Defining greener, healthier and more sustainable toys: A case study of L.O.L. Surprise!

This study aims at reflecting on the potential risks of plastic toys for children's health and the environment, from an interdisciplinary approach. At the same time, it aims at contributing with a definition of greener, healthier and more sustainable toys that offer opportunities and alternatives to promote educational, humane, ecological, safer, and healthier play, designed to be benign or free from material or immaterial risks. This is achieved by adopting the main characteristics of Sustainable Chemistry and Critical Education and through the case study of the “L.O.L. Surprise! doll and its plastic world”. The study critically examines the L.O.L. Surprise! doll, encapsulated in layers of plastic and heavily marketed, and shows how its design and promotion are in stark contrast to the principles of greener, healthier and more sustainable toys.