Our Mission
In the presence of any situation, a single question can guide our attention to a hidden wellspring of meaningful and creative choices: “How Do I Play?”
At Inner Castle Games, it is our mission to apply this question not only to the creation of toys and games, but to the issues facing us as citizens of Earth.
To this end, we have two clear objectives:
1. Raise the standards for sustainable and ethical manufacturing methods in arts and entertainment
2. Pioneer the application of the psychology of play across new fields to better ourselves and our world
Our Method
We believe the methods widely available to us for personal expression and entertainment often contribute more harm than good. Inner Castle Games exists as a way to enable players and creators to live in better accordance with their convictions about the ecological and psychological impact of toy and game design. In manufacturing our own products, we get to dictate ecological and ethical standards higher than those available in the mass market. Along with publishing our own toys, games, and media, we extend these standards to custom order craft services and prototyping. In our current state, we lack the production volume to gain access to the cutting edge technologies we are most excited to work with. We are, however, firmly dedicated to transparency and inclusion, so our standards listed below are updated with each roadmap milestone we celebrate. In our blog, we share the story of these adventures, the methods and insights inspiring us, and direct announcements regarding our products, services, and events. Join our community to be part of this story and explore the question with us, “How do I play?”
Our Environmental Standards
Finding the right components is only one piece of the puzzle, the way they are combined determines whether they will retain their suitability for recycling and biodegradation. We go to great lengths innovating the way materials are used to minimize the role plastics play in production and eliminate the use of landfills. Our materials are carefully selected to strike the best possible balance of recyclable and biodegradable within our current abilities.
Our Paper Products:
Paper can be recycled 5-7 times and safely composted. In the recycling process, water turns the paper into pulp and washes away water soluble pigments, adhesives, and coatings- this means our paper-based products are all recyclable even with the additives we use. We are proud to offer this environmental standard.
Nearly all pigments, adhesives, and coatings leave behind microplastics that will never decompose even under ideal composting conditions. We want to do better so we are pursuing a variety of exciting alternatives.
- The color on our paper products is inkjet printed and our used cartridges get recycled. Every ink available for commercial and consumer printing processes contains plastics- even inks whose carriers have been cut or replaced with soy or vegetable mixtures. These inks, being better for the environment, are the next step on our journey, but hardly the last. We are also actively researching and developing our own naturally derived, botanical pigments.
- Adhesives present an interesting challenge as well. We currently use labels from Elevate Packaging. These labels have a recyclable and compostable adhesive and face stock, which helps our final product retain those same properties, but the liners removed in the production process are not, leaving us with a byproduct we don’t want. To overcome this issue, we are experimenting with a variety of starch-based adhesives we hope will replace our need for labels.
Our Plastic Products:
Plastic can only be recycled 2-3 times before it becomes unusable. Whether or not it gets recycled, ordinary plastic will break down into smaller parts over time but never truly decomposes. When plastic is necessary, we only use plant-based biodegradable resins. Still, we do our best to avoid this whenever possible for several reasons. Bioplastics often have special requirements for industrial composting but rarely get disposed of properly. Additionally, the byproducts of plastic production, including the tools and materials, add up to generate a lot of waste. Because uncured resin is toxic, most SLA 3D printer operators use 2 pairs of disposable neoprene gloves per print. Through careful utilization of safety procedures, curing equipment, and reusable gloves, we are able to prevent this level of waste.
Our Materials
Chipboard
– Made from recycled paper
– Recyclable with mixed paper recycling
– Biodegradable
PureLabels Natural Compostable Labels
– Unbleached Sugarcane Paper
– Compostable and recyclable adhesive and face stock
– Meets FDA requirements for direct food contact
– Made in USA
Grafix cellulose acetate film
– Made from wood pulp, can be recycled, composted, or incinerated
– Certified 100% biodegradable in the U.S. and Europe
Anycubic Plant-based UV Eco Resin
– Biodegradable and made from soybean oil
– No VOCs, no BPA