LEGO's "Plastic-Free" Acceleration: Over Half of Packaging Lines Switch to Paper, Sustainable Packaging to Roll Out Globally by 2027

As toy giants worldwide scramble to find paths for their "green transition," the LEGO Group has handed in a substantial report card with its "over half of packaging lines switched to paper bags" progress update. Since announcing its plan to "phase out single-use plastic bags" in 2020, the company, which champions "rebuilding the world" brick by brick, has been visibly accelerating its sustainable packaging push.

The LEGO Group recently announced a key milestone: 56% of its packaging lines have now been converted, using paper bags from sustainably sourced materials to replace single-use plastic bags. This achievement not only marks a critical breakthrough in its environmental strategy but could also push the fast-forward button for "green packaging" across the toy industry.

🕰️ A Four-Year Journey: From Pledge to Action at LEGO Speed
LEGO's plastic-free packaging initiative began in 2020 when the company first set the goal to replace all its single-use plastic packaging with sustainable materials. In 2022, the first paper bag packaging debuted, taking the first concrete step from "concept" to "practice." Now, just four years later, the program has scaled up from "pilot" to "full implementation."

• Current Progress: 56% of packaging lines converted, with factories in China and Vietnam largely completed.

• Future Plan: Factories in the Czech Republic and Hungary will be fully upgraded by 2026, followed by the Mexico facility in 2027.

• Long-Term Goal: Achieve 100% plastic-free packaging lines across all global factories.

📊 Cracking the "Sustainability Code": Where Do the Paper Bags Come From?
The paper bags LEGO is adopting are far from ordinary cardboard boxes. Their materials and manufacturing process are rigorously selected to balance "eco-friendliness" with "practicality."

1. Traceable Materials: The bags are made from a mix of wood fiber from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), recycled materials, and other controlled sources. This "blended recipe" ensures paper strength while avoiding over-exploitation of virgin forests.

2. Technically Recyclable: Defined as "technically recyclable," the bag materials meet the processing standards of mainstream global recycling systems. Combined with the fact that 93% of LEGO's packaging (by weight) is already paper-based, the overall recyclability of its packaging is set to rise further.

3. Maintained Production Speed: To ensure the plastic-free shift doesn't hurt efficiency, LEGO is also optimizing packaging line speeds, aiming for the new paper bag machines to outperform the retired plastic ones.

With factories in China and Vietnam now largely converted, the focus shifts to completing the upgrades in the Czech Republic and Hungary by 2026, and finally in Mexico by 2027.

So, when you crack open a new LEGO set these days, what are you finding more of – paper bags or plastic bags? Share your thoughts in the comments!