Old Rubber Trees Reborn as Toys for Children

Bandai Co., a leading Japanese toymaker, has launched 10 types of "Recolo" wooden toy since February 25, 2006. The toys are made in collaboration with Plan Creations Co., a Thai toymaker known by the brand name PlanToys. The toymaker recycles rubber trees that have outlived their usefulness after yielding latex for about 25 years, making them into high-quality toys. "Recolo" is a coinage of "Re" as in Renew or Recycle meaning reproduction and "Eco" of Ecology meaning the preservation of the environment. The concept of these products is to nurture the healthy development of children.

Having won many awards for the PlanToys series, including the "German Design Prize" and the "Red Dot Design Award Germany," Plan Creations is in charge of production taking advantage of its experience as an environmentally friendly wooden toymaker, while Bandai takes responsibility for planning and sales using its accumulated know-how in character merchandising. With its unique technology, Plan Creations preserves and processes rubber wood without any the use of preservatives and insecticides.

The first releases from the Recolo line consist of 10 toys featuring the amusing worldview of the popular cartoon series "Soreike! Anpanman!" ("Go! Anpanman!" in English). Anpanman is a children's superhero character, and topped the list of favorite characters among children for the fourth consecutive year in surveys conducted by Bandai. These toys are geared towards children aged 18 months to 3 years, with a sales target of 40,000 units per year.

http://www.plantoys.com/

Posted: 2006/05/12 12:37:22 PM
Japanese version