Plush friends go eco The Puppet Company and its sister company Wilberry Toys have dived headfirst into creating eco-friendly product, with three ranges produced in the past few months - and there are more new launches planned…
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n the past few years, The Puppet Company and its sister company Wilberry Toys has rightly focused on pushing more eco-friendly ranges of puppets and soft toys into its offerings. The launch of the Eco Walking Puppets late last year (made from 100% recycled plastics) was a huge success, and the company says it had to reorder these quicker than any other range. They also made the finals for Gift of the Year, an accreditation that the Puppet Company is still very proud to have achieved.
This July sees the eagerly-anticipated Wilberry Eco Cuddlies landing in the UK, each made from seven recycled plastic bottles. Wilberry Toys is anticipating that these will complement the Wilberry brand just as well as the Walking Puppets did for The Puppet Company, and has already placed another order before the first container has even arrived! The ever-popular Puppet Buddies range is also getting revamped to be produced out of the eco material - and will launch A/W this year. This means that three eco-friendly ranges have been launched in a very short time frame, making the initial movement to becoming as eco and sustainable as possible, a real success! The Puppet Company and its sister company Wilberry Toys will be working with its partners to move more ranges across to eco-friendlier materials and reduce its carbon footprint, which means looking at packaging, going plastic free where possible and creating POS that is sustainably resourced. Thanks to these new ranges achieving great sales results in a short amount of time, the companies have been looking at new and innovative ranges and products. They have recently employed
“Due to the success of the small versions, we could not be happier with how traditional and eye-catching these larger sizes [of Wilberry Knitted Dinosaurs] are, with many retailers placing forward orders to secure their stock back in February at Spring Fair!’’ Sam Lockey, Sales Director a very talented designer with extensive experience in toys and the film industry, so future new product innovation is already very much well under way. Sales director Sam Lockey says: “Due to the success of the small versions, we could not be happier with how traditional and eye-catching these larger sizes are, with many retailers placing forward orders to secure their stock back in February at Spring Fair!’’ The development of new products is critical in helping retailers offer fresh new items in store and provide great sales opportunities and the companies are confident that the ideas they have will add significant value to any retailer.
Another huge launch this year are the new Medium and Large Wilberry Knitted Dinosaurs (launching August). Sam adds: “Our core ranges are still as popular as ever, with Sockettes and Finger puppets being best sellers along with our Wilberry Minis - which recently introduced more than 15 new designs - being a key range for us. “What other plans do we have? We have some very exciting plans, which we will reveal at Autumn Fair - In particular, is our adorable ‘My First Christmas’ Puppet collection, which includes Father Christmas, Mrs Christmas, an Elf, Reindeer, Gingerbread Man, Penguin, Polar Bear and Snowman. This set is suitable from birth, machine washable and a great first puppet for any child. We are really excited about this range, which should be available just in time for those crucial Christmas sales. “Looking ahead to 2023, many new ideas will come into production and we are excited to show the world once again, why we are global leaders for puppets!’’
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