Radio Flyer, the maker of The Unique Little Crimson Wagon™, is an iconic model that immediately transports many individuals to a cheerful time —the very best elements of childhood. I lately had an opportunity to catch-up with Robert Pasin, the Chief Wagon Officer of Radio Flyer, a enterprise based by his grandfather in 1917.
Robert advised me how he and his group of “Flyers” are targeted on constructing a extremely dedicated and artistic group, and instilling a tradition of innovation and that firm gross sales have grown by an element of ten since he took over in 1997. Additional, the corporate’s product line has expanded past the long-lasting Little Crimson Wagon™ to incorporate tricycles, scooters, and different ride-ons that includes revolutionary, stunning, playful designs. I used to be additionally shocked to study that Robert can be the Emmy-winning producer of the animated brief movie, Taking Flight.
Whereas households have trusted and liked Radio Flyer for 105 years, Robert needed to pave his personal path and reinvent the corporate to make sure the model might proceed to evolve to fulfill prospects’ wants with out shedding the model nostalgia that so many know and love. In 2021, for the primary time in Radio Flyer historical past, the model created a line of merchandise for adults: FLYER, a line of electrical bicycles designed particularly for households.
For greater than 20 years, Radio Flyer has additionally partnered with the Starlight Basis to offer wagons to be used in hospitals. The long-lasting Little Crimson Wagon has been delivered to greater than 800 hospitals all through the nation bringing smiles, laughter and creativeness again into the lives of younger sufferers.
Robert advised me how he has targeted the corporate on sustainability and practices similar to carbon-neutral delivery, aiming to face other than the fad-driven, packaging-heavy nature of the toy business. From sustainable packaging to Radio Flyer work laborious to make sure prospects can really feel sure their buy is made with eco-conscious practices in thoughts. In September 2022, Radio Flyer turned a Licensed B Company, turning into the primary world toy and eBike producer so acknowledged for its dedication and progress towards constructive environmental and social impression.
Under is an edited excerpt from our dialogue.
Christopher Marquis: Are you able to please share a bit concerning the historical past and values of Radio Flyer?
Robert Pasin: Radio Flyer was based in 1917 by my grandpa, Antonio Pasin, who began the enterprise with a wood coaster wagon that he would make at evening and promote in the course of the day. He was obsessed with making a superbly designed, high quality product that might final a very long time. One in all his core values was to create merchandise he might be happy with and that had inherent worth.
Now, greater than 100 years later, Radio Flyer makes way more than our iconic Little Crimson Wagon™. We make the whole lot from tricycles to scooters to bounce homes. And, whereas we at the moment are the world chief in ride-ons for teenagers, we lately joined the micro-mobility motion by launching electrical bicycles for adults. This product line is designed to fulfill the wants of households on the go, offering a sustainable and handy different to vehicles. Our purpose is extra bikes rides and fewer automobile journeys.
Regardless of our important product diversification, our mission has remained the identical for over a century. We convey smiles to youngsters of all ages and create heat reminiscences that final a lifetime. Because of this we pursued B Corp certification, the gold customary for corporations who’re working laborious to be good residents of the world. We’re dedicated to doing our half to protect the atmosphere for generations to come back so that children and households can proceed to train their imaginations and luxuriate in outside play.
Marquis: Inform me about what eco-conscious practices are carried out when prospects make a purchase order on RadioFlyer.com.
Pasin: Greater than 20 years in the past, as I turned extra conscious of menace of local weather change and the significance of sustainability, I spotted that we might do higher. It was the proper factor to do. We kicked off our sustainability journey with measurement. As soon as we had a baseline, we needed to work towards enhancing and increasing our objectives diligently.
One of many issues we now have going for us is that our merchandise are inherently sustainable as a result of they are often reused, handed down via generations, and repaired if wanted. As well as, the carbon emissions from every merchandise bought on RadioFlyer.com are 100% offset via a verified emission discount mission. Our total product line is now 99.6% PVC-free, and we now have began changing polybags with extra paper-based packaging, saving greater than 43,000 kilos of single-use packaging per yr. We now have additionally diversified our provide chain to extend the quantity of recycled content material utilized in our packaging to 87%. A lot of this work is completed in factories powered by photo voltaic, which in 2020 led to greater than 500 tons of averted CO2 emissions.
Marquis: What are among the sustainability initiatives your group is most happy with up to now?
Pasin: One of many merchandise we’re actually happy with is our Seashore & Boardwalk Wagon. The Seashore & Boardwalk Wagon is probably the most sustainable product in our product line with a physique product of 100% recycled PET from plastic water bottles, bottle caps, soda bottles and meals containers. Every wagon removes roughly 90 plastic water bottles from landfills and oceans, and 15% of the plastic used within the wagon body and wheels are constructed from recycled content material. I believe this can be a excellent method for folks to share the significance of recycling and sustainability whereas selecting up plastic waste from seashores.
Whereas the Seashore & Boardwalk Wagon stands out, I’m happy with all our sustainability initiatives and our progress up to now. It is uncommon to see legacy manufacturers like ours embracing sustainability, and whereas we all know we cannot get it excellent instantly, we’re actively studying and adjusting our method to be higher.
Marquis: Radio Flyer has historically been a toy producer however launched its first grownup eBike line, FLYER final yr. Why get into eBikes now?
Pasin: Years in the past, I used to be in Amsterdam after I noticed households utilizing cargo bikes as an alternative choice to vehicles, utilizing them to take youngsters to and from faculty and different actions. Instantly I believed, “how cool!” However for those who’ve ever ridden a standard non-powered cargo bike with two youngsters, it’s actually laborious to pedal – particularly up hills.
So, in June 2021, we launched the Flyer™ line of grownup eBikes. The Flyer™ line is an extension of the Radio Flyer model created with the identical stunning design and high quality that has impressed our work for over a century. We launched our first two Flyer™ eBikes, the M880 and the L885, and lately launched our new Flyer™ Folding Cargo in October 2022. This shift made sense for us as a result of most of our merchandise are designed for lively play and intention to get youngsters exterior, which is the position these eBikes play for the entire household. The extension into grownup merchandise permits us to serve generations over time.
All of our eBikes are designed with distinctive equipment that allow dad and mom to take pleasure in a motorbike journey with their youngsters. As an illustration, you’ll be able to add issues like a water bottle holder, cellphone mount, storage baskets, Child & Cargo Service for teenagers ages 5-10 years and a Maxi Seat that safely harnesses youthful riders, ages 9 months-6 years. In actual fact, we’re listening to so many tales about dad and mom utilizing the eBikes to skip the dreaded faculty carpool strains.
We’re obsessed with serving to dad and mom rethink transportation and take into account a extra sustainable and handy mode for the entire household. We wish to substitute neighborhood automobile rides with eBike rides so households can discover the outside whereas doing their half to guard it.
Marquis: Your group additionally constructed the Hero Wagon to be used with youngsters present process medical care in hospitals. How did this concept come to life and what was the driving power behind this mission?
Pasin: Radio Flyer has supported the Starlight Kids’s Basis mission of bringing pleasure and luxury to hospitalized youngsters and their households since 2001. Radio Flyer’s partnership began with donating greater than 15,000 of our iconic pink wagons to youngsters’s hospitals and different healthcare amenities.
The Hero Wagon got here to be after years of observing how our merchandise have been being utilized in hospitals. We noticed the enjoyment they may convey and wished to make them even higher and extra purposeful for hospital workers. That is how the Hero Wagon was born – we advanced our patented folding wagon to offer a straightforward resolution to retailer, sanitize, and carry obligatory gear like IV poles via the halls of hospitals.
The Hero Wagon could be very close to and pricey to our hearts at Radio Flyer, because it encapsulates what we attempt for as an organization. If we will convey only one smile to youngsters enduring a few of their hardest instances, we now have exceeded our mission with the Hero Wagon.
Marquis: Your grandfather constructed this enterprise 105-years in the past. What do you assume his response could be how you’ve got grown the enterprise in the present day?
Pasin: I believe he could be each amazed and proud to see how Radio Flyer has advanced. My grandpa had a transparent mission when he created the corporate, and the aim carried via when my father took over; nonetheless, as everyone knows, the world has modified vastly over the previous few a long time. By the point I took over, I spotted we would have liked to start out conducting enterprise extra purposefully to ensure the following era’s reminiscences might final a lifetime.
We’re obsessed with sustaining a world the place households can discover the outside and embrace their imaginations. And we all know we can not go on this journey alone. We belief that, if all of us work towards the values the B Corp mannequin exemplifies, we will create a world that permits our youngsters and grandkids to create these long-lasting reminiscences my grandfather dreamed for our household.
Marquis: Radio Flyer was named the primary world toy and eBike producer to obtain a B Corp certification. Inform me about what led you to getting this certification. Why is it significant to you?
Pasin: Traditionally, the toy business hasn’t been the primary group that involves thoughts when discussing sustainability– we now have distinctive challenges to beat, just like the broad use of plastic, the economics behind sourcing sustainable supplies, and the fad-driven nature of merchandise. This can be a giant a part of why we at Radio Flyer really feel a singular accountability to do higher. We acknowledge that sustainability is not only a passing development and need to be a frontrunner on this house. We incorporate sustainable practices into our enterprise mannequin, our particular person merchandise, and our HQ operations. It may be uncommon to see legacy manufacturers embracing sustainability wholeheartedly and topping impression lists like we’re, which is why we knew it was necessary to double down on our dedication to sustainability and social impression. Sustainability is crucial to profitable enterprise operations for a lot of causes, however for us, it indicators how we proceed to problem the established order, and encourage others to do the identical.
Marquis: How do you anticipate your prospects to react to the information?
Pasin: So many firms and shoppers need to make a distinction these days. It does not cease on the producer or model. Shoppers more and more wish to know if corporations and types are good residents of the world, if they’re treating their staff proper and doing their half to guard the planet.
Shopper buying behaviors are altering: they need to incorporate extra sustainable merchandise. In actual fact, we now have discovered that customers perceive the worth of merchandise that trigger much less hurt to the atmosphere. Shoppers are searching for sustainable choices and merchandise they will be ok with buying and I believe our efforts on this house give them another reason to contemplate Radio Flyer.
Marquis: The place is Radio Flyer headed and what are subsequent steps for the enterprise because it continues to grow to be much more sustainable and socially accountable?
Pasin: Our purpose is to be round for an additional 105 years. We’re in it for the lengthy haul and wish to maintain making merchandise for households that delight households throughout the globe. We’re going to maintain working laborious to proceed enhancing and have a constructive impression on the world. We’re taking it one step at a time to make sure that we’re not dashing or skipping necessary steps in our sustainability journey. I’m working carefully with my group to find out the place we’re headed subsequent. We’re working towards our science-based goal purpose for 2030, together with reductions to Scope 1, 2 and three emissions.
We have efficiently diminished our Scope 1 and a couple of emissions via main modifications made at our headquarters that resulted in larger operational efficiencies throughout water, power, and different useful resource utilization. This led to our LEED Platinum certification, which makes us extraordinarily proud.
We now have made progress in our Scope 3 emissions via merchandise made utilizing recycled supplies, higher packaging picks, and growing renewable power utilization in our factories, however like many corporations, we nonetheless have extra work to do on this space.
We have additionally made nice progress in areas exterior of sustainability. We’re dedicated to being anti-racist and creating an inclusive atmosphere that makes Radio Flyer a world-class office. Final yr, in early June, amidst the social unrest experiences throughout the nation, we requested our Flyers for sincere, nameless suggestions on how we have been doing and what’s wanted on the range and inclusion entrance. Based mostly on the suggestions acquired, we now have outlined an motion plan categorized into 5 buckets: Hiring, Management & Schooling, Folks Practices, Group Tradition & Advantages, and Exterior Partnerships.
There may be nonetheless work to be achieved and our push to create constructive change won’t ever cease however we’re happy with the progress made to-date, and I can not wait to see the place we go subsequent.