This object is made from perhaps the most iconic material of the fossil age: plastic. This Lego set is on loan to us from the local toy library, since we were keen to display Lego from the time during which it was still made from oil. As more and more parents got engaged in the climate issue, they looked around their homes for things that were causing it — and right there were their own children, playing with the very materials endangering their futures.
As a result, Lego became controversial. Parents and activists protested outside the Lego offices and almost drove the company to bankruptcy. The images of children, dressed in white gowns and with their hands covered in thick black sludge transfixed the whole population of Denmark — and many people beyond. In the end, the Danish government had to step in to support Lego in the company’s transition to bio-based plastics. Today, the company is stronger than ever — especially since they started renting out their products.
This text is part of the future scenario and study material Beyond the Fossil Era.
