Challenging Toy Tat
On 10th October 2021 Big Dreams Little Footprints created a ‘Tree of Tat’ at the St Andrews Botanic Garden as part of their ‘Our World, Your Message’ Day, to raise awareness of the impacts of the climate crisis and the actions we need to take. We are all drowning in plastic tat, some of which adorned one of the Botanic Garden’s beautiful trees with never-go-away children’s plastic items (toys, games, crafts, sunglasses, stationery, sand buckets, drinks bottles, wellies…) - those that offer no educational value, break easily (and can’t be fixed), or entertain for a matter of minutes before sitting in landfill for hundreds of years. Thank you to all those who contributed to the Tree of Tat. I hope to resurrect it in Autumn 2022.
We have had several thought-provoking discussions under the ‘tree of tat’ over the last few weeks. Seeing all these plastic toys and ‘craft’ pieces alongside the bare beauty of the tree really provoked a range of emotions in us all; guilt, sadness, anger and hope. As a family we will continue to endeavour to reduce our plastic waste in all aspects of our home and lives. The Tree was such an emotive concept that has made us all reflect and want to improve.
Ted, 8 and his Mum
“Great work!”
When toys fail to deliver they disappoint children, leave grown-ups out of pocket, and pollute our world (wallowing in landfill or when burned in an incinerator).
“I ordered a soft toy for my son and it ripped on Christmas Day within hours. I stitched it back up and then it ripped in other spots. My son is so sad and is too scared to cuddle it anymore.”
On an ongoing basis, Big Dreams Little Footprints is trying to document the scale and range of easily-broken, low quality and under-performing toys that children get given - be that at Christmas, for birthdays or as a treat. When you realise that it's not just '1 or 2' toys in your own house that have failed to deliver, but that others have had the same experiences too (often with the same items), you know that the businesses concerned need to be challenged. And it might just persuade us not to buy (or accept when given for free) those cheaper plastic toys that never last long. Do get in touch if you are unhappy with any of the toys in your home.
At Christmas (2020) I received more than 450 complaints - sometimes about the same item - some of which are pictured below.
“It just stopped working after 5 minutes of play. I Googled it to see if I could fix it and most reviews for it all said the same”.
Is the price too good to be true? Probably. Don't buy it.
Always read reviews before making a purchase. Higher price tags don't necessarily mean good quality.
If you’re unhappy with an item, write a review that others can benefit from. It’s also important to write good reviews where applicable.
Give the company your feedback even if you don't have a receipt, the item was bought by a relative, you've already binned the toy, or you made the purchase months ago.
Buy less: encourage your child to lend/borrow toys with friends. Otherwise, buy second-hand toys (Ebay, Preloved, Facebook Marketplace, Shpock, Gumtree, Oxfam, Secondwow.).
Tell me about your experiences. Take pictures if you can. Get in touch: info@bigdreamslittlefootprints.org
“Cheap cr*p… we keep buying it, they keep making it to that standard… we’re the fools.”
