Elevator Pitch: Weihnachtsmann & Co. KG – not only warming your heart, but also the planet

The series “Weichnachtsmann & Co. KG” (The Secret World of Santa Claus) depicts Santa Claus and his elves preparing for Christmas in their workshop at the North Pole. To create an adequate supply of presents for children worldwide, their toy machine is capable of producing gifts seemingly from thin air. In light of recent efforts towards a more sustainable future, it is important to consider the energy consumption and the materials used by this machine on an annual basis.

As indicated by the United Nations World Population Prospects (2024), the global population of individuals between the ages of 5 and 14 is 1.26 billion.[1] This age group represents the primary demographic targeted by Santa Claus. For the sake of simplicity, calculations are performed under the assumption that each child receives one gift.

A study published in 2024, came to the conclusion that the most common Christmas wishes among children are mobile phones (19 %), Lego (16 %), clothing (16 %), board games (11 %), tablets (8 %), software (8 %), bikes (8 %) and Playmobil (7 %). Given that Santa Claus is depicted as a traditional figure, electronic devices and software are excluded from further consideration. Only traditional toys are referenced. This leads to the new gift distribution of: Lego (30 %), clothing (30 %), board games (20 %), bikes (15 %), Playmobil (13 %).[2]

Lego building blocks (with the exception of transparent pieces and axes) and Playmobil consist of a acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer.[3] [4]In order to assess the average composition of clothing, global fibre consumption was considered. In the “Materials Market” report of 2023, it was stated, that the fibres produced globally have the following distribution: polyester (52-55 %), cotton (25-30 %), viscose and other cellulose fibres (5-7 %), polyamide (5-7 %), elastane (1-3 %) and wool (1-3 %).[5]

The average composition of board games was difficult to estimate. For that reason, the composition of the three most sold modern board games (monopoly, scrabble, cluedo) were looked at.[6] This leads to an roughly estimated average board game composition of: cardboard and paper (50 %), metal (10 %), wood (25 %) and plastics (15 %).

A bike’s material composition also varies between different types. Here the materials have been estimated to be Aluminum (30-40 %), Steel (15-25 %), Carbon Fiber (20-30 %), Titanium (5-10 %), rubber (5-10 %), plastics (5-10 %) and miscellaneous materials (2-5 %).[7]

The material contribution weighted by gift distribution is, therefore, 46.76 % plastics, 11.29 % metals, 10.19 % cardboard/paper, 28.74 % textiles, 1.11 % rubber, 5.09 % wood and 0.52 % miscellaneous materials. Further calculations are based on an average gift weight of 1.75 kg. In order to ascertain the quantity of material that would be required on an annual basis, the weighed material proportions were multiplied by the weight of the average gift and the number of children. The following table summarizes the results:

Let us now assume that a 3D printer cannot print with wood and paper, but is instead limited to plastics, textiles (such as polyester and nylon) and rubber. The estimated energy consumption per material is as follows: plastics (0.1 – 0.2 kWh per kg material), metals (0.4 kWh – 0.6 kWh per kg material), textiles (0.1 kWh per kg material), rubber (0.2 kWh per kg material). By multiplying these figures by the estimated annual material consumption and calculating the sum, it is possible to derive the annual energy consumption.

This results in an annual energy consumption of 348 million kWh. This high energy consumption would not be a problem if you consider that it could possibly be generated from renewable energy sources. Such energy consumption could be covered by approximately 348,000 solar installations or 39.5 wind turbines. The North Pole experiences consistent and robust winds, rendering wind turbines an efficient and dependable energy source, even during the polar night. In contrast, solar power is only effective during the polar day and is therefore not a viable option during the polar night, when there is no sunlight for months. Even if the energy from renewables could be needed, the question of waste production and resource consumption remains.

[1] UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. “Population, ages 0-4 – UN WPP” [dataset]. United Nations, “World Population Prospects” [original data].

[2] iconkids \& youth. (1. November, 2018). Was wünschst du dir zu Weihnachten? [Graph]. In Statista. Zugriff am 26. November 2024, von https://de-statista-com.uaccess.univie.ac.at/statistik/daten/studie/1034356/umfrage/weihnachtswuensche-von-kindern-in-deutschland/

[3] LEGO®, das Spielzeug des Jahrhunderts. wissen.de

[4] 40 Jahre Playmobil: Von Zinnfiguren zum Plastik. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 8. April 2014.

[5] https://textileexchange.org/knowledge-center/reports/materials-market-report-2023/

[6] https://wordsrated.com/popular-board-games

[7] https://twowheelsbetter.net/bicycle-materials/} For simplicity, different plastics and different metals were grouped together.