Lego abandons effort to make oil-free bricks

(Reuters) – Danish Toymaker Lego has abandoned its effort to ditch oil-based plastics from its bricks after finding that its new material led to higher carbon emissions, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

Lego found that bricks made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET), would lead to higher carbon emissions.

“We tested hundreds and hundreds of materials. It’s just not been possible to find a material like that,” Lego Chief Executive Niels Christiansen told the Financial times.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the details of the FT report. Lego did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

Lego had earlier pledged to replace oil-based plastic bricks with ones made from sustainable materials by the end of the decade.

The company had kicked off efforts in 2020 to replace its plastic bricks by sustainable materials. The difficulty was to find a material that would be environment friendly but give the same color, shine and sound of an oil-based plastic bricks.