From August 28 to 31, 2025, INTERNATIONAL TOKYO TOY SHOW 2025 was held at Tokyo Big Sight, a major event where toy manufacturers from Japan and abroad showcase a wide variety of toys. TOMY also exhibited a large-scale booth. Among the highlights, we would like to introduce the TOMY Group Sustainability Booth, which was expanded to three times its size compared to last year. We spoke with Takashi Ishimoto, who produced the whole booth, and Katsuyuki Abe, who was responsible for creating one of the event’s highlight exhibits, the PLARAIL ECO Selection Set, to reflect on the event and share insights on the present and future of the TOMY Group’s sustainability initiatives.
Takashi Ishimoto
CI Promotion Group, Sustainability Promotion Division,
Joined TOMY in 1997, Takashi Ishimoto was involved in the planning and development of character toys such as BEYBLADE and B-Daman. After serving as Head of the Technical Development Division, he assumed his current position. He also serves as sub-leader of the Eco-Design Subcommittee within the Environmental Task Force, which explores alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, playing a leading role in promoting the sustainability of TOMY Group’s toys.
Katsuyuki Abe
Technical Development Group, Production Strategy Division, Production Strategy
Joined TOMY in 2004, Katsuyuki Abe has overseen toy design and prototyping. In recent years, he has also served as sub-leader of the Eco-Design Subcommittee, conducting research on alternative materials for products and packaging, including TOMICA and PLARAIL. He is a specialist in environmentally conscious materials, working with a wide range of resources from recycled materials to shell-derived biomass materials.
A Platform to Showcase Our Commitment
At this year’s INTERNATIONAL TOKYO TOY SHOW, TOMY expanded the scale of its sustainability exhibition space to roughly three times that of last year. Could you tell us about the background and the process behind this expansion?
Ishimoto:
There are many opportunities, such as toy trade shows and business fairs, to showcase the products themselves, but very few occasions where a company can demonstrate our stance and vision. The INTERNATIONAL TOKYO TOY SHOW, the largest annual event in the toy industry, provides exactly that stage. In recent years, there has been a growing societal momentum toward emphasizing sustainability, and against this backdrop, we decided to expand our exhibition space to three times that of last year. From the perspective of the Sustainability Promotion Division, we have so many initiatives we want to introduce that this expansion was very welcome.
What is the theme and concept of this year’s exhibition?
Ishimoto:
With the theme “Learn about TOMY Group Sustainability Through Asobi,” we prepared a series of quizzes about our sustainability initiatives, creating an exhibition where visitors can enjoy learning through Asobi. Thanks to this approach, approximately 2,000 visitors experienced the Sustainability Booth during the first two business days (for industry professionals), and about 3,000 visitors came during the following two public days (open to the general public). On the public days in particular, the booth was so popular that queues of up to one hour formed at certain times.
What aspects did you focus on in designing the exhibition and creating the exhibition space?
Ishimoto:
We wanted the exhibition to offer visitors more than just a chance to see or play — we hoped it could provide opportunities to reflect on universal design and eco-consciousness. Simply learning that, for example, “people with visual impairments play this way” or “toy materials can be made from cacao husks” could have a positive impact on someone’s life and introduce perspectives they hadn’t encountered before. With this in mind, we carefully prepared the exhibition.
A Sneak Peek at the Near Future!?
PLARAIL Set Made with Alternatives to Petroleum-Based Plastics
Among the wide variety of exhibits, including accessible-design toys and eco toys, the diorama of the PLARAIL ECO Selection Set attracted the most attention.
Ishimoto:
To showcase the results of our verification of alternative plastics, we first exhibited a PLARAIL diorama made with eco-friendly materials at last year’s Toy Show. Afterward, the company president personally gave us the mission of seeing if we could create an exhibition with a view toward commercialization for the following year. Based on the set contents of an existing product—the PLARAIL Best Selection Set (released in 2024)—we decided to develop a prototype in which the materials used were replaced with environmentally conscious alternatives as much as possible. This prototype became the PLARAIL ECO Selection Set, which was exhibited this month.
Abe:
The diorama we exhibited previously used materials that were difficult to commercialize due to safety and quality concerns. This time, however, we employed alternative materials that can meet the same stringent safety and quality standards as our real products. We also created a dedicated package, aiming for a level of quality that would make it perfectly suitable for being sold on shelves.
What specific types of environmentally conscious materials did you use?
Abe:
For the vehicle bodies, we used a resin blended with cacao husks—the outer shells of cacao beans generated during chocolate production. Despite incorporating this material, the parts passed safety tests without cracking or breaking, and we were also able to apply paint as usual. For the rails, we adopted a resin that contains rice husks and coconut shells.
Ishimoto:
From the outset, we wanted to use alternative materials that would make a strong impression for the vehicles and rails, both iconic elements of PLARAIL. With that aim, we adopted upcycled materials that repurpose resources which previously had no option but to be discarded.
Abe:
For some of the scenery parts, we used a biomass material derived from sugarcane, utilizing the inedible portions that cannot be consumed. However, even these various environmentally conscious materials come with certain limitations and challenges.
What do you mean by that?
Abe:
The biggest challenge is strength. Since these toys are meant for children to play with, they must meet stringent safety standards before they can be released to the market. Some of the scenery parts we created this time use environmentally conscious materials at a 100% ratio, which means they do not fully satisfy those safety standards yet. It is essential to adjust the material blend so that we can achieve parts that ensure both safety and quality.
Another issue is the cost, which remains relatively high. As we move toward potential commercialization, we will need to continue carefully examining the balance between safety and cost.
Another issue is the cost, which remains relatively high. As we move toward potential commercialization, we will need to continue carefully examining the balance between safety and cost.
Creating a package this time made it look even more like an actual product.
It appears that the design follows the original PLARAIL Best Selection Set (released in 2024).
Abe:
In fact, the way the items are packed is completely different. Plastics are used not only in the toys themselves but also extensively in packaging materials. In our current product packaging, the train cars—and even the instruction manual—are placed in clear plastic bags, and rubber bands and cardboard inserts are used frequently to keep the parts in place.
However, for this project, we took a bold approach and eliminated all of those elements—no plastic bags, no rubber bands, and no stabilizing cardboard.
However, for this project, we took a bold approach and eliminated all of those elements—no plastic bags, no rubber bands, and no stabilizing cardboard.
All of these materials were originally used to protect the products, so is it really not an issue to eliminate them entirely?
Abe:
We conducted drop tests and tensile tests under the assumption that the products would be placed on store shelves, and even with packaging that completely eliminates plastics, we found no major issues. Of course, that does not mean we can implement it as-is—further study and verification are still required.
That said, because this approach reduces both the amount of packaging material and the labor involved, we believe it has strong potential to be adopted for actual products as a relatively feasible environmental initiative.
That said, because this approach reduces both the amount of packaging material and the labor involved, we believe it has strong potential to be adopted for actual products as a relatively feasible environmental initiative.
By the way, if the PLARAIL ECO Selection Set were to be sold, how much do you think it would cost?
Ishimoto:
Based on the current specifications, we estimate the price would be about 1.5 times that of the existing product. For this exhibition, we focused on using alternative materials with strong impact, and since this was also a challenge undertaken with potential commercialization in mind, we deliberately used a high proportion of these materials. If we were to commercialize it for real, we would need to find a better balance point by carefully considering both safety and cost.
Abe:
At this point, there are no plans to sell the “PLARAIL ECO Selection Set,” but taking on this challenge has made both the positive takeaways—“this part worked well”—and the areas needing improvement much clearer. Through this experience, we hope to actively apply any insights that can be fed back into our current products.
The mission of PLARAIL and the future of its sustainability efforts
Ishimoto:
PLARAIL was first released in 1959 as a toy made from plastic, the cutting-edge material of that era, at a time when toys were still commonly made from wood or tinplate. Not coincidentally, the name itself includes “Pla,” a clear reference to plastic. This made our recent initiative even more compelling: what if a brand so closely associated with plastic could evolve by reducing its reliance on it?
Abe:
As you know, plastic has since become an indispensable material in toy manufacturing. From the perspective of developing and producing products, it is a highly versatile material—offering great strength, allowing for a wide variety of molding possibilities, and enabling both free coloration and transparency.
Ishimoto:
As environmental awareness continues to grow, the need to explore new, sustainable materials for toys has become increasingly important. Given PLARAIL’s history of embracing the most advanced materials of its time, we believe it should once again lead the way—this time by pioneering alternatives to plastic. Our vision is for PLARAIL to take on a symbolic role in driving this change, reflecting both innovation and responsibility for the future.
Finally, could you share with us the response you received at this year’s INTERNATIONAL TOKYO TOY SHOW, as well as your outlook on the future of sustainability initiatives within the TOMY Group?
Abe:
On the day of the event, we invited the material manufacturers who had supported the “PLARAIL ECO Selection Set” project and showed them the finished product. None of them were originally involved in toy production, so seeing their own materials and research take shape as an actual toy made them genuinely happy. That left a strong impression on me.
If the creators—including myself—can feel this delighted, then surely our customers will be happy too. With that belief, we want to continue exploring every possibility for environmentally conscious products.
If the creators—including myself—can feel this delighted, then surely our customers will be happy too. With that belief, we want to continue exploring every possibility for environmentally conscious products.
Ishimoto:
At this year’s INTERNATIONAL TOKYO TOY SHOW, I felt that there were fewer manufacturers featuring sustainability or SDGs compared with previous years. As the TOMY Group, however, we firmly believe that these efforts contribute to solving social issues. Going forward, we will continue not only to pursue eco-friendly materials, but also to explore forms of play that leave no one behind—such as accessible-design toys that children with visual or hearing impairments can enjoy. Through play, we hope to help create a better society.
From rare, real toy exhibits to quizzes that let you touch, play, and learn—this year’s Sustainability Booth was packed with visitors every day. Here, we’ve selected five featured contents from the booth to introduce to you!
35th Anniversary!
Try Out Accessible-Design Toys
Visitors were able to experience the unique features of accessible-design toys—features we might normally overlook—through a quiz-style activity.
Eco Toy Quiz!
What Happens When Toy Packaging
Is Made of Paper?
At the booth, we showcased our classic eco toys such as the Eco Rails, which use recycled plastic, as well as TOMICA and Pokémon MONCOLLÉ (Monster Collection) whose packaging has been switched to paper.
And the answer was… an astonishing amount equivalent to 20 Asian elephants—a total of 80 tons!
Sustainability Signs Reborn from Toys
That Have Reached the End of Their Life
Even Fans Will Be Amazed!
Eco PLARAIL Has Come This Far
Answer All Questions
Correctly and Win a Gacha!
Take Home Exclusive Sustainability Prizes!
A Collection of Stories
