Just saw somebody refer to highly disposable collectibles (labubus, funko pops, stuff like that) as "landfillcore" and I'm stealing that.
#Beanie babies were at least nice toys (via @tallgreenlady)
okay this has actually led me down the rabbit hole of the beanie baby environmental impact, and apparently the big problem is that they used to be stuffed with PVC pellets. the science in all that is REALLY over my head, but from what i can tell from wikipedia and some googling around, that's actually a suuuper nasty plastic to have your little kid potentially gnawing on. like, "may release noxious chemicals and give them lifelong respiration problems" nasty.
granted, the worst case scenario there is mostly from burning them, but you'll never guess what people commonly did after they became landfillcore.
The problem really isn't even the product itself, it's that we treat ravenously buying things like it's just a hobby, when in truth, it's also falling for propaganda and a failure to reduce consumption.
These companies are convincing people to buy as much useless, plastic crap as possible, crap that can't be reused (because it isn't useful in the first place) and won't be recycled (not that recycling them would even do much).
There's nothing wrong with buying things you enjoy; the problem is that the person with a room full of 3000 unopened Funko Pops isn't enjoying the figurines, they're enjoying buying and owning. It's buying things for the sake of buying things, literally the opposite of reducing.
I know it’s tangential and I should probably properly write up and post my half-joking Breyer horse manifesto, but as a collection hobby it has a lot of reasons to be smug - in addition to being technically made of “green” materials (cellulose acetate is derived from plants, not petroleum), even battered/broken/played-with-and-loved-to-death Breyers retain decent resale value to the painting side of the hobby. Even dismembered PIECES of the horses can be sold onwards to sculptors.
There is a weird vibe going on around this post and the comments/tags. I’ve got 10+ years of professional, specific expertise in this so here are my thoughts - I take issue with some of the points.
Before I do, a few big bold statements:
Consumerism is a major issue across the world, and is a major contributor in serving the interests of capitalism
It’s important to be self-reflective in our own personal relationship with consumption, especially in regards to marketing and predatory advertising tactics that tell us we must acquire goods in excess
Major companies, particularly publicly traded ones, are the most insidious in overproduction and waste. As they are beholden to their shareholders, companies must exponentially produce more product, causing excessive waste and exploiting the planet’s resources.
These same major companies are also incentivized to actively destroy product if it saves them money. The landfill isn’t filled with Funko Pops because the people who buy them are throwing them away, it’s because Funko was sold to private equity in 2005 and became publicly traded in 2017, snowballing to dumping $30 million dollars in product into landfills. As a reminder, this is not an outlier. Hasbro (My Little Pony, Dungeons & Dragons, etc) and Mattel (Monster High, Barbie, etc) are also publicly traded and major bullies/perpetrators and multiple times larger than more scoffed at companies like Funko.
It’s notable that a major part of pollution is in the manufacturing and shipping of any product (not just petroleum based ones) due to the resources, energy and fuel required to deliver tens, or hundreds of thousands (or more) units to international shelves. Products that are marginally more “ecologically friendly” still use non-renewable resources in their creation.
It is the fault of marketing and advertising on behalf of corporations that there is pressure to “upgrade” to newer, trendier models of anything. Whether it be clothes, technology, or collectibles.
Okay NOW I’m saying things.
Labubu, Funko, and others are:
Not toys!
Not meant to be thrown in a landfill! They should NOT be highly disposable! If people are doing that, they’re straight up doing it wrong!
Have a purpose: they are art toys. The difference? Figures from Pop Mart and the like are sculptures for older fans and collectors to enjoy. They are art pieces. They have the same purpose and use as an art print or painting, or ceramic sculpture. This is their use, and to people who enjoy them they are useful, not useless.
They are “reusable” because you use them every day in viewing and appreciating them. Reuse applies mostly to consumable items because you actively use them, they wear out (or become obselete) and eventually you dispose of them. And again: there is no reason to throw these out. They will not “go bad”, and they will generally not deteriorate (unless moldy or some other biohazard from improper storage/care).
Art toys for adults (again, Labubu and Funko figures were mentioned so I’m using them as examples) are significantly less “landfillcore” than any toy for children. Did you know that those dreaded 3D printed dragons are commercially compostable in facilities that can process PLA? Neither do most people! When one of those cheap things breaks because your kiddo chewed on it or pulled it apart, it goes into the landfill since it’s easy. When they rip the arms off of their Minions toy = landfill. Beanie Babies, as mentioned above? Rip, tear, beans everywhere, landfill. Refocus your energy on harmful materials and proper systems to recycle these materials.
It’s okay to keep your Pops (or whatever) in the box. They’re not toys. This is not Toy Story - they will not be sad if you don’t play with them. You’re not somehow ‘not appreciating them’ if you want to keep them in the package - hell, the packaging designers for a lot of these art toys appreciate their packaging not going (you guessed it) into the landfill.
So that being said:
There are some comments defending their handful of Funko figures or other plastic collectibles, and of course people asking if their collections are ‘okay to have’. It’s fine to have an art toy collection. It’s fine to collect plush, or plastic, or metal, or wood, whatever. Humans have always valued art for the sake of art. Also, as an ex-Funko lead artist (plot twist, villain reveal) - thank you for appreciating our work. There are in fact, real people who love and care about the things they worked on.
Remember that Labubu and Funko are “cringe”, so they get this heat, but other larger brands and perpetrators don’t. You can’t recycle Magic: The Gathering cards (Hasbro) or Pokemon Cards. Monster High (Mattel) has the same collectors with hundreds of unopened figures, same with Nendoroids from Good Smile. Your high end collectibles are still the same type of collectibles, and your toys with a “use” are still more disposable than those collectibles.
Don’t throw away your shit.
Be responsible with your spending and consider if you would really benefit from purchasing more and more goods, or if it’s the marketing and dopamine from buying (or unboxing) stuff.
If you’re someone who mocks people for the “landfillcore” quality of the collection that they own (that they do not ever plan on throwing away), consider self-reflection. Do you get take-out with disposable utensils and cups? Do you purchase plastic packaged items from the grocery store when you don’t need to? Why do those things not trigger your sense of urgency and disdain, but Labubu does? We’re all in this together, and none of us can individually stamp out this problem. Let’s make this world better, not more judgmental.
Be an actual, active advocate for better systems so that we don’t have to hem and haw as individual consumers and the major companies and organizations do their jobs and keep our planet healthy.
