SUSTAINABILITY & TOYS A WINNING
COMBINATION FOR YOUNG
MINDS
Upcycler ’ s Lab had its genesis a few years ago while Amishi Parasrampuria , Founder , Upcycler ’ s Lab , was working on a project on using plastic waste to make plastic bricks , which were eventually used to build public structures . To accomplish this , they challenged over 1,500 students to fill plastic bottles with plastic waste and create eco-bricks . Working on this project , made Amishi realize that children are great changemakers and can change not only their own behaviour but also of those around them such as parents and other adults in their lives . That ’ s when she had her a-ha moment , when she realized that in order to create longer-term sustainable change , they need to create an army of young changemakers who understand the problem and who will be directly impacted by the effects of climate change in the years ahead .
That ’ s when she met her co-founder Manav , who was at the time in the fashion industry . Manav had seen first-hand how polluting the fashion industry was , how much waste it created , and how over-consumption , on the resources and waste side , was further contributing to this problem . Manav also wanted to do something in the sustainability space and that ’ s when they joined hands to create their company " Upcycler ' s Lab ". The Kids India team had an opportunity to interact with them , here are some excerpts of the interview .
Brief about sustainable toys in Indian Industry past present and future
Generally , in India products that create awareness about sustainability are quite rare . Board games have not yet really emerged as an industry in our country because Indian customers usually prefer larger reputed international brands or inexpensive products . That has made it quite difficult for original Indian board gaming companies to break through in this space . Also , educational learning games focused on sustainability have been few and far between .
On the other hand , India as a nation has been a manufacturing powerhouse with vast experience & tradition in handcrafted materials . Several traditional sustainable materials are used in the production of board games . For instance , there is a big area near Bengaluru , Karnataka where sustainable wooden toys are made .
In the future , we expect that with different educational systems such as International boards and Montessori gaining popularity in India , there will surely be more demand for games around sustainability and climate change with the conversation around these topics getting bigger by the day .
Page 18 | Kids India E-Magazine - March 2022