Toy Industries Europe (TIE) each year hosts awards celebrating the toy companies pushing the industry forward in a more positive direction with the Play for Change Awards.

The TIE Play for Change Awards were held on Tuesday 18 November in Brussels. Unlike many industry awards, these don’t just celebrate the big hit toy creations or commercial successes, but rather how the toys further diversity and inclusion, life skills, and sustainability – the toys that are doing good, and the companies doing things differently and making positive change in the industry.

POC has been involved with TIE and the sustainability category of the awards for a number of years now, helping to build the framework and criteria for which the sustainability of the toys are judged, and with POC’s founder and CEO, Helena Mansell-Stopher also being part of the judging panel for the category.

Helena explained how when it first began, there were so many fewer companies meeting the sustainability criteria, but every year it has grown, and this year in particular saw a marked increase in the quality and commitment of the application, demonstrating the direction of travel for the industry. This was exemplified by the fact that the sustainability category had four winners, rather than the usual three (bronze, silver, gold).

Presenting the awards was Florian Hess, executive board member at Spielwarenmesse, and part of the sustainability judging panel.

Winning joint bronze was POC Member, Mattel, for its Matchbox Moving Parts line, a product we highlighted in the toy feature in the Spring/Summer 2025 POC magazine. Not only are the toys made from minimum 70% ISCC materials, but the packaging is especially innovative, completely eliminating plastic with a moulded fibre insert holding the toy in place and an open window so consumers can still view the toy, without the need for clear plastic. On receiving the awards, Albert Vallejo, director of government affairs at Mattel, commented that regardless of political trends, it is still important to have sustainability within their DNA.

The other bronze winner was D&R Denkriesen for its memory game educating children on coastal protection and wildlife preservation. This was an example of the diversification in the sustainability category of companies making toys that were in themselves sustainable – materials, packaging etc – vs toys that educated on the topic of sustainability – arguably just as important. D&R Denkriesen’s memory game was a great example of how children can learn about sustainability through play and the importance of looking after the world around them.

Silver went to Smoby Toys for its Mud Kitchen. Made from 90% recycled plastic, it also got kids outside, playing with nature and what they can find around them to make imaginative concoctions. It also impressed the judges with its high durability and safety standards.

Finally gold went to Playmobil for its junior product line made from 90% bio-based ISCC Plus certified plastic, as well as for the company’s broader stance on sustainability. It was exciting to see such a mainstream and popular toy company successfully implementing recycled material into their products – a challenging area in the toy world due to safety and performance requirements. But Playmobil proved it is indeed possible and are a forerunner in what we hope will be a growing trend of recycled plastic in toys.

The other two categories are also well worth highlighting – not least because the feature two more of our POC Members, but because social sustainability is nigh on just as important as environmental sustainability.

The diversity and inclusion category awards initiatives and toys that challenge outdated ‘norms’ of social status, ability, sex, race, or religion. This was introduced and presented by Tess Trabue, from Let Toys be Toys, a campaign working to raise awareness of and limit the unnecessary gendering of children’s toys.

The bronze award for this category went again to POC Member, Mattel, for the latest addition to its Barbie Fashionista line, featuring the iconic Barbie doll with a realistic depiction of severe visual impairments, including protective glasses and a cane.

Silver was awarded to Miniland for its Create Your Own Personalised Doll initiative, allowing children of all abilities and backgrounds to customise the doll to reflect them or their friends and families.

And gold saw another POC Member scoop up an awards, with the LEGO Group winning for its Hidden Sunflower Campaign, through creating figurines wearing the sunflower lanyards and for its internal community campaign, raising awareness of non-visible disabilities.

Finally, the life skills category was presented by Dr Amanda Gummer, founder of the Good Play Guide, partner of POC, and expert in child development. This category awards initiatives and toys that prepare children for tomorrow’s world. This category also saw an unusual four winners.

Joint bronze was awarded to Miniland for its Allies in Play product line, which counters bullying and enables children to process their emotions as they grow. The other part of the bronze went to KOSMOS for its robotic arm, immersing children in the world of engineering and construction.

The Silver award was given to Learning Resources for Cooper the STEM Robot, introducing children to coding and sequencing in an interactive way.

And finally the Gold award also went to Learning Resources for its Campfire Chatmallows, enabling children to develop their storytelling skills with family.

John Baulch, publisher of Toy World magazine and chair of the juries, discussed the hope and positivity that the Awards bring him. “Each year, I come away from these Awards feeling optimistic about the future. So many toy companies – small and large – do this work because they believe in the importance of play and the positive impact that it has on children, so it’s always hard to come to a decision. This year’s winners reflect the very best of the toy industry in their support for inclusion, sustainability and learning.”