Selling toys online with a purpose: how to stand out with values
Miguel Nicolás
22/07/2025
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We are going to reflect on selling toys with a purpose: how to highlight values such as education, inclusion…
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Toys are a sensitive niche, which will always carry an extra level of responsibility for the seller. Beyond being safe for children, it also requires to consider the ethical side of the business.Throughout this post, we are going to talk about sustainability, awareness, inclusivity… and about transforming all of that into competitive differentiating values for our brand. Selling more can be especially rewarding if those sales are aligned with a purpose that turns the business into a tool to make the world a better place.Let’s get into it.
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Selling toys with a purpose
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Actually, the introduction of this post already sets the context of what we mean. But let’s take a moment to reflect on what we mean when we add the attribute “with a purpose.”Toys, by definition, are created with an objective: to amuse and entertain children. This is the main characteristic, something shared by a remote-controlled car, a doll, or a puzzle.But purpose is an intangible value, an added bonus that can go in several directions:
- Sustainability: during children’s formative stage we can already start creating a sustainable consciousness, even when they are very young and do not yet understand complex concepts like eco-friendly or circular economy. Just through the materials and the narrative of the toys, we are planting a seed for the future.
- Inclusion: the most classic toys tend to replicate models that are not always the ones parents want to perpetuate. We are talking about toys that do not have a strongly gendered component, but also about physical or intellectual stereotypes that may exclude people with diverse realities (and that includes children, of course).
- Education: here there is also a fairly wide range. We go from toys that continue a specific educational approach (for example, the famous Montessori method), informative toys, those that enhance multiple intelligences, sensory ones… to any active learning tool that allows children to get something extra from the play experience.
There is an audience that is very interested in this type of product, conscious parents who prioritize that ethics and added value, over other toys that do not meet these standards or, in the worst case, directly go against their own principles. -
Examples of eCommerce selling toys with purpose
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This is the basis of the type of eCommerce aimed at online toy sales that we are going to look at and draw inspiration from.Therefore, we are going to start dissecting some of these stores. We will provide the link so you can visit it at your leisure and a screenshot illustrating which of the 3 purposes mentioned they best represent.
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#1 - Miniland
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Although this list is not a ranking as such, I think it makes sense for Miniland to be the first online store we reference.Why? Because of the depth of its catalog, its variety, its combined approach to physical and digital play and, above all, how clear its mission and vision are.Literally, their purpose is: “to transform the present so that tomorrow our society is a little better.”How do they do it? With educational, formative toys and games that embrace diversity by working on different areas:
- Mathematics
- Emotions
- Social Skills
- Mindfulness
- Nutrition
- Diversity
In order to not use the most obvious example, I will show you this product through its item page. -
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It appears to be just another board game, but if we look closely, we quickly realize its objective: to raise awareness and prevent bullying, teamwork, empathy… In its features, we see how it works on multiple intelligences (logical-mathematical, social, and linguistic).But as I was saying, they have such a variety of purposeful toys that they cover many age ranges and spectrums. Another example:
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A set of numbers and letters, something all children usually have access to. In this case, they are used for sewing, to learn tracing, and even have a digital version. But I chose this game because, in addition to all the above, it supports another of the mentioned purposes: sustainability. It’s made with bioplastic and sugarcane.The digital platform, as I mentioned, is very powerful and even complements the toys with extra attributes.Among other things, you can customize the dolls to resemble each child, whatever their ethnicity, whether they wear glasses, have vitiligo, Down syndrome, use a cochlear implant or wheelchair. Integration with a capital “I.”As you can see, Miniland is a good mirror to look into to get started.
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#2 – Fieito
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Another interesting case is Fieito, because it is not actually an online toy store. You could almost say it is a Marketplace for sustainable and ecological living, as they sell fashion, cosmetics, home products… and, of course, also toys.The basic premise of all this is that they are ecological products. Their purpose?: to provide people with everything they need to live a consciously sustainable life.A full-on ecological lifestyle, for us and our children.Their toys are actually nothing sophisticated. They are more like those children have “always used”: puzzles, building blocks, marbles, cars… all built using wood, like this construction game.
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Seemingly nothing groundbreaking, in fact, you probably had something very similar in your childhood. The difference is that in this case, Fieito works with FSC-certified sustainably sourced wood and eco-certified pigments free of toxic chemicals.Also, since purpose does not end at the product, they use ecological, reusable, and recyclable packaging.I find this case very inspiring because, despite having a very small catalog, it represents an interesting example of how we can expand our catalog with complementary lines.
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#3 – Hop Toys
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Hop Toys takes inclusivity a step further, raising their commitment to a different, directly therapeutic level. Because yes, the word “toy” is in their name, but they are actually specialists in what we could define as educational materials, always from a playful perspective.But what are those materials? Well, there are many categories, since we can find noise-canceling headphones for children with sensitivity, tools for psychomotor exercises, stress-relief items to channel situations, cushions that help express emotions…Regarding purpose, they themselves have made their project’s motto their flagship: “Solutions for an inclusive society.” This phrase appears on their eCommerce next to the logo, as a tagline, so it is always present.But of course, there are toys with purpose too, otherwise, it would not make sense to include their eCommerce in this post. We can see some examples, which are quite illustrative.
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When we talk about inclusion, play is one of the most powerful tools for creating awareness in children. People with diverse realities have not always been represented in the image of dolls, so it was harder to bring that reality closer to them.With this in mind, some companies have decided to create dolls like the one shown in the screenshot above, which is characterized by faithfully representing Down syndrome. There are many more alternatives, with different conditions ranging from vitiligo to, simply, wearing glasses.If you read the product description, you will see they do not stop at the surface. All attributes are designed to convey ethical and positive values. It clearly states that it is a product made in Spain (local trade), with soft and recyclable vinyl (safety and eco-consciousness).
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Besides dolls, I can also show you this magnetic game example. This type of puzzle allows you to configure up to 2,000 different types of families. As in the other examples mentioned, the materials are sustainable.As we said, it is not all about play, which is why they have a whole range of products for people with special needs, whether sensory or intellectual, but that might actually deserve its own dedicated post, because it’s really extensive.
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#4 – Kamchatka
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Toys, as we have been saying from the beginning, are key in children’s physical, psychological, and emotional development. All the options we’ve mentioned so far are great because they are able to make values and purpose permeable.Let’s finish with one of our favorite toy stores, which takes this to an even broader level.We are talkign about Kamchatka, which has created an entire universe around its idea of a childhood sensitive to integration, environmental care, and social and environmental responsibility.They have wonderful toys (eco-friendly, Montessori…). Of course, they also have a curated selection of books that foster reading habits and strengthen the principles of critical thinking. Literature is a very powerful tool to convey purpose.
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This example is very interesting because you can see on the product page how it is a reading aligned with a methodology like Montessori, while also being clearly green in theme.It is true that, until now, we had not talked about books, even though they are so important. But when I say Kamchatka has a global vision, I am not exaggerating. They have seen the importance of environment in children’s education and their interaction with the world. That is why they have a whole category dedicated to furniture and decoration.
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Furniture like this Danish design bed, which not only shelters children's dreams, but also works as a safe environment for playing. As a product, parents know they are acquiring a piece of furniture with guaranteed durability and made from certified wood sourced from sustainable forests. This is something that makes everyone happy, right?
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That is it for this post on how to sell toys with a purpose. What did you think? Would you like to know more?