Here at Tigerplay, we are committed to reducing our negative environmental impact. Sustainable design is all about reducing, or completely avoiding, the depletion of critical resources. So how does this apply to us designing a soft play area?

Bespoke Play Area Design

Because we design our play equipment from scratch, it means we can incorporate sustainable materials into the design from the off, experimenting with new materials and switching out single-use materials for more environmentally friendly options. Here are some examples from recent indoor play designs...

Cork

We love cork because it's biodegradable, self-regenerative and doesn’t contribute to deforestation. And it looks great! Here we used cork instead of PVC or plastic as the backdrop to the climbing wall, where the climbing grips were made from responsibly sourced timber.

Wool

An exciting new material for us is wool, which is sustainable, versatile and has endless natural properties that makes it perfect for using in indoor play areas. We source wool from Herdwick Sheep that are being sheared for their welfare, buying direct from the farmers to ensure a fair price. We're currently using this wool in wall pads for an upcoming indoor playground project, which we're excited to share more details about soon.

Fabric

We cover the wall pads, floor mats head pads and soft play items in an indoor play area with fabric. We now offer a stylish, durable, and environmentally friendly faux leather fabric for our play items that is Phthalate-Free and REACH compliant. It is manufactured
with high percentage of recycled and recyclable components, which also helps with biodegradability at the end of product life. We are constantly researching new and more eco-friendly fabrics to use on our soft play items.

Foam

The foam we use in our play areas is called 'Recon' foam, which is made of recycled foam. We send off cuts to our foam back to our supplier so they can make more of it, making it regenerative for us. Our foam supplier is also local to us, so this helps with our carbon footprint too.

Refelt

We are increasingly using ReFelt in play spaces where there's a high ceiling or in a larger play area where noise levels are a consideration. At Cadbury Garden Centre (above), we made leaves out of ReFelt to hang from the ceiling, enhancing the outdoor theme whilst providing acoustic paneling in the soft play area.

ReFelt absorbs and dampens sound so that its reflections within a space can be significantly reduced. The unique material is made from recycled plastic bottles and can be recycled at the end of product life, too.

Carbon Offsetting

To reduce our carbon footprint, we have recently invested in three hectares of woodland in the UK, which will sequester 10 tonnes of CO per year*. The woodland is largely comprised of mature Douglas fir, but is also home to birch, holly, beech, oak and ash trees. Primarily, we are leasing the carbon from this woodland, but we will also be supporting tree planting initiatives and ecological development of the woodland. You can read more about our sustainability pledge here.

Timber

Our timber comes from sustainable and regulated sources and we are now able to use timber from our woodland, which will be cut from windblown trees and those chosen for felling.

We are also committed to a replanting scheme to further reduce the environmental impact of our installations, thereby helping our customers to start off on the right track in terms of running a sustainable indoor play business.

Soft Play Aftercare

So now you have your eco-friendly indoor play area, what can you do to continue to be an environmentally conscious business owner? A soft play area and/or play frame will need regular cleaning, especially during busy periods. So opting for eco-friendly non-toxic cleaning products is the perfect way to take care of your play equipment. You can contact our team to find out more about the cleaning services we offer and recommend.

Whether the environment is at the forefront of your business decisions or not, it's certainly one of our top priorities. Contact our friendly team today to see what innovative, sustainable play equipment we could create for you.

*Carbon Storage and Sequestration study by Habitat 2021.

Eco-Friendly Soft Play Areas: Sustainable Materials and Practices