Imagine a toy that never truly reaches the end of its life—a toy that can be returned, recycled, and reborn. Fueled by our patent-pending recycling process, we are creating a world where playrooms are less cluttered, children’s toys are carefully crafted from safe plant-based materials, and parents can feel good about the toys they bring home, knowing they’ll be given new life after playtime ends. 

Problem

Climate change, global warming, consumerism, waste….we’re feeling the impacts of these environmental issues at alarming rates. The toy industry is direct contributor:

• Environmental Pollution: 90% of toys are made from plastic, and 80% end up in landfills or the ocean.
• Emissions: Overseas manufacturing methods are contributing to recent catastrophic weather events occurring more and more frequently.
• Persistence of plastics: Plastic toys are quickly discarded but remain in the environment for centuries. We’re even seeing microplastics showing up in mothers’ breast milk.
• Toxic Chemicals: Plastic toys often contain harmful chemicals that pose health risks, especially when mouthed by children.
• Non-Renewable Resources: Plastic toys are made from fossil fuels, which are non-renewable and harm the environment.
• Difficult to Recycle: Most plastic toys can’t be recycled due to mixed materials and electronics.

There’s a swell of fear amongst us. The scariest part is that much of the burden is felt by consumers, when in reality, it’s up to businesses to pave the way.

Market Potential

There is a notable trend toward more eco-conscious and technologically toys, as parents seek products that support cognitive development and sustainability.

• Global Market: In 2023, the global eco-friendly toy market was valued at $25 billion, with a projected growth rate of 13% annually, reaching an estimated $52 billion by 2030. 
• Domestic Market: The U.S. toddler and kids (ages 1-10) eco-friendly toy market is estimated at $817Mn in 2024 and projected to achieve a 12.5% CAGR.
• Industry Threats: Environmental concerns and a reliance on overseas manufacturing.
• Demand for change: 76% of parents are willing to pay more for sustainable products.
• Evidence: Melissa and Doug, a leading company in the sustainable toy space has captured 5% of the North American toddler and kid toy market (ages 1-10).

The combination of interactive and sustainable is an area where we haven’t seen others play in yet. Yet as we see above, parents want the ability to entertain and engage children through electronic, interactive toys, while still practicing sustainability.

Sources for market size estimates:

• Statista
• Market Research Future
• Maximize Market Research

The Solution

Little Squiggle is revolutionizing the children's toy industry with holistic, sustainable practices inspired by Cradle to Cradle® principles. Our mission is to create a circular economy by designing high-end, interactive toys that are eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and built to be reused and recycled.

We’re pretty excited about some of our differentiators: 

• Cradle to Cradle® Design Principles: Using the global standard for circularity, we’re considering sustainability at every stage of our product’s journey. It’s built into our DNA.
• Notable Efficiency Gains: With these practices, all of our actions add up to significant bottom-line savings and efficiencies.
• Reverse Logistics: We’re building a seamless return and recycling process, making it easy for consumers to send back toys for repurposing.
• Community Building: We use transparent marketing to engage and inform a community of eco-conscious consumers.
• High Quality & Joyful Products: Every toy is designed to deliver both joy and quality, ensuring long-lasting, beloved products for children.

Product Details

Our trailblazer, Harra the Hippo™, is designed to be returned so her materials can be reused and recycled, reducing our waste impact. 

Here’s how Harra™ is unlike all other electronic toys on the market:

• Designed for simple disassembly to enable our patent-pending recycling process
• Made with clean, safe plant-based plastics that can be mechanically recycled into raw materials
• Electronically powered by organic-based Printed circuit board (PCB) that eliminates our electronic waste (E-waste)
• Fun for toddlers (ages 1-3) with interactive and tactile play
• Return for cash-back when parents participate in our circular model

We don’t just say we’re sustainable, we prove it. 

Competitive Landscape

Circular Business Model

Harra the Hippo™ is a high-end toy sold at a premium. We offer return incentives to encourage our customers to close the loop, making our products cradle to cradle as opposed to cradle to grave. We’re building our processes to boost margins on circular products (i.e. when material recovery can be reused to create new products).

Target Market

Our primary market consists of 2 segments: 

The Millennial generation, the parents and guardians of our toddlers today, is actively seeking out ways to make an environmental impact and will continue to do so for years to come.

Our secondary market is the next generation of parents, Generation Z, who will become the majority of first time parents by 2026. This generation demands sustainable solutions more than older generations.

Testimonials

We are really excited about what we’ve accomplished to date with minimal bootstrapped funds. We’ve already tested prototypes of Harra the Hippo™ with multiple families! Here’s some of what we’ve been hearing:

In addition to these happy customers, we’re shipping a handful of 3D printed toys out to beta testers to kick off field testing. We have materials sourced, suppliers selected, quotes obtained. We can’t wait to get Harra in the hands of more children!

Use of Funds

Note: Forward-looking projections and goals can not be guaranteed.

We are focused on two key goals for this round of funding: achieving a sellable Proof of Concept (POC) production run and conducting a thorough market assessment.

Hitting our fundraising goal of $124,000 gives Little Squiggle a path towards achieving these milestones. These funds head towards a few specific areas:

• R&D (Product Development): early field testing of Harra the Hippo, filing product patents, and stress-testing the circularity concept with our supplier network.
• R&D (Manufacturing and Certification): Soft tooling for injection-molded parts and completing U.S. safety and certification processes.
• Marketing and Branding: establishing our brand through website development and social media marketing targeting our local community and potential customers. 
• Contract Hiring: marketing, graphic design, brand strategy, and electrical engineering to support both product and brand development.
• Operational Expenses: campaign costs (we have to thank our friends at Wefundr for access to this community and platform!), and other anticipated business expenses to ensure smooth operations.
• Runway: In 12-18 months following the campaign raise, we expect to have products circulating, valuable customer feedback, customer traction data, and be ready to take Little Squiggle to the next level!

Team

Future Plans

Once we’re ready to exit this POC phase, we should have the data we need to charge forward into full production. During our Growth Phase, we plan to fully launch our E-commerce store, to be able to speak directly to our customers and better control margins. Our customers also get to start meeting Harra’s new friends for children at different ages!

The beauty of a circular model is that as the company grows, so do the savings. Once we’ve developed toys for a variety of ages, there’s a foundation for our circular ecosystem. At this point, Little Squiggle would like to introduce a subscription model. This further encourages circularity through ongoing purchases and seamless product returns for our customers.

Join The Team

“Let’s create a world where playrooms are less cluttered, children’s toys are carefully crafted from safe plant-based materials, and parents can feel good about the toys they bring home, knowing they’ll be given new life after playtime ends.”

- Teresa Giovannoli, Founder

Questions?

You can ask any questions you have in the “Ask A Question” section of this page or email me directly at [email protected].