Toy company ZURU has responded with ‘dismay’ to concerns that its latest product – the Bunch O Balloons Party – will make it easier for members of the public to hold balloon releases.
An official statement from the company outlines the fact that the balloons are not single-use plastic as they are specifically designed to be reused. It also talks about the possibility of adding clear communication to the packaging to educate consumers about the issues with balloon releases, in line with the balloon industry’s wider ‘Don’t Let Go’ messaging.
The statement was in direct respose to a petition issued by Absolute Balloony’s Graham Laycock, with the aim of stopping ZURU from selling this product in the UK.
“We are dismayed that Graham Laycock has taken issue with our new reusable balloon innovation,” said coo Anna Mowbray. “It not only solves the problem of blowing up balloons manually, but does so in an environmentally-conscious way by making them entirely reusable. They are not just a one-use plastic wasteful consumable.”
The balloons are designed to be blown up and deflated over and over again, allowing them to be enjoyed repeatedly, thanks to some ‘amazing technology’ which has been embedded into each balloon.
“The Party Pump allows for balloons to be blown up in sets of 8, 16 or 40,” continued Anna, “so consumers can select the amount required to suit their specific occasion. Bunch O Balloons helium adapters allow for eight balloons to be inflated at one time, so we are giving the consumer complete flexibility around use and discouraging wastefulness.”
On the issue of balloon releases, Anna points out that; “There’s nothing about the marketing that would encourage people to release them. We think it’s a great idea to add messaging to the packaging to clearly communicate that consumers should never release balloon bunches into the atmosphere and we will continue to strongly encourage our customers to use our products responsibly with the environment in mind.”
ZURU takes sustainability seriously and the team has worked hard to launch this innovation specifically with the environment in mind. “We also have a partnership with Terracyle planned to launch in the USA from 1 June 2019,” adds Anna. “This partnership is designed with the intent to further our commitment to social responsibility.”
