The Toy Project
Our Mission
We aim to encourage the reuse of toys for a better planet and a better society
The World Desperately Needs Change
As Americans, we have a bad habit of throwing away our toys. Although children in America only make up about 4% of the population of children in the world, they end up tossing about 40% of the world's toys into the garbage.
Despite this, there are still thousands of children in America who go without any toys at all. In 2018, 16.2% of all children (11.9 million kids) were impoverished—that’s almost 1 in every 6 children. While some children have an innumerable amount of toys, other children have none.
In addition to this, climate change is another growing threat. One that is perpetuated by the mass production of waste. Millions of toys are designed and assembled every year with an intent of bringing joy to a child. However, a child's interest wanes quickly, and these discarded toys are thrown out, making their way to a landfill.
The Toy Project helps combat both of these problems by creating a center for donation and redistribution; children in need gain access to toys while families gain a place to donate their children's toys after they have lost interest in them.
Waste
In 2019, the global toy market exceeded USD 90 billion, which appears as beneficial towards the economy, but not all of these toys live a long life. About 80% of all toys in the U.S. toy industry end up in landfills, incinerators and our oceans each year. This is mostly due to the fact that children lose interest in their toys in an average of six months, some losing interest within an hour of playing with them. Without an intervention, this cycle of throwing out toys and then mass producing them will continue. By donating your toys to The Toy Project as opposed to throwing them out, you help halt this perpetual cycle and in turn help the future of the planet.
Pictured to the left: A portion of the 4,000 toys we have saved from being thrown out being distributed to families.
Poverty
The United States Census designed this infographic to show just how serious poverty is. In California the poverty rate is around 10%. In other words, 1 in 10 people live impoverished. This said, many families can't afford to buy their children toys even though they may want to.
However, through The Toy Project, we work to repurpose toys by giving them to children who wouldn't normally receive them and inherently supporting these families.