Older stuffed animals from grandparents' time were made from natural and biodegradable materials like cotton, wool, fur and felt on the outside and natural fibers like rags, wood shavings or kapok for stuffing. These toys would decompose over time without harming the environment. Today's plush toys, in contrast, break sustainability rules by being made almost entirely from polyester derived from non-renewable oil that does not degrade and pollutes the environment. Synthetic polyfill is also increasingly used for stuffing instead of natural materials.

1. TODAY
PAST
Though terms like "sustainability" and
"biodegradability" were not even in our
grandparents' lexicon, their stuffed animals
were made of all-natural materials. The
outsides were cotton, sheepskin, fur or felt, and
the insides anything from chopped-up rags to
wood shavings to kapok fiber. And when their
loving owners had outgrown them, these toys
obligingly turned to dust, or decomposed
organically back into the Earth. No harm, no
foul.
Today's plush toys, in contrast, break all the
rules about sustainability. Almost all are made
100% from polyester, which in turn comes
from non-biodegradable, unsustainable,
polluting oil. As with most elements of stuffed
animal production, synthetic fibers and
materials, such as polyfill, are increasingly
common in stuffing used for toys.
OUTER
COVERING
STUFFING
OUTER
COVERING
All-natural
materials
Synthetic fibre
STUFFINGCutton
Felt
Did you
ever notice?
Chopped-up rags
Polyfill
polyester
Plain fiber