Plastics

The toy industry is one of the biggest consumers of plastics globally. While many toys can be re-used, this does not happen at scale. Most toys end up in landfills where their breakdown leads to chemicals released into the ground and air, along with microplastic contamination.

Textiles

Textiles can be made from natural resources obtained from plants and animals, plus synthetic sources such as oil. If proper environmental protection protocols or due diligence is not applied, all raw material sources have significant ecological, social, and governance issues. The supply chain for these raw materials is often opaque and challenging to understand and manage.

Electronics

The creation of electronic devices typically involves significant quantities of commodity materials, including metals such as lead, copper, mercury, plastics and other casing components. The Blacksmith Institute has flagged the mining of raw materials such as these as some of the most polluting industries on earth.

According to reports from the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE). The electronics industry will generate 120 million tonnes of e-waste by 2050, adding to the challenges to the sustainability of the electronics industry.