Skye’s petition to ban magazine plastic toys!
This young eco-hero is fighting to tackle plastic in publishing…
10-year-old Skye Neville from Fairbourne, Wales, is campaigning to stop plastic toy freebies being sold with children’s magazines.
Skye loves reading her favourite kids’ magazines, but hates that they come at a cost to the environment due to the free, often non-recyclable plastic toys on the front.
Many of these magazine toys – known as ‘covermounts’ – are thrown away, ending up in landfill. Some also have a large carbon footprint because they’re produced in China. This makes them cheaper to make, but means they’re transported huge distances to get them to the UK.
All in all, the tiny toys aren’t good for our planet – and Skye has had enough of them.
Do you want to be a changemaker, like Skye? Join the Dirt Is Good Academy – an exciting new website for kids who want to make a difference in the world!
Plastic petition!
Skye knew she had to take action against the “pointless plastic toys” that flood through her letterbox each month…
So, taking inspiration from two young girls – who succeeded in petitioning McDonald’s to remove plastic toys from its Happy Meals – Skye decided to launch a petition of her own. Her petition asks publishers to ban plastic toys on comics and magazines. After all, if McDonald’s can do the right thing, Skye thought, why can’t publishers?
“I just want the magazine”, Skye writes on her petition page. “I don’t want or need the cheap plastic toys which are either played with for a few minutes, or break on the first use and are thrown away.”
Instead, Skye wants magazines to offer sustainable and ethical gifts – or no gifts at all.
Her petition has already received over 3,500 signatures, and she’s hoping to get many more. Even more excitingly, publishers and news companies are already taking notice of Skye’s campaign. In February 2021, Skye’s campaign was featured in her local newspaper, and she’s now been written about by national publications, like the BBC!
Creating change
On the 23rd of March 2021, Waitrose announced its decision to no longer sell children’s magazines containing disposable plastic toys. Magazine publishers have eight weeks to change their ways – or face being banned from the supermarket’s shelves.
This decision was directly inspired by Skye’s stand against plastic – what an amazing result!
What is Nat Geo Kids doing?
Here at Nat Geo Kids HQ, we’ve been working hard to clean up our act for some time now. We’ll be honest with you, becoming green isn’t always easy, and the challenges are harder in some countries than in others, but we’re not going to let that stop us!
Over the past two years, we’ve made big changes to our UK and Ireland editions. We’ve switched the plastic bags our magazines used to come in for paper envelopes. We’re switching our free gifts to plastic-free (including plastic-free packaging), and soon these will be made of paper or card.
Plus, we’ve moved the production of our free gifts to the UK. This means that all our items are produced locally, supporting UK businesses, and don’t need to be shipped overseas to get here!
We’re hoping to make these important changes to our magazines in Australia and New Zealand soon, too. Plus, we’ve still got a little further to go before we’re completely plastic-free. For example, we still use a strip of sticky tape to attach gifts to the front of our magazines in shops. We’re searching for an eco-alternative and we’ll update you as soon as we have one!
Every voice matters!
All the changes that Nat Geo Kids have made for our planet, are thanks to amazing young kids like Skye and our Nat Geo Kids readers, who pushed us to do better. And it just goes to show, that speaking up for what you believe in really can make a difference!
You can still sign Skye’s petition here: change.org.
Did you know we have a FREE downloadable Plastic Pollution primary resource? Great for teachers, homeschoolers and parents alike!
So, what do you think? Would you be happy to give up plastic gifts for the sake of the planet, or will you miss the plastic freebies? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!
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BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #save the toys
ooooooOOoooo0 soo Co0l i will use less plastic
this is amazing you go girl!
Ofcourse
Let's take action!
This is an amazing initiative. I think we should really take action on this subject.
Meh
This is great!
really cool
This so amazing
Well done skye! We are with you!
yes!! thankyou!! lets do this together!!
Just don’t litter I like the freebies whatever those are
We can use plastic toys if we dispose of them properly
Let's do this!
I think this is really going to help the planet! I think everyone should stop this nonsense with all this plastic toys, i really hate what people put into the magazines these days!
This is a brilliant idea, they also need to ban the plastic toys that come in kinder eggs. They end up in the bin because they are just pointless! Thank you Skye!
Save the planet !!!!!!!
she is amazing
#SAVETHEWORLD!
DO THIS #takecareoftheplanet
Save the earth!
Cool
Amazing
Well done skye ! we need to take action and save our planet !!
My avatar is cute
#savetheplanet
Right thing to do. Well done! It should be the priority of the world!
Good job skye
I also dislike when magazines are made of plasticy paper because it is bad for the environment and the magazines should be able to be made out of normal paper. And every time when I was smaller I used to get a magazine and then the toys would break and I would have to throw them away.
Well done Skye
Amazing Skye
let's do this and put an end to this
Great she's doing this!! Who needs adults?!
It's so great she's doing this! It just inspires young kids to do things to save the world! Who needs adults?
I would like all magazines to be like Natgeo kids plastic free gifts
go now!
Great
To be honest with you I hardly ever get magazines but when I am out and about seeing other kids much younger than me pestering for a magizine I then realize the only reason they want the magazine is because it's got a fun looking plastic toy in it but they don't need it, there are way more safe non free plastic toys that are way more fun also I only like magazines especially natgeokids because they are about animals and I love learning new facts everyday P.s sorry my message is very long lol
Let’s take action
Well done Skye I have always hated those worthless little toys. YOU'RE MAKING A BIG DIFFERENCE
wow!
Who cares about the plastic. A mag should sell for the quality of the writing and whats inside not for the junky pieces of plastic
I'd be happy to give the toys up too. No one really uses them anyway.
I am going to join the 'Dirt Is Good' Academy. Of course I'll give up the useless freebies!!! So inspiring to know that someone other than me is trying to make a difference! -Amaya, 10
I am going to join the 'Dirt Is Good' Academy. So inspiring to know that someone other than me is trying to make a difference and that I'm not alone. Good work, Skye! -Amaya, 10
I am amazed about it, seriously I can't belive how much my lego figure is causing the world trouble
AMAZING!
No We can't give up Legos
that means we have to give up legos!
Horrible things those freebies
I AGREE
yeppyyy
I am perfectly happy to give up the freebies.
could you tell Skye I love her project I will give up those useless things.
The plastic needs to stop it is ruining this earth we really need to help our world thank you Nat geo for using reusable wrapping!
Well done skye!
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