How We Saved Our Clients 2 Million Dollars with 3D Printing

the Toy Industry and its Environmental and Financial Impact
The online toy industry generated approximately $27 billion in 2021. However, there is a significant problem with this industry: between 10 and 30 percent of all toys go unsold, resulting in the waste of millions of dollars and pounds of plastic. In this article, we will explore the reasons behind this issue and how 3D printing can be used to help fix this problem.
2021: The Waste in the Toy Industry

• Approximately 15% of all toys go unsold, resulting in a loss of $2.5 billion and adding 290 million pounds of plastic back into the environment.
  
• The overproduction of toys is due to the inability to have empty shelves in retail and the slow and cumbersome nature of the supply chain process.
  
• The current process of manufacturing toys is not reactive and takes several weeks or months, which results in overproduction to avoid stock shortages.
  

The Solution: 3D Printing

• 3D printing can solve the problem of overproduction by allowing for the production of parts on demand at scale.
  
• The production of a single fidget spinner, which can be used as an average for the size of a toy, can be completed in less than four hours using 3D printing.
  
• 1.6 million 3D printers are needed to produce all the toys that consumers want each year, which is a feasible number given that there are currently 700,000 production businesses in the United States alone.
  

In conclusion, the toy industry generates significant waste, both financially and environmentally. The use of 3D printing can help reduce this waste by allowing for the production of parts on demand at scale, which will ultimately result in a more sustainable and efficient toy industry.