Member News

Innovative Disney Smart Packaging Tool Now Available for All Association Members

The Toy Association, in partnership with Disney, is unveiling the Smart Packaging Tool – an exciting new member benefit that will allow toy companies to determine the environmental impact of their packaging designs, test alternatives, and benchmark the impact of their designs against those produced by the rest of the industry. The tool will be available to Toy Association members in the coming weeks.

In order to familiarize toy companies with the tool, The Toy Association is hosting a webinar on November 8 at 2 p.m. (Eastern) titled, “Understanding How to Use The Toy Association’s New Smart Packaging Tool.” Registration is now open for the webinar.

During the one-hour session, presenter Christian Del Maestro, corporate social responsibility (CSR) manager at Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products, will provide an overview of how to use the Smart Packaging Tool by demonstrating how to enter necessary inputs, how to “test-drive” alternatives, and how to ascertain the score of packaging designs relative to those of the same category across the rest of the industry. The webinar will also cover impacts of specific designs; material choices which may reduce impacts; and interpretation of the benchmark score. The session will be moderated by Alan Kaufman, senior vice president of technical affairs at The Toy Association.

“The easy-to-use tool will help member companies better assess the impact that product packaging design has on the environment, and will encourage companies to choose more eco-friendly options,” Kaufman said. “We were very excited to work with Disney to create the sustainable packaging tool and appreciate their guidance and input. We can’t wait for our members to try the tool out.”

All toy industry professionals are invited to participate in the session, however the tool hosted on the Association’s website is exclusively for Toy Association members. The session is recommended for packaging designers and engineers, product development personnel, and individuals responsible for sustainability, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs.

Webinars are free for Toy Association members and $49 for non-members. Contact Anne McConnell, The Toy Association’s senior director of market research and data strategy, with questions regarding this webinar. For more information on membership, contact Bernadette Boyle, senior membership manager.

Compliments of The Toy Association, Inc. a member of the EACCNY