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Our Sustainability Journey

Find out more about the Schleich sustainability strategy

Toys for generations

Do you remember your first toy? Maybe it still exists and you passed it on to your own child - a gift as timeless as play itself. For nearly 90 years, durable Schleich figurines and playsets have been a staple of childhood. Whether it's a lion, a rabbit or a koala bear, millions of children around the world enjoy animal figurines that reflect nature in as much detail as possible. Passed down from generation to generation, they naturally contribute to sustainable play.

91% of people have never thrown away a Schleich figurine*. This means that 98% save their Schleich figurines! For example, families pass them on to other children, friends, neighbors or onto their grandchildren. Some might even donate them to charitable organizations.** This saves resources and protects the climate in a very natural way.

However, we would like to go one step further, because we believe we have a responsibility to contribute to a positive future for our children and our planet. For this reason, we have developed a comprehensive sustainability strategy. It makes our entire business model even more sustainable.

The pillars of our sustainability journey

Where are we today and where do we want to go?

  • Playful learning about nature and animals

    Children are natural storytellers. We support them with our detailed and authentic figurines and playsets that let their imaginations run wild. When they play, children take us on jungle safaris, North Pole expeditions and five o’clock tea with unicorns and dragons. They show us a world worth preserving. We support children in doing so: With our detailed and authentic figurines and playsets that give free rein to their imagination and teach them about our planet and its inhabitants. We invest in initiatives that use our products to expand children’s knowledge of nature and the animal world, and that nurture lifelong learning in support of sustainability. For example, we partner with American Montessori Society in the USA to support independent, engaged, and self-motivated learning by providing video lessons and content for teachers.

  • Sustainable toys for generations

    Our products are not just for today – they are for life. To ensure that schleich® figurines and playsets can be passed down from generation to generation, we use materials of the highest quality and adhere to the strictest safety requirements. However, this is not enough for us. We strive to use only sustainable materials in the future. As a first step, the majority of our figurines will be recyclable by the end of 2027. Also, we are working hard at finding recycled or bio-based material for the future production of our toys. In addition to that and to ensure that resources are reused over and over again, we are optimizing and certifying our figurines and packaging in accordance with the Cradle to Cradle® circular economy principles. This means, among other factors, that Schleich figurines are recycled without loss of material quality. To achieve this, we are collaborating very closely with the renowned consultancy institute and innovation partner EPEA GmbH.

  • Resource-saving operations for a healthy planet

    Our figurines need a place to play. And so do our children. We are committed to making a positive contribution to our planet’s protection, so our children and their children have healthy, vibrant spaces for their stories to unfold. We continually work to make our value chains more regional, tighten our transport routes, and minimize our carbon footprint. For example, as part of the Net Zero Carbon program from our sea fright provider Kühne + Nagel, we have reduced our sea freight CO₂ footprint by 1.000 tons per year (compared to 2019). Also, our site in Schwäbisch Gmünd will be equipped with a photovoltaic system in 2023.

  • The human being in focus

    People are at the center of our sustainability activities, so we prioritize safe and healthy working conditions at every point in our value chain – both for our own employees and the people who work in the supply chain of our figurines and playsets. We are part of the “ICTI Ethical Toy Program”, an internationally recognized certification program for ethical toy production. Health and safety training for our workforce, as along with diversity, equality and inclusion initiatives, are the cornerstones of Schleich.

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    Our Head of Sustainability

    „Sustainability is teamwork. We can only complete the journey to an even more sustainable organization all together as one team.” – Dr. Philipp Hummel

    For more sustainability in sea freight: Our journey with Kuehne+Nagel

    Together we are working to reduce our CO₂ footprint

    Find out more!

  • Certifications and awards

    "We are on the right track"

    Discover more

  • Questions and answers

    Find our answers to frequently asked questions here

    Discover more

  • Full circle: Cradle to Cradle®

    Schleich on the way to a circular economy

    Discover more

    • You have further questions or feedback about sustainability at Schleich?

    Then please contact our Consumer Service team.

    For press requests, please contact marketing@schleich-s.com.

    We look forward to hearing from you!

    * Own online survey with 1453 participants in February 2023
    ** Own online survey with 1327 participants in February 2023