A Hape of Toys

As well as being charming to look at and delightful to use, Hape is a company that put quality, safety and sustainable design at the heart of everything they do. From humble beginnings in rural Germany Hape is now one of the world’s largest producers of toys made from sustainable materials, namely wood and bamboo.

Pul-Along-Crocodile

Their founder Peter Handstein began his career as a toy salesman and, through visiting hundreds of schools, quickly realised the educational power of play. In 1986 he set up Hape with his sister and they committed to running the company through an ethos of social responsibility, ecology, education and innovation.

Pyramid of Play

They are now heavily involved in building schools and environmental development facilities in China, as well as using process methods which minimise environmental impacts such as using very few chemicals in production, being an FSC member and sourcing high-quality materials so the toys will last through the eager hands of many brothers and sisters rather than breaking and having to be thrown out. But at the heart of Hape is making sure that your little one enjoys and learns from using their toys, so that “..neither culture, nor language, nor gender inhibits the intuitive process of play”. 

Stormy Seas balance game