Mattel is exploring a variety of new circular economy and business model innovations to extend the life of its products and keep materials in use for longer through resource recovery, the company’s lead engineer for quality and compliance, Elizabeth Eaves has told Products of Change.

The initiative is an extension of the work being carried out by the Mattel Playback programme which encourages families to send their well-loved toys back to Mattel where the team will repurpose and reuse materials recovered.

Mattel has also teased a raft of new ‘sustainable products’ to land across its brands in 2024, noting that the coming year will “likely see an evolution of the toy industry’s sustainability efforts driven by consumer demand, regulatory changes, and growing awareness of responsibility.”

“Companies will need to continue to adapt and innovate in response to these factors, striving to create toys that are not only entertaining but also align with the values of sustainability,” said Elizabeth.

“We are incredibly proud of the development and innovations we’ve been able to make so far on our journey. We’ve gone way beyond prototypes and have been able to bring first-of-a-kind products to market at scale, which makes it even more remarkable.”