to the next. The Mattel PlayBack programme, aimed at repurposing these materials into new products and helping the environment, now provides parents and caregivers the opportunity to give these beloved Fisher-Price toys a new lease on life,” says Chuck Scothon, SVP and GM of Fisher-Price Infant and Preschool.
To participate in the Mattel PlayBack programme, consumers can visit Mattel.com/PlayBack, print a free shipping label, and pack and mail their outgrown Mattel toys back to Mattel. The toys collected will be sorted and separated by material type and responsibly processed and recycled. For materials that cannot be repurposed as recycled content into new toys, Mattel will either downcycle those materials into other plastic products or convert them from waste to energy.
The Mattel PlayBack programme supports Mattel’s product stewardship and circular design principles, and the expansion of the programme adds to a growing list of product launches and corporate initiatives that ladder up to Mattel’s ESG strategy and goals and support the company’s aim to contribute to a more diverse, equitable, inclusive and sustainable future.
Visit mattel.com to learn more about Mattel’s sustainability goals or visit the Mattel PlayBack website to learn more about the programme.