Schleich wants to make their figures biodegradable.

Hello everyone!

Schleich posted a post on their Instagram saying they want to make their figures biodegradable in 2027.
I don't know how biodegradable plastics works exactly, but the point is the figures will degrade over time when exposed to certain elements (water, bacteria, etc).

Is this something good? For the environment it is, but will the quality drop? Any opinions or insight are more then welcome!

This is a very interesting subject. I also would love to know more about it.
This is unavoidable and soon or later all brands will follow the same path.
Other industries are already working on it for some time. Thus, I believe Schleich will only move to biodegradable materials if they're sure the durability of the models is not compromised. I aplaud this initiative as long as the figures aren't produced only to survive for a short time a kid uses it. If it happens, their collectability will get ruined.
I want also to mention that Bullyland have worked on it for a long time trying several eco-friendly materials. They use pvc free material and if not completely biodegradable, most of it is.

It's an interesting question! I think in the very long run it may be good news for the environment.

In a shorter time, it seems like the main benefit of it would be for the toy company itself. Let's be honest, no one really throws away Schleich toys. Usually, they get second, third, and fourth owners over the years (being given away for free or sold). Or end up stuck in our collections for a few decades.
So in a way, the second-hand market is "stealing" the company's potential income. The second-hand models are often cheaper too and still can be great for playing with.

If a model decomposes after a few years it disappears from the market so eventually maybe more kids will buy a new product instead of a used one.

For long-time collectors it's also not the best news, we typically want to keep the models much longer than a kid would. It may be harder to keep the figures intact if they are purposefully made of compostable material. Think of controlling humidity or sun exposure wherever you display your collection.
I think Schleich would make a more responsible decision if they limited the number of boxed sets and any plastic packaging. That's the stuff people actually throw away immediately and it ends up in a landfill.

In the long term though replacing ALL plastic with biodegradable options is a great thing for the planet. We're littering the ocean and not only, for way too long. It's the highest time to change it. So without thinking from a collector or parent's budget perspective, I would say that is very good news.

Most plastics also degrade, though I suppose they usually aren't biodegradable. It affects several animal models such as the early Britains made of polythene that sometimes become very brittle over time and Starlux and Clairet models made of cellulose acetate that can decompose.

It will all depend on the exact material that the Schleich models are going to be made of. It won't be great if they decompose automatically like many plastic bags do or if they degrade in humid conditions. The problem is that we may not know until 10, 20 or more years later.

As Ana already says, biodegradability is a great for things that we want to degrade like packaging, but not so great for things that we want to keep for a long time.

I believe this is another bizarre idea of the collapsing western civilisation, like electromobility for example. There are crazy "green" ideas coming out that, while technically feasible, don't work economically and often can't even technically offset the benefits of the older technologies they are trying to replace.

Biodegradable plastics make sense for everyday items (e.g. packaging, drink cups, etc.) but not for things that should be durable. When I was young, animal figurines were mostly made of plaster (Masse), were very fragile, and only a few from my childhood have lasted undamaged despite all my care. The fundamental advantage of plastic as a new material was its endurance and longevity...

But what can we expect today when chocolate companies are proud of lower cocoa content in their products, milk producers of lower milk fat and lemonade brands of lower sugar

That is the biggest bullxxxx what i ever heard. Biodegradable plastic lives not very long, so their figures become disposable items, throw away in a few months and NOT consistent. But it fits with the stupid green climate sect in germany.

Long living items are the best for the environment. Machines, cars, planes, clothes, furniture, domestic appliances and more. But this sounds like planned obsolescence. Good for profit, but not environment friedly.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Right. Biodegradable plastic is only good for bags and packagings. In my childhood, i played with VEB Plaho toys and these were very durable.

I think we have to read carefully what Schleich states. Here is the text they posted:

"Schleich products are not just for today - they are for life.
As a first step, by the end of 2027, all Schleich figurines will be recyclable or biodegradable."

Tupolew Tu-154 wrote:

That is the biggest bullxxxx what i ever heard. Biodegradable plastic lives not very long, so their figures become disposable items, throw away in a few months and NOT consistent. But it fits with the stupid green climate sect in germany.

Wow, I didn't expect this topic to turn political?

Ana wrote:

I think Schleich would make a more responsible decision if they limited the number of boxed sets and any plastic packaging. That's the stuff people actually throw away immediately and it ends up in a landfill.

This! It's not the items themselves which are wasteful, cos we keep those, or pass them on - it's all the packaging which comes with them. Even if you buy your figures from a shop shelf, with only the little leg tag to throw away, that animal will have been packed in a plastic bag which the shop staff have thrown away on your behalf. And they'll have come in a bulk box, too, maybe with those plastic bubble things or padding sheets or polystyrene pellets.
A lot of shops do recycle their card (flattening boxes was one of my jobs when I worked in retail, every bit of tape taken off!), then the rubbish collectors keep it separate and sell it on by bulk weight when they come to dispose of it themselves. But unless the shops are doing a serious and deliberate eco-friendly-retail concept, all that plastic is being collected with general waste and going to landfill.

Mail order does put more of the recycling effort onto the customer rather than the retailer, usually we get sent the bits of plastic, and getting rid of it properly depends on how our local recycling's done - and whether we bother or not. Sadly, a lot of people still don't seem to care or make the effort, so biodegradable eco-friendly materials would be a lot more effective than recyclable ones for reducing permanent waste .

Several companies I've bought from have been using recycled boxes - not bought-in brand new ones made from recycled card, but the actual shipping box they received deliveries in, one of them even wrote a little cheerful note saying 'good things come in re-used boxes', and that's the kind of thing environmentally conscious customers like to see. Would I decide to buy based on 'it'll be coming in a recycled box, without plastic packing?' Not if somewhere else sold the item a lot cheaper, but if it was roughly the same price then yes, I'd go with that shop again by choice. Same as I'm put off companies which ship using Amazon - I don't like giving any money whatsoever to that company, even indirectly, so I'd rather buy from someone who uses the normal postal service, or a different courier, if I can possibly get them for a good price elsewhere. More people are starting to make choices based on ethics as well as just price, and companies would do well to take advantage of that!

So while making the figures recyclable or biodegradable seems rather an empty gesture (or even a bit of a marketing gimmick, if you want to take it cynically), it would be brilliant if they could do something significant about the packaging instead.

NightLioness wrote:

the point is the figures will degrade over time when exposed to certain elements (water, bacteria, etc). 

This part specifically is concerning for me because i sometimes put my schleich animals in water and stuff for photos 

I hope thet will not be degradable in a short time! I imagine the sorrow of a child or a collector to see a toy degrating in front of his/her eyes without being able to do anything about it! No. It is not a good idea. Imagine if ancient egyptian artefacts would have been biodegradable... We would not be able to study them at all. Biodegradation is good for packages, yes; but for pieces of collection, it is not a good idea.

Dear Sts Friends:

Hey, just because Schleich is making their figures differently, well, does this mean they will be poorer quality? For me, at least, this whole biodegradable thing doesn't sound good. Does it sound ominous to you too? Or is it just me, sort of reconsidering things? Well, if someone sees the figures for next year, let me know what they look like, okay? Because I definitely don't want them looking cheaply made. I mean, I know quality when I see it. Quality, at least in toy format, equals stuff by AAA or other stuff by Schleich, especially the older ones. You see what I'm trying to say, right? Also, I know it's a little too early to ask, but have we got any news for Schleich 2024 yet? Just wondering.

Aschuck

Sustainable not only means that the plastics have to be degradable, it also means longevity, among other things. Schleich should be very careful, main stream can quickly lead to loss of quality.

Dear Sts Friends:

Hi again, hey, I was just wondering, if Schleich wants to make their figures biodegradable, then does that mean that the figures themselves will start ... you know ... going bad after a year? In other words, how long do we collectors have before these new schleich figures start falling apart? If the length of time is, say, a hundred years, then I myself would say there's not much to worry about yet. After all, one important point of any collector's collection, is that you want your figures to last over the years. Right? Right? So, how do we keep on collecting Schleich figures if we don't know their "life span"? Anyway, I know I'm probably over thinking all this, but what can I do? You see, Schleich is one of those brands that I'll probably collect for years. So you see my dilemma, right? Anyway, if anyone has any information or comments concerning this whole biodegradable thing, please post them here.

Aschuck

aschuck wrote:

Dear Sts Friends:

Hi again, hey, I was just wondering, if Schleich wants to make their figures biodegradable, then does that mean that the figures themselves will start ... you know ... going bad after a year? In other words, how long do we collectors have before these new schleich figures start falling apart? If the length of time is, say, a hundred years, then I myself would say there's not much to worry about yet. After all, one important point of any collector's collection, is that you want your figures to last over the years. Right? Right? So, how do we keep on collecting Schleich figures if we don't know their "life span"? Anyway, I know I'm probably over thinking all this, but what can I do? You see, Schleich is one of those brands that I'll probably collect for years. So you see my dilemma, right? Anyway, if anyone has any information or comments concerning this whole biodegradable thing, please post them here.

Aschuck

Well for biodegradeable plastic bags, they need contact with earth and water and living organisms to degrade. I hope its the same here. Those bags are 3-6 months in contact with nature to degrade.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Schleich's website has some more information. They say that "As a first step, the majority of our figurines will be recyclable by the end of 2027." I assume this means that they will not yet be biodegradable by 2027.

They are still developing biodegradable material: "We are currently working with partners and suppliers such as BASF and EPEA GmbH to develop a material that is compatible with the Cradle to Cradle principle we are striving for. It is our goal that all our products will be recycled, biobased, recyclable or biodegradable by 2030." This statement is a bit vague and leaves open the possibility that the figurines will be recyclable by 2030 rather than biodegradable. Only the packaging may be biodegradable.

They also talk about sustainable materials for their figurines rather than degradable materials: "For us, sustainable materials means that we use sustainable plastics for our figurines and playsets, and that we make our packaging from sustainable materials, for example cardboard from sustainable forestry."

Based on what Schleich say, it is clear that most of their figurines will become recyclable in the next few years, but I don't see an unambiguous statement that they will be biodegradable soon. In any case, Schleich say that "The quality, feel and look of our products are not affected by the use of more sustainable materials."