Environmental Sustainability
Products and the Environment
Sustainable Packaging
Our Sustainable Packaging Guidelines (SPG) steer our designers and engineers to come up with the most environmentally responsible packaging possible. Its scope is comprehensive and includes: how to decrease product to packaging ratio; how to select materials; how to create reusable packaging; and sustainability documentation.
We have also designed and implemented an internal checklist, which our designers use to compare packaging systems. Environmental factors considered include the number of packaging layers, greenhouse (GHG) emissions associated with the packaging, and the type and weight of material used.
We have already made significant progress in reducing packaging related waste, including:
- Reducing the amount of adhesive taping on master cartons (used to ship our product)
- Reducing the size of master shipping cartons
- Specifying, where feasible, single-wall master carton construction, instead of double-walls
- Reducing the use of secondary tissue paper material
- Reducing window packaging (PVC) by changing to open and/or “try me” construction
- Increasing the percentage of recycled material and post-consumer waste in action figure cards
- Specifying 100 percent recycled material in medium-grade paper
- Specifying a minimum 98 percent post-consumer recycled content in Kraft grade paper.
While sourcing suitable packaging materials at the right price can present a challenge, we are seeking creative ways to further reduce the environmental impacts of our product packaging.
For example, we are aiming to enhance the overall recyclability of Hasbro’s packaging systems by researching opportunities for using recycling compatible adhesives.
In Australia, Hasbro is a signatory to the Australia Packaging Covenant (APC), a voluntary government and industry initiative working to reduce the environmental effects of packaging. Since 2008, we have pledged to publicly report against eight key performance indicators. These include how we are implementing sustainable guidelines for packaging design and procurement and our efforts to improve onsite recovery and recycling systems for used packaging.
Minimizing Packaging
In seeking to cut the amount of material used in our packaging, we have learned that small steps can make a big difference.
One example is the use of acetate covered wire ties, traditionally used to secure our toys. In 2009, we used approximately 34,000 miles of wire ties – more than enough to wrap around the circumference of the Earth. In 2010, we met our goal to eliminate the use of wire ties in packaging, replacing them with more environmentally sustainable ties made from paper rattan or bamboo mix.
We have also eliminated the plastic bags in which game instructions were wrapped, removing 800,000 pounds of material worldwide from our waste stream.
PLAY-DOH Can-do
Among our efforts to reinvent existing packaging designs and reduce waste on a large scale is an overhaul of the PLAY-DOH can design. Introduced globally in 2011, the new improved cans feature three sustainability innovations:
- Paperless labels – By printing directly on the can, we anticipate saving enough paper to keep over 1,800 trees standing.
- Tapered cans – A tapered edge allows consumers to more easily store and reuse the cans, while reducing plastic yield.
- Recycling education – To encourage consumer recycling we added the #5 recycle symbol to the cans and #4 to the lids. While not a new packaging design, our goal is to influence end of life behavior among consumers.
We also offer suggestions on ways to reuse PLAY-DOH cans here.
In 2010 we manufactured more 284 million cans of PLAY-DOH. With figures like that, small changes can have a big impact.
