Key Initiatives
The TOMY Group seeks to ensure environment-conscious manufacturing in various processes such as designing and materials selection for products and packaging.
Educating Children: Eco Toy Activities
Eco-friendly Toys: 100 Years to Play! Creating a Sustainable Society
Toys are vital for the healthy growth of children, our future leaders. TOMY designs environment-conscious toys to encourage children to learn about the environment and take part in environmental action.
Our Eco Toy activities are inspired by our 100 Years to Play! initiative, with the aim of nurturing environmental awareness among children and securing our planet for future generations.
Eco Toy Standards
The TOMY Group designates toys as Eco Toys only if they fulfill the Group’s environmental standards set for each stage of the product lifecycle.
Our Eco Toy standards are determined based on advice from the Green Purchasing Network (GPN) secretariat and managed by our Eco-Toy Committee, comprising TOMY Group specialist personnel in safety and quality, production technology, and the environment.
Our PLARAIL Eco Straight Rail and Eco Curved Rail, which we started selling in 2012, are two of our certified Eco Toys. As toys in which plastic comprises 50% or more of the total weight, and 40% or more of that plastic weight is recycled plastic*, the Eco Straight Rail and Eco Curved Rail were the first toys to receive a certified Eco Mark. We have since applied the same principles in the development of TOMICA Parking Case 24.
* “Recycled plastic” means plastic materials that were collected either from post-consumer plastic products or from plastic materials discarded during the product manufacturing process, and then recycled. (Plastic materials reused within the same manufacturing process are not considered recycled plastic.)
Resource-saving, Weight-reducing Designs
We are developing ingenious product designs that save resources by using a reduced number of parts and less plastic, while keeping the fun aspects very much intact.
For example, we repeatedly revised the sound mechanism and the way balls were ejected for our First Steps in English: Disney & Disney Pixar Characters Talking GACHA educational toy for babies to reduce the volume of plastic used and the number of internal components, without compromising the toy’s attractive appearance or fun play experience.
Initiatives to Validate the Use of Alternative Plastics in Products
At the TOMY Sustainability Booth at the Tokyo Toy Show 2025, we exhibited a PLARAIL diorama made with eco-materials, showcasing the validation results of our ongoing alternative plastic initiatives. The train bodies used resin blended with cacao bean husks, the rails used resin blended with rice husks and coconut shells, and some scenery parts used sugarcane-derived biomass materials. In addition, using biomass ink for painting and making packaging plastic-free demonstrated our commitment to reducing the environmental footprint across the entire product.
Although these initiatives are currently in the verification stage, we will continue our evaluations toward achieving sustainable manufacturing with a view to utilizing them in future product development.
Eco-Conscious Packaging
PVC-free
We strive to use non-polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging materials to minimize the impact on the environment when the waste packaging is incinerated.
Easy-to-Remove, Easy-to-Sort Packaging
We have started using staple guns instead of bands to fix our Transformers and other products into their packaging. The staples can be easily cut and removed at home with scissors.
Simplifying Packaging to Reduce Plastic Use
We are reducing the use of disposable plastic by eliminating the plastic (PET material) used in packaging for some products in a way that does not detract from the appeal of the product.
Using Forest Certified Paper for Packaging
The TOMY Group is expanding its product lineup using forest certified paper for packaging, including for TOMICA, PLARAIL, and LICCA. Forest certified paper is paper made from raw materials such as wood produced from properly managed certified forests, or recycled paper certified by a third party. Choosing certified paper leads to environmental conservation, such as the protection of forest resources, and the effective use of paper resources.
Packaging Initiatives for the TOMICA Series
In TOMICA, our flagship die-cast vehicle brand, as part of our efforts to reduce packaging plastics, we have eliminated plastic blister packaging for individual TOMICA products, transitioning entirely to paper box packaging.
The switch is being implemented for new products shipped from mid-April 2025, leading to a reduction in the use of single-use plastics.
Resource-Saving GACHA Capsules
For GACHA capsules (sold by T-ARTS), we are reducing plastic consumption by downsizing the capsules to better match the product size. Additionally, we have developed new lightweight capsules (mesh capsules) starting in 2024 that reduce the amount of plastic resin used even in large capsules, and we have begun introducing them to the market from 2026. Currently, we are expanding the range of products adopting these capsules in phases.
In addition, we are promoting various initiatives, such as selling “capsule-less products” that incorporate a capsule as part of the product design so that capsules would not be discarded as waste.
Changing TOMIX Packaging Materials
We have started using forest certified paper for the packaging and instruction manuals for TOMIX* introductory sets (sold by TOMY TEC (In Japanese)), which contain carriages, rails and power units, and printed them with ink made from plant-derived resources. In addition, we replaced some of the plastic blister packaging used to wrap individual parts with more environmentally friendly paper packaging, which in turn enabled us to satisfy customer demand for bulk buying by switching two-rail packs to four-rail packs.
FY2024 & FY2025 Results
FY2024- Development of the new lightweight capsule “mesh capsule”
- Promoted the switch to forest certified paper for product packaging
- Standardized the packaging of individual TOMICA products into paper box packages
- Launched new, environmentally friendly mesh capsules for GACHA products
- Promoted the switch to forest certified paper for product packaging
