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Gibsons Games teams with One Tribe to protect Amazon Rainforest trees with every online order

Thu 20 Jan 2022 | 02:41 pm GMT
Rob Hutchins | Products of Change Writer

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Gibsons teams with One Tribe to protect Amazon Rainforest from deforestation

The UK games and puzzles manufacturer, Gibsons Games has made new moves in its sustainability journey this week, having partnered with the One Tribe platform to make a donation to protect five trees and 100 sqm of rainforest with every online order placed on its website. The move that turns transaction into climate action has been adopted by the toy company as just the latest effort to address the climate change crisis and help to protect the Amazon Rainforest from the deforestation that continues to destroy it. Gibsons Games decided to partner with the One Tribe platform when the team learned of the work the organisation carries out to not only protect the Amazonian rainforest, but biodiverse habitats, indigenous communities, and endangered species, too. Through the partnership, Gibsons aims to protect at least 350,000 trees this year alone. “This work is 76 times more impactful than planting a new tree,” Samantha Goodburn, marketing manager at Gibsons Games told Products of Change. “For example, planting one tree will qabsorb 53.1 kilos of carbon by 2030, but protecting 20 trees will absorb 3,900 kilos in the same time frame. It's such a vast difference and so important for the future of our planet.” Gibsons set out on its sustainability mission back in 2019 when it set its sights on reducing the level of single-use plastic within its puzzles. By the beginning of 2020, the team had removed the shrink wrap plastic that secured its puzzle boxes, and replaced it with bio-degradable stickers – saving over half a million metres of plastic per year. “In addition, we reduced the size of our puzzle boxes (a whole 29 per cent smaller on average) so that we take up less room when transporting our products and ultimately reduce our carbon footprint,” said Goodburn. The team also manufactures all of its jigsaw puzzles in the UK and Europe to decrease carbon emission in its supply chain. What’s next for Gibsons’ sustainability journey? The team has now declared that it aims to become carbon neutral by the end of 2022 with plans to open a new European warehouse to further reduce transportation and carbon emissions when supplying its European customers. Once this is established, the team will turn its attention to sourcing a replacement for the bag that holds the puzzle pieces inside the box – a move that will then make its puzzles 100 per cent recyclable. “This is a really difficult element to relace within our supply chain as it’s an integral part of the manufacturing process,” said Goodburn. “We’re hoping for a compostable or paper bag, and we will be sure to report back as we hot on the best solution.” The plastic bag currently in use can only be recycled by some councils and local supermarkets, and Gibsons urges its customers to enquire whether flexible plastic can be recycled in their local areas. “We are also working hard to manufacture our games in the UK or Europe to reduce carbon emissions,” said Goodburn. “Games like Out of Order and Quirk are completely plastic free and made in the UK, something we are really proud of. The next step is to roll this out with our larger games, such as 221b Baker Street. In the meantime, we are implementing a ‘no plane policy’, which means that we import all products by sea or road, keeping our carbon emissions at one tenth of what they would be if transported by air.” The puzzles specialist has based its latest sustainable developments on the huge influence that the toy industry has over the way children and families engage with sustainability, highlighting that it is the industry’s “responsibility to me a more sustainable one.” Goodburn continued: “In 2019, consumers spent £370 million on toys, many of which were packaged in single-use plastic and made from PVC which is notoriously difficult to recycle. But, small changes can make a big impact, such as opting for cardboard or paper inserts rather than plastic. “The conversation is happening, and it’s great to see many other companies starting to make a change. However there is still so much more we can do.”
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