LEGO explains change to instruction manuals in summer sets

The LEGO Group has explained a recent change to its building instructions, which is apparently linked to its sustainability efforts – but maybe not in the way you think. When you pick up your new sets on June 1, you’ll probably notice something unusual about the instruction manuals: for many products, the paper is now a blanket white, while the cover depicts a plain render of the set, letterboxed by a simple border decorated with a faint brick design. It’s a stripped-back approach to presenting sets that sits in stark contrast to current instruction manuals, which have typically mirrored a given product’s box art.

According to a statement shared on the LEGO Ambassador Network, the change has come alongside the LEGO Group’s sustainability initiatives, including replacing plastic bags in boxes with paper bags. But the explanation makes it sound like it hasn’t been driven by that goal directly: instead, the change has simply been made to keep things ‘visually consistent’ with the new paper bags.

“The LEGO Group is on a journey to make its packaging more sustainable by 2025,” the statement reads. “As we are gradually replacing single-use plastic bags with paper-based bags in our boxes, other in-box materials such as the cover of building instructions have also been redesigned for a visually consistent unboxing experience.” We’re yet to see the long-awaited paper bags in wide release sets, but they originally debuted in the employee-exclusive 4002021 The Temple of Celebrations at the end of last year.

A first look at those bags revealed that they’re white, with the same faint brick pattern that we’re now seeing on instruction manuals. Technically, then, the new design is indeed visually consistent. What’s less consistent is the LEGO Group’s messaging.

Earlier this week, the company shared via Twitter that the ‘simpler look’ is intended to give ‘more focus on the model about to be built’, which is an entirely different reason to the one shared here. That same tweet also conflated the change with the LEGO Group’s environmental efforts, mentioning that ‘some booklets will also come in an envelope’ (presumably referring to those that previously came in their own plastic bag, rather than every booklet getting its own envelope – that would be a lot of trees).

o LEGO moves the goalposts for its new paper bags
o Leaflet in LEGO set suggests switch to paper bags is imminent What neither of those statements does is directly mention the fact that using white paper for the instruction manuals will presumably mean using less ink, which is surely better for the environment, and an easy win for the LEGO Group to point to. (It will probably also mean reduced costs for the company, but it’s unlikely to shout that from the rooftops.)

The change has already drawn criticism from certain corners of the internet, with the general sentiment being that the LEGO Group is – as one Twitter user succinctly summarised – ‘cheaping out’.

Aligning the design between booklets and bags probably isn’t a strong enough reason to change that reaction, but let us know what you think of the new instruction manual approach in the comments below.

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