Under the new label MOOP [which stands for Made of Ocean Plastic] Big Potato has created a new brand to champion the use of recycled ocean plastic across the toy and games industry.
In collaboration with Waste2Wear, it took the London-based game publisher more than 16 months of R&D to get their first product ready for market. The initial batch is already sold out, with a full-scale release planned for S/S22.
Big Potato founder Dean Tempest said: “Recycled ocean plastic costs more to produce than virgin plastic due to the labour and recycling steps involved. But we are determined to make a positive environmental impact, even if the costs are higher. So, we worked with Waste2Wear to create the world’s first playing cards made from recycled ocean plastic. We’re over the moon with the final product; it’s such great quality. And it’s really nice to make something useful out of all those millions of plastic bottles floating around in the sea causing chaos.â€
The first product is a waterproof, tearproof and durable set of premium playing cards made from 100% recycled plastic – 30% of which is recycled ocean plastic, the equivalent of two and a half plastic bottles. Printed in each pack of cards is a QR code which, when scanned, shows where in the world the ocean plastic in that exact pack was collected.
Big Potato has ambitious plans for MOOP and is keen to collaborate with any toy and game company or retailer who want to incorporate Waste2Wear’s recycled ocean plastic into their products. For the past two years Big Potato has been on a sustainability drive across the business. By the end of 2021 more than 60% of its games will be plastic-free, and the company is now planting a tree for every game sold through its website.
Dean added: “We are by no means perfect, but we are proud of the efforts we’ve made so far to lessen our impact on the planet. And with MOOP, we’re going one step further and actively removing discarded waste from the ocean – turning something harmful into something playful, useful and long-lasting.â€
Click on this link for more details about MOOP.
