Registration for the first ever Play For Change Awards closed last week with an impressive number of entries, despite the difficult circumstances toy manufacturers are having to deal with these days.
We are now eagerly waiting for all the samples to arrive, so that they can pass a toy safety assessment and check of IP rights before the judges will be able to start their work.
We are delighted to have received so many diverse and exciting entries from 10 different countries stretching over three continents. The UK was the country with the most entries, closely followed by Italy. It is fantastic to see so many inspiring, constructive initiatives from very different sized companies, the smallest having just three employees. 81% of the entrants are non-TIE members and this is a great way to get to know them better.
Looking at the three categories: Sustainability was the most popular category with 43% of all entries. Future Skills came in second with 32% and Empowerment scored 23%.
We’re very excited for the next steps: for judging to commence so we will be able to share these wonderful entries with some experts in the different fields. All the entries are a great way to show how the toy industry is going the ‘extra mile’, not just ensuring kids can play but ensuring the societal and environmental challenges faced by those kids as they grow up are also tackled.
