Reflections on our sustainability work in 2025
In 2025, our sustainability work became clearer—and more demanding.
Better data has improved our understanding of where progress is real, and where it is not. In many cases, it has not improved results, but removed uncertainty. This shift has changed how we work: less focus on describing ambition, and more on understanding concrete impacts, trade-offs, and limitations.
Growth and emissions
One of the clearest reflections is the relationship between growth and climate impact.
As we grow and reach more children—which is our purpose—our total emissions increase. Higher product volumes and transport were the main drivers. When a company grows by more than 20 percent per year, reducing emissions at the same pace requires structural change, not only optimisation.
Our products are built for safety first. This constrains material and design choices, and adds complexity when reducing environmental impact.
At the same time, emissions per product improved. This is relevant, but does not change the overall picture: total emissions still increased.
The implication is clear. Efficiency improvements alone are not enough. Reducing emissions in absolute terms will require changes in materials, energy use, and logistics.
Some of these shifts depend on external factors, such as supplier energy transitions and access to alternative materials. This affects the pace of change, but not our responsibility to drive it forward.
Data quality remains a limitation. We still rely on industry averages in several areas, including parts of our product LCAs. Improving primary data—particularly in the supply chain—is necessary to both understand impact and reliably measure progress over time.
Supply chain
In 2025, working conditions audits covered around 80 percent of suppliers by spend. In areas such as labour rights, ethical business conduct and environmental protection, results are strong. At the same time, recurring issues remain in working hours and social insurance.
These challenges are not new, but better data has made them clearer and more consistent.
Some root causes are structural and linked to broader labour market conditions. This limits what we can change directly. Our focus is therefore on identifying specific issues and working with suppliers on targeted improvements over time.
Environmental data in the supply chain is still largely self-reported and not independently verified. This limits reliability and reduces confidence in measured progress.
More data does not automatically lead to better insight if its quality remains uneven.
Products
Durability is increasingly integrated into product development, and several key platforms are now verified for longer lifetimes.
Environmental Product Declarations have improved transparency and support decision-making by showing where changes have the greatest impact.
A key learning is that material changes are not straightforward. Tools, safety requirements, and performance characteristics are closely linked to specific materials. Alternatives often require time to source, test, and validate before they can be used in real projects.
This has made one thing clear: improved materials cannot be introduced as incremental adjustments. They need to be developed and verified in advance, as part of structured pre-studies.
At the same time, we are a relatively small company operating globally. We move fast, but integrating sustainability into daily decisions remains challenging when better alternatives are uncertain or not yet mature.
Circular models
Axkid Care continued to develop, but most of the work so far has focused on building the conditions required to scale. Measurable impact remains limited.
The main learning is that circularity depends on more than product design. It requires logistics, systems, and operations to develop in parallel. Without this alignment, progress remains constrained.
Looking ahead
Looking back, 2025 was less about setting new ambitions, and more about testing how well existing systems translate into results.
Better data has not made outcomes more positive. It has made them more accurate. In several areas, this means acknowledging that progress is slower than expected.
This shifts our focus.
There is limited value in setting targets in isolation if the systems needed to deliver them are not in place. Going forward, more attention will be placed on the structural drivers of impact—particularly materials, logistics, and supply chain engagement.
The gap between ambition and execution remains. With improved data, it is now clearer where it exists and how it can be addressed.
