FTO invites to the Symposium 2026: Making Toys Fair
The Fair Toys Organisation e.V. (FTO), founded on 14 July 2020 at the Toy Museum in Nuremberg, is organising a symposium on the topic of ‘Making Toys Fair’ on 29 September 2026 from 1.30 pm to 5.30 pm in the Schöner Saal at Nuremberg Town Hall.
Topic and questions
• How can social responsibility, environmental sustainability and transparent, fairly structured supply chains be further promoted and strengthened within the toy industry?
• What steps are necessary to ensure that fair play becomes the norm in future, and what role does the EmpCo Guideline play for the industry – particularly in the context of credible and transparent communication regarding sustainability and responsible supply chains?
A series of thematic sessions will examine current developments, challenges and opportunities relating to the industry’s sustainable transformation and highlight new approaches.
Target audiences
The event is aimed at anyone who manufactures, trades in or uses toys for educational purposes, as well as stakeholders from politics, trade associations and civil society who are committed to a sustainable and fair toy industry.
Provisional agenda
13:30 Welcome address by Marcus König, Lord Mayor of the City of Nuremberg
13:40 Keynote: Fair Play – Responsibility and Perspectives in Light of Current Legal Developments
The significance and objectives of fair toys against the backdrop of current legal developments, in particular German and European legislation on supply chains and due diligence obligations. The focus is on the question of how sustainable and responsible production, as well as transparent communication on sustainability and fairness, should be contextualised and assessed against this backdrop. Prof. Dr. Markus Krajewski, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Public Law and International Law
14:10 Panel discussion: Fair toys – balancing competition, credible communication and responsibility
Focus: To what extent does current global competitive pressure – driven, amongst other things, by online platforms – undermine fair production conditions? How is the EmpCo guideline changing the way sustainability and responsibility are communicated within the toy industry? Are existing tools, such as certification schemes and companies’ voluntary commitments, sufficient? And what role can the Fair Toys Organisation play in this regard with its approaches and solutions?
• Axel Gottstein, Managing Director of sigikid, H. Scharrer & Koch GmbH & Co. KG, Board Member of the Fair Toys Organisation
• Prof. Dr Frank Ebinger, Research Professor for Sustainability-Oriented Innovation and Transformation Management, Nuremberg Tech
• Helga Riedl, City of Nuremberg, Board Member of the Fair Toys Organisation e.V.
• Ulrich Brobeil, Managing Director of the German Toy Industry Association Deutscher Verband der Spielwarenindustrie e.V. / DVSI
• Dr Bärbel Kofler, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development – BMZ – invited
15:15 Break with interactive toys on offer
15:45 Panel 1: Fair on the shelves – Establishing sustainable toys in the retail sector
Focus: How can fairly and responsibly produced toys become a permanent and successful feature of both conventional and fair trade retail?
• Frank Braun, Cawela – Fair Trade
• Josephine Dransfeld, Managing Director, Heunec
• Jan Bussiek, ESG-Score – Managing Director, Sustaynr GmbH
16:20 Panel 2: More than just play – Value of Play as an educational opportunity
Focus: How can values such as fairness, responsibility and sustainability be conveyed through play? What potential of the Value of Play remains untapped? How can interdisciplinary perspectives be brought together to jointly develop approaches for fair play?
• Markus Utomo, games and learning designer
• Sebastian Pfaller, Haus des Spiels Nuremberg
• Prof. Dr Jens Junge, Director of the Institute for Ludology
16:55 Presentation and summary of the findings
17:05 Spielzeugland.Bayern initiative
Tobias Gotthardt, State Secretary at the Bavarian State Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy
17:20 Outlook and call to action
17:30 Closing remarks and light refreshments at the get-together
We look forward to receiving your registration by email at: info@fair-toys.org
Attendance at the symposium is free of charge.
www.fair-toys.org