This is a guest article written by Character Options Ltd.
Character Options Ltd is a trading subsidiary of The Character Group plc who have been designing, developing and distributing toys since 1991.
With the design of our recent range of wooden toys in progress, we took the decision to use FSC certified wood in line with our environmental goals and commitments.Reducing our environmental impact is high on the agenda at Character Options and changes within the supply chain are being made. Expectations from retailers, and consumers alike, are increasingly that of reducing carbon footprints.
Consumers are much more educated about their purchases in this current climate and seeking to make more ethical choices.The FSC logo is widely recognised by consumers around the world and by choosing FSC certified products means they are helping to take care of the world’s forests. They also have piece of mind that the wood has been harvested to benefit communities, wildlife and the environment.
Our first wooden range of toys is Peppa Pig themed and there are many play benefits from using wood as a material for toys. In terms of child developmental aspects, the figures and vehicles are designed for small hands, improves dexterity, encourages fine motor skills and develops hand-eye coordination.The wooden items have also proven to be highly durable that will stand up to robust play!
The family figures have ‘drop n play’ feet so they can be easily slotted into their wooden bench or any of wooden vehicles or playsets.
The vehicles include a train, boat, car and jet and the playsets include a family home and School house.We used NEPCon (new brand name ‘Preferred by Nature’) as our accredited certification body. They were extremely helpful at each stage and answered a whole array of queries we had thoroughly. Given that, like everyone, we have been through such a difficult period dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, our final FSC certification was greatly received a brought a smile to our faces that we’re doing some environmental “good”.
We now have multi-site certification which includes our Far East office and there are huge benefits gained from having the FSC certification in place such as meeting customer expectations and improving corporate social responsibility.
The process towards certification and staff training meant that the whole company were aware of the FSC’s principles, creating a full picture for everyone so that we’re all on board with our environmental goals.
There has been great feedback from both the customers and retailers on the Peppa Pig range and there are further brands of wooden toys in the pipeline so it’s proving to be an exciting venture!
Discover more work by Character Options Ltd here.