Paper bags are here at last!

Thanks for noting this! It looks like there was a very thoughtful process involved in finding this new solution, from the interior edges to the standing design (neat!) to the particular long-fiber paper selected. Can't wait to get one in person. Two weeks ago we noticed paper-packaged baseplates in-store in Massachusetts, which I hadn't heard about and was a nice surprise. Good job Lego, keep it up!

I'm very excited that the day has finally arrived! The timing is serendipitous too given the NPR article published yesterday that highlights the ways in which plastic recycling is basically a hoax, at least in the US. After reading that, I again wondered when Lego would be making the switch. And here it is!

Thanks for the preview.

Before: open the box, lay out all plastic bags by number, and excitedly survey all shiny new bricks while visualizing the entire build process.

After: open the box, line up the paper bags and... just open them one by one, blind-bag style, and proceed to build.

I understand Lego's decision, but I'll miss "before", which was a cherished moment in my build experience.

I think this is an amazing step forward.

The thin layer of plastic is very interesting, particularly in light of the fact it can still be recycled.

Hope this doesn’t cost set prices to rise even more!
I’m kidding. Partially. It’ll be nice to not feel as guilty when throwing out bags after building.

@MainBricker said:
"Not overly fussed one way or the other.

What will concern me in regards to sustainability is when they use it as an excuse to ditch the instruction manuals. They're already trying to scrimp on them with the boring front cover etc."

Good thing nobody is displaying the instruction manuals on their shelves or display cabinets then.

Very happy this step forward is finally seeing the light. I like the fact they stand up too, that’s neat.

@chrisaw said:
" @MainBricker said:
"Not overly fussed one way or the other.

What will concern me in regards to sustainability is when they use it as an excuse to ditch the instruction manuals. They're already trying to scrimp on them with the boring front cover etc."

Good thing nobody is displaying the instruction manuals on their shelves or display cabinets then.

Very happy this step forward is finally seeing the light. I like the fact they stand up too, that’s neat. "
People collect manuals all the same and want a product that looks good and not something they printed on a home computer.

Looks like a better building experience and a win for the planet . . . great news and well done Lego!

I just had my condo flood (about an inch) in August from a backed up exterior drain pipe overnight. I had a Lego set sitting on my floor waiting to be opened at the time. Box was ruined (mound of wet cardboard), but the plastic bags and their contents were fine. I wonder how it would have fared if all that dirty water had been in contact with paper bags? Not well, I assume.

I do not look forward to this new style of bags.

I'm curious how the smaller-piece bags will be handled. Before you would open the numbered bag, and in most cases there are sometimes multiple smaller bags within it, holding the finer smaller pieces. Will that also be the case?

I actually think that this is a great idea and my only problem is the fact that I can't see the pieces inside the bag which is useful to deduce what sets the bags came from. Although that isn't a gigantic problem.

Thanks for the article. Nice to see just how much work and R&D goes into a "simple" change like switching the bags from plastic to paper, and how Lego used this an opportunity to be deliberate and intentional in reconsidering the entire bag experience rather than simply carrying forward the decisions of the past.

I love laying out the plastic bags and seeing all the pieces in a set when I unbox it, but this is a great change that absolutely needed to happen. I like the perforated openings and LOVE that the bags stand up, since flat-stacking dozens of plastic bags in big sets is a bit of a pain to me.

I understand why it's taken LEGO this long to roll out a major packaging change like this, but I also think it's ridiculous the way paper bags have been advertised this year. Paper pamphlets (on glossy, harder-to-recycle paper) have been included in sets since May and this yet the first indication of wide-release paper bags comes at the end of October. Why waste paper advertising a change so many months before it happens?

I understand the need to inform consumers of the change, but I think a disclaimer or picture could've just been added to an existing page in 2022 instruction manuals. I can't wait to find these paper bags in my own sets, though!

I have just been to my local Asda and noticed the gift on the front of the Ninjago magazine was also in a paper bag. (I have photos if Brickset want them?)

The new bags look great and I'm happy with the switch to paper, just wish they could have found a way to do it without including a thin layer of plastic.

Unboxing won't be the same anymore. A few months ago a friend and I both bought the SW Millennium Falcon 75192. We lay all plastic bags on the table which created a great pile of Lego. Such fun to see... Although I do think it's a good move, a pile of paper bags just isn't the same

Used to be evil to use paper bags. "Save the trees!" was the mantra. The fact they LEGO do not use recycled materials for these bags means they are not net zero anyway. I guess I'm no sustainability expert, but seems like this falls short. All that aside, from a purely practical standpoint I probably will be fine with the paper bags.

I'm concerned about the paper getting crinkled and scratching the pieces, especially windows and transparent elements that already get scratched up in the plastic bags.

@MainBricker said:
"Not overly fussed one way or the other.

What will concern me in regards to sustainability is when they use it as an excuse to ditch the instruction manuals. They're already trying to scrimp on them with the boring front cover etc."

I wonder how the community as a whole feels about instruction manuals? I personally value and enjoy the printed manuals from the old 1970s and early '80s sets I had as a kid - but I doubt today's kids care about printed manuals, and as an adult buyer I actually prefer to have the instructions electronically and end up recycling all the printed manuals in new sets that I buy.

So I wonder how many people still want paper manuals and how many feel they're unnecessary?

@tmtomh said:
" @MainBricker said:
"Not overly fussed one way or the other.

What will concern me in regards to sustainability is when they use it as an excuse to ditch the instruction manuals. They're already trying to scrimp on them with the boring front cover etc."

I wonder how the community as a whole feels about instruction manuals? I personally value and enjoy the printed manuals from the old 1970s and early '80s sets I had as a kid - but I doubt today's kids care about printed manuals, and as an adult buyer I actually prefer to have the instructions electronically and end up recycling all the printed manuals in new sets that I buy.

So I wonder how many people still want paper manuals and how many feel they're unnecessary?"

I despise having to look at a screen for instructions even more than stickers...

For me, a printed manual is part of the experience and I really like that part. Plastic bags are/were also part of the experience, but not too fussed about not having them.

@Murdoch17 said:
"I just had my condo flood (about an inch) in August from a backed up exterior drain pipe overnight. I had a Lego set sitting on my floor waiting to be opened at the time. Box was ruined (mound of wet cardboard), but the plastic bags and their contents were fine. I wonder how it would have fared if all that dirty water had been in contact with paper bags? Not well, I assume.

I do not look forward to this new style of bags."

I think most of us would prefer less plastic in the ocean and landfills than flood insured toy bags.

I love the thinking that has gone into this change.

It is a shame that it is not from recycled sources but as mentioned there is a reason and the fact it’s made from wood pulp actually is a positive - often wood pulp is made from waste and offcut wood pieces which would otherwise go to waste.

For everyone sad about losing the see through plastic bags, I think you have to agree this is a positive move, laying out the bags for your set is a 1 minute gratification. Anyway, the current plastic bags are rubbish! Who remembers the perforated plastic bags from pre 95! They’re my sentimental bag.

While this is an admirable move by LEGO to contribute in sustainability efforts, I must admit that I’ll be missing the plastic packaging. Two reasons:

1. As some collectors here have pointed out, they’re part of the build experience. It has been a tradition for me to take photos of sets: from the unopened box down to the sorting of bags. There’s certainly an extra level of excitement whenever I see LEGO parts packed in pristine condition.

2. I reuse the plastic bags and not just throw them away. When I need to disassemble my displayed sets, I keep the parts back in the bags.

*sigh*

Great. I've always wanted to open a LEGO set and be reminded of the horrible lunch the school gave us on field trips.

I'm seeing this as a good thing, but not for the publicity reasons - just the practical ones.

I'm not gonna praise LEGO for its environmental stance because, at the end of the day, their bricks are still plastic. While the bags are more likely to end up as waste (which is annoying I agree), their grandstanding about saving the environment is pretty hollow the minute you realize what LEGO parts are made of and that they will never be able to escape the practical implications of plastic waste. It's a marketing move, in the end, and frankly, I don't jump at the chance to applaud like a seal for corporations that merchandise their ethics for press coverage.

That being said, these DO look like a superior design to the plastic bags. I especially like the idea of adding additional tags and codes to help inventory the bags - a feature that will be particularly handy for verifying a set's contents and for checking secondhand or third-party purchases. If they are able to stand up as well as in the pictures, count me in, because that's the sort of thing that makes my want for order and organization while building quite happy! I'm also excited that Huw and Co. are considering entering this data into the database, because heaven knows how many unexpected bag questions regarding Lego I'd had without any sort of data to help answer them.

What I am really curious about is how greatly parts get scratched against paper versus plastic. I mean, any set at your local story has probably been shook around by small children whose parents said "no" before you showed up, so naturally, those bricks will have some damage from abrasions against each other. Personally I don't mind, if anything, the micro-scratches give the set a sort of authenticity (something you start to notice more in renders that forget that real things have small bits of damage). So how much better/worse is paper on bricks in that situation?

I don't think this is a bad thing. Plastic is a great material for items that need to last, and for preventing contamination. These bags don't need to do either, so if we can replace it with a similarly priced material that can decompose to soil, or that can easily be recycled into something else, then that seems like a good change overall.

I already thought this sounded interesting, but you're telling me the bags can stand upright!? Depending on how full they're packed this could add a whole new method of building sets, no risk of spilling pieces off the edge of the table or hassle of hunting down a bowl to put them in.

Occasionally I'll be building a set and be unable to find a piece. I'll check the trays I've dumped that step's pieces into, the floor, my lap... There have been multiple times I've found the missing piece still stuck in the corner of the plastic bag. (I'm now VERY careful I don't throw out any of those bags until AFTER the set is assembled!)

I know the article says the corners have been designed to help prevent pieces from getting stuck in there, but I'm curious how well that will actually work. Also, I won't be able to look into the bag to see if there's anything left inside. It will certainly be a different build experience. I hope it's not more of a pain in the butt.

I guess this is ok.

I don’t get the comments about plastic recycling being a joke. Almost all recycling is a joke. You have to put a tremendous amount of energy in, and what you get out costs a whole lot more than the equivalent starting from scratch. And paper is the worst.

Metal and glass recycling is about the only two materials I know of where that isn’t true. You get clean material out and can re-alloy it. We’d be better off incinerating paper and plastic rather than trying to recycle it.

At least that way you can do work with the remaining energy, rather than wasting energy on trying to reuse it.

Anyone else find it a little ironic that the 'sustainable' bags are made of wood pulp (read cutting down trees) and still have a thin layer of plastic on the inside? Meanwhile, these sustainable bags package plastic bricks made from petroleum hydrocarbons.

Just funny to see the hubbub around this given the nature of the hobby we all love.

@MainBricker said:
" @tmtomh said:

Prefer not to have to be looking at a screen for building Lego."

Precisely. When I am building, it's at least one part of my day where I'm not looking at a screen, which is why I prefer the printed instructions.

@Murdoch17 said:
"I just had my condo flood (about an inch) in August from a backed up exterior drain pipe overnight. I had a Lego set sitting on my floor waiting to be opened at the time. Box was ruined (mound of wet cardboard), but the plastic bags and their contents were fine. I wonder how it would have fared if all that dirty water had been in contact with paper bags? Not well, I assume.

I do not look forward to this new style of bags."

You'd think that when your condo is flooded you'd have bigger things to worry about than paper LEGO bags. In case you're concerned about that ever happening again, may I suggest not leaving LEGO boxes on the floor? ;-)

Its like everyone is forgetting that the process to turn lumber into paper is VERY carbon intensive.

What about larger parts that are currently contained in the softer plastic bags? Will those be packaged in these new paper bags?

What about multi-part animal molds that are currently contained in compartmentalized softer plastic bags? Will those be packaged in these new paper bags? In the same bag or multiple bags?

What about small parts that are currently packaged in smaller separate internal plastic bags within the main bag? Will those continue to be used or are all these small parts going to be mixed in with the larger parts in the same main paper bag leading to accelerated wear to the larger parts from all those now loose smaller parts?

And of course this change is going to make verifying second-hand open box sealed bag sets very difficult unless one of those numbers/QR code actually indicates what parts are contained inside these new bags and TLG maintains an indexed web site / download somewhere to allow easy look up of that info (which also means you better have access to the internet when you're evaluating the second-hand set; in-person transactions aren't going to be as easy as just being able to see the bricks visible thru the transparent sealed bag).

"It has a very thin plastic layer on the inside"

So, it's still a semi-plastic bag. There goes the environmentalist virtue-signalling ¯\_(?)_/¯

I'm personally neither pro nor against these bags. Be it full plastic or this pseudo-paper ones, they both end up in the litter bin. I'm far more against the replacement of CMF bags by something that will only double down on the gambling mechanics of the CMFs. Which is why I'd like to see European regulators crack down HARD on LEGO for promoting gambling to children.

As for LEGO's fake concerned about "the environment"...yeah, I'm not buying their propaganda - or that of ANY corporation - as long as they keep manufacturing in China, a country who couldn't give less of a flying flamingo about emissions and "the environment". Until LEGO exists the Chinese market, I won't take any of their hypocritical virtue-signalling seriously. It's just more corporate pandering to political extremists in Europe than any real concern with the planet.

@GBP_Chris said:
"I'm not gonna praise LEGO for its environmental stance because, at the end of the day, their bricks are still plastic. "

BUT NOONE THROWS OUT LEGO BRICKS!! Therefore it doesn’t matter what they are made of…

@Gamlebilrokker said:
" @GBP_Chris said:
"I'm not gonna praise LEGO for its environmental stance because, at the end of the day, their bricks are still plastic. "

BUT NOONE THROWS OUT LEGO BRICKS!! Therefore it doesn’t matter what they are made of…
"
I have horror stories for you.

I’m not fan of this. Plastic is fantastic. I do recycle them.

Why's everyone so down on plastic? Plastic is great!
It's a universal good.
- PLASTIC SAVES LIVES: From medical devices that keep blood flowing, joints moving and hearts beating to impact-resistant vehicle parts and safer infant car seats, plastic saves lives every day.
It’s durability, strength and mold-ability make plastic the material of choice for products designed to protect and improve human health.

- FOOD PACKAGING: Foods stay fresh longer when packed in plastic, which reduces waste by reducing the amount of spoiled food that must be discarded and decreases the amount of preservatives needed to keep food fresh.
Plastic packaging protects food, medicine, and other products from contamination and germs when it is displayed and handled.

- PLASTIC PROTECTS CONSUMERS: Tamper-proof packaging keeps consumers safe and child-proof packaging keeps children safe from accidental poisoning by medications or chemicals. Plastic insulation for cables and electrical equipment keeps equipment cool and protects users from over-heating. The liquid crystalline plastics in LCD flat screen tv's give beautiful pictures and SAVE ENERGY, using less power than traditional cathode ray tube screens.

- PLASTIC FOR FULL EFFICIENCY: Because plastic is both lightweight and durable, it makes an ideal material for manufacturing cars, trucks, and other vehicles. Plastics make up 10% of new vehicle’s total weight, and over 50% of their volume. Steering wheels, door liners, and stereo components are made of plastic, as are less visible parts, such as engine components. Using more plastic to lighten the weight of cars and trucks will make them more FUEL-EFFICIENT.
For every 10% reduction in weight, a car or truck will save 5 - 7% in fuel usage. Reduction in vehicle weight translates into a REDUCTION in CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS: every pound of vehicle weight that can be eliminated means 25.3 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions are saved over the vehicle’s life.

- LIFE SAVING: Seat belts, airbags are made of plastic. Plastic padded bumpers, door frames, foam door panel inserts, plastic foam filled roof supports, and pillars are structural components that keep occupants safer during a crash. Molded plastic fuel tanks are less likely to split apart during a collision and shatter-proof headlights are less likely to break. The windshield of most cars contains a layer of plastic between two sheets of glass, which makes the windshield less likely to break during a collision.

- ENERGY EFFICIENT: Plastics make your home more energy-efficient. Plastic sealants and caulks seal up window leaks and plastic foam weather stripping make doors and windows draft-free. Plastic blinds, window shades, and drapes help insulate windows by keeping out the sun in warm months to keep the house cooler and by keeping in heat during the winter months. Plastic awnings and reflective films also help shade the home.
Many high efficiency LED light bulbs are made from recycled plastic. Plastic insulation in the walls, floors, attic, and roof of your home keeps heat in during the winter and out during the summer, which SAVES YOU ENERGY and money on your heating and cooling.

- SAVING MORE LIVES: Plastics increase the efficiency and hygiene of medicine from the surgery suite to the physician’s office. Plastic syringes and tubing are disposable to reduce disease transmission. Plastic intravenous blood, fluid, and medicine bags let health care workers more easily view dosages and replacement needs. Plastic heart valves and knee and hip joints save lives and make patients’ lives more comfortable. Plastic prosthesis help amputees regain function and improve their quality of life. Pill capsules made of plastic ensure correct dosage release in the body over time, which lets patients take fewer pills. Plastic catheters and balloons allow doctors to open blocked blood vessels and insert plastic vessel supports to keep them open and dissolve harmful deposits. In addition to plastic eyeglass lenses, contact lenses, and eyeglass frames, plastics help victims of eye injuries or disease see

@buildalot said:
"Before: open the box, lay out all plastic bags by number, and excitedly survey all shiny new bricks while visualizing the entire build process.

After: open the box, line up the paper bags and... just open them one by one, blind-bag style, and proceed to build.

I understand Lego's decision, but I'll miss "before", which was a cherished moment in my build experience. "

Imagine having experienced the Lego boxes from the '80s.....where the fun started even before you opened the box :-)

"'we were assured that the small amount of plastic does not prevent it from being recycled with other cardboard and paper waste'"
I must say, I'm not quite so assured. Rules for different recycling plants vary. Some are quite tolerant of the amount of contaminants allowed while other are very particular about the type of paper they will accept.
Of course they could just do away with bags altogether. Titanic from a box of loose bricks would have a much higher 'building hours per pound' value!

I like paper bags, it's the correct choice. I could not stand if they decide to remove printed instructions. If you visit a toy shop you may find tons of printer lego catalogs...tons and tons. So, please start to remove catalogs to save our planet instead instructions.
Try to build a 3k+ pieces set with a tablet.