How one family is ditching plastic to make sustainable wooden toys
More than 90% of the world’s toys are plastic, with most ending up in landfills within a year.
Plastic toys pollute the environment and can contain toxic substances, leading more parents to seek safe and sustainable alternatives. This search for alternatives led to the creation of a local wooden toy brand—a creative studio founded by Marcela Mastac in the village of Varnița, inspired by her family's own experience.
Marcela and her husband, Andrei Gramațchii, noticed that their children were constantly surrounded by heaps of plastic toys—fragile, without a story, and without meaning. They felt the little ones deserved something more valuable.
"We started by creating an alternative with educational panels made from 100% wood. We later developed a range of toys that contribute to a child’s growth and development, acting as a bridge between parent and child. We use local wood. The toys are made from linden wood, which we put to good use," says Marcela Mastac, the brand's founder.
Marcela and Andrei create eco-friendly toys from natural materials—water-based paints, mineral oils, and natural pigments. Resilient and durable, these toys stimulate creativity and strengthen the bond between parents and children, becoming cherished memories passed down from generation to generation.
"Many of our toys are inspired by nature and culture. We have sets of native trees, for example, so that children can learn and build general knowledge through play. We develop our own colour palette. We create a colour range that is attractive enough for a child but at the same time is very similar to everything found in nature," explains designer Andrei Gramațchii.
The business was developed with the support of international programmes.
"Female entrepreneurs participate in training on product creation, sales strategies, customer identification, and pricing to help them recover their costs," says Svetlana Andrieș, a UN Women representative.
"We want to contribute to Moldova's development and see that creative young people, with the right ideas, need only a little support from us for their ideas to turn into concrete businesses, with products sold in Moldova and abroad. This makes me immensely happy," says Guido Beltrani, Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office.
In the last four years, more than 10,000 women have benefited from the Women’s Entrepreneurship Support Programme. This has contributed to the fact that 34% of enterprises in the Republic of Moldova are now owned or managed by women.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
