Sustainability & social responsibility
At New Moments Games, we're dedicated to sustainability. For GNOME KINGDOM, we've for instance chosen eco-friendly materials like wooden components, FSC-certified paper, and vegetable-based inks. Read more about the choices behind our upcoming game.
Our Journey with GNOME KINGDOM
At New Moments Games, we firmly believe that every company has a responsibility to make conscious, well-informed choices to ensure production processes are as sustainable as possible. While it may be challenging to achieve complete sustainability when creating new products, our commitment is to continually seek better methods and materials for producing board games. Here’s how we are approaching sustainability with our upcoming game, GNOME KINGDOM.
Our Choices for Sustainability
Wooden Components: We have opted for wooden components, such as dice and meeples, to eliminate plastic use in our game pieces. This decision supports sustainability by reducing reliance on plastic and utilizing more environmentally friendly materials.
Cardboard Inserts: Instead of using plastic inserts, GNOME KINGDOM will feature cardboard inserts without any printing. This choice not only reduces plastic usage but also enhances the biodegradability of the packaging, should the customer choose to recycle the game and/or the insert.
FSC-Certified Materials: All the cardboard and paper used in our game are FSC certified. This certification ensures that the forest materials are sourced in a way that preserves biological diversity, benefits local communities and workers, and maintains economic viability. Learn more about FSC certification here.
Eco-Friendly Inks: The inks used in GNOME KINGDOM are composed of water and vegetable oil in a dispersed solution, ensuring compliance with several important standards and directives, including EU REACH, EU-POP, AfPS GS 2019:1, and the 2009/48/EC Toy Safety Directive. These inks are tested and guaranteed safe for children aged 3 and above. Importantly, the inks do not contain any animal-based substances, mineral oils, conflict minerals, or heavy metals, aligning with a commitment to sustainability and safety.
Plastic Ziplock Bags: We use ziplock plastic bags to store game components in the game, which in our opinion is not the best solution. Currently, this is the best option we have found, but we are actively searching for non-plastic alternatives for future games that can offer the same level of convenience and durability. We do encourage players to use and reuse the bags and recycle them when they are done.
Paper Wrapping for Cards: To minimize plastic use, we have chosen paper wrapping for the game cards instead of plastic wrapping. This change reduces plastic waste and aligns with our goal of using more sustainable materials in all aspects of our game production.
Shrink Wrap for Protection: While we recognize the environmental impact of plastic shrink wrap, it is important to protect the game during shipping. Our experience has shown that alternatives often do not provide the same level of security, leading to more damaged games and, consequently, more waste. We encourage customers to recycle the shrink wrap after opening the game.
Local Production: GNOME KINGDOM will be printed locally in Europe. This decision helps reduce carbon emissions due to shorter transportation distances and ensures that production adheres to the strict labor and environmental standards set by EU regulations.
Our Commitment to
Continuous Improvement
We are aware that our efforts are far from perfect, and we have much to learn. However, we are dedicated to continuously evaluating our choices from various perspectives to find better solutions. Our goal is to make incremental improvements in our sustainability practices and inspire others in the industry to do the same.
We hope that our customers will join us in this journey by recycling the elements they no longer need and reusing the different components, such as the ziplock bags, provided – and, hopefully, play the game with all their friends and family so that the game will be used many times. Together, we can strive to be more conscious of our choices regarding the environment while enjoying the immersive experience of playing board games.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or suggestions regarding our sustainability efforts. We are always open to new ideas and collaborations to make our games more environmentally friendly.