I know some people are boycotting US businesses during the current administration, but the same mindset has ripple effects here in the EU. In other words: stay vigilant!
There’s 2 things in this world that I hate. Intolerance for other people and the Danes.
Why does Thorfinn speak in broken English while Sasappis doesn’t? Neither encountered it in their lifetimes, and both have been exposed to it for hundreds of years now.
You can spend 200 years listening to a language, but if you don’t try to understand it you never will
Mm, good point. Thorfinn’s not the brightest bulb, despite his power.
Also some people no matter how intelligent just can’t fully grasp a new language. They can become functionally fluent but never academically perfect
Took me a minute
😂
As a Dane who’s also a big fan of Thorfinn, I am vexed. VEXED, I tell you!
(Also, amused that the viking and the hippie are dating, given my username 😁)
Don’t talk with your mouth full!
removes potato from mouth, starts speaking the failed attempt at Danish known as Norwegian
Lol… Kamelåså
Not cool, Voyager translator script. Not cool. 🤦😄
God I love Austin Powers.
The Dutch. The Danes have enough having to speak Danish, no need to pile on them!
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Grand. That means this thing will probably be a real product within a decade. 😩
This sucks, my daughter just got into Lego. I guess it’s just another evil company I’ll be boycotting.
If my daughter wants more Lego, I’ll just buy it second hand
Good news: their patent expired, and offbrand lego now fits on Lego, at a third of the price.
The official bricks have a better feel than any of the off-brand versions I’ve encountered, though. Every other brand is usually too tight, or sometimes too loose. Lego spent a lot of time perfecting the clasping power, and it shows.
When have you last tried? The competition has changed immensely during the last couple of years, and there are brands now that have it dialed in just as well as Lego. I highly recommend checking out Lumibricks or Pantasy, those are best in class at the moment, and actually better than Lego in many ways, imo. Or maybe Cada, if you’re more into the Technic side of things
OK, I haven’t tried those. I am currently building the Pikachu from Mega Bloks with my young children, and they are having a noticeably harder time putting the pieces together than with similar complexity Lego sets. That being said, I love the design of the set, and the assembly instructions are arguably at least as good as Lego.
I don’t have any experience with Mega/Mattel stuff so far, so can’t really compare those. From what I hear, the quality of pieces is okay, but not on the same level as Lego and gobricks (the manufacturer that provides the bricks for both Lumibricks and Pantasy, among others).
If you actually want to give them a shot, just make sure you get relatively recent-ish sets (released within the last 2 years or so), as especially Lumibricks has very rapidly been refining the quality of their set designs, instructions etc, and gobricks pieces from before that time also tend to have quite strong clutch power which they’ve softened up by now. It’s really cool to see how quickly things are improving at the high end currently
Care to share some of these offbrand 1/3 the price lego brands?
Dunno bout cheap ones but BlueBrixx is good quality
Bluebrixx is definitely around that 1/3 of lego prices. They are hit or miss though when it comes to quality as they use different brick suppliers for different sets, and it’s not always easy to know what you’re getting beforehand.
for technic there’s CaDa
My recommendation is Lumibricks or Pantasy. They’re not quite 1/3 of the price of Lego, more around 1/2 on average I think, but both offer the best brick quality that you’re going to get from any company at the moment (they use the same supplier, gobricks). They’re also both offering exclusively original designs, so no copied sets or anything like that, and doing a lot of stuff setting them apart from Lego. Lumibricks has light kits integrated seamlessly into every set and goes hard on printed pieces, no stickers anywhere. Pantasy likes using lots of metallic painted pieces, bigger custom molded pieces, and has a few interesting IPs.
If you’re into Technic, there’s also CaDa, and if you want very accurate display models you could look into Cobi. The later is a polish company that designs and produces entirely in Europe, in contrast to any other brand out there, but that also comes with a price tag that’s pretty similar to Lego at this point.
Anything “Lego” sold on aliexpress.
Do those companies have DEI policies, or are we just indirectly dinging Lego for having had one in the first place?
I get mine from weird Chinese sites, soooo…
Lego as a brand does imo substantially benefit from positive associations such as heritage, sentimentality, and other positive attributes. Otherwise how would they be able to demand such premium prices.
So I would see it less as them being “dinged” for this action, but more as them losing some of those privileges. Something they are not inherently entitled to.
I have a hard time reading this thread as anything other than suggestions for boycotting Lego based on them having removed their DEI policy, while suggesting alternatives which never had one.
And they still deserve credit for having invented the concept and designed the bulk of the bricks. I don’t see how that changes at all based on whether they have a DEI policy. They obviously should lose any benefit from having a better DEI policy, since they no longer have one, but that doesn’t change anything else.
It’s like this: if someone says ‘I won’t ever stab you’ and then later rescinds that statement, are you going to trust them more or less than someone who didn’t announce their stance on potentially stabbing you?
Yeah, I’d go with the other party, too.
I get your point, although I’m not sure that’s a good example. I’d be very wary of anyone promising not to stab me out of the blue :-)
That being said, I’d be very surprised if Lego isn’t still doing largely the same things they did before, except they’re no longer publishing what they’re doing. For the Danish part of their operations I’m guessing most of it is mandated by local law anyway.
Bad news, their patent expired and they in turn, trademarked the bricks. They sue everyone under trademark now, instead of patent infringement.
There are also great alternatives for LEGO compatible toy sets. Some of them are even higher quality than LEGO.
What are the alternatives?
I haven’t built a lot of non LEGO sets but the Pantasy set I recently built was phenomenal. It was the retro computer I got as a gift.
Which ones? Mega Bloks make really nice designs, but the Lego bricks feel better to build with.
I haven’t built a lot of non LEGO sets but the Pantasy set I recently built was phenomenal. It was the retro computer I got as a gift.
Some of them are even higher quality than LEGO.
Like such as?
Pantasy for instance.
This isn’t a great look, but calling Lego “evil” is a bit of a stretch. This was one report that has no bearing on how they run their company or how they interact with their customers.
They still support and promote diversity in their products, which is where it matters.
No, it’s not. Lego has been bullying local distributors of other brick systems (e. g. CADA) by issuing patent claims, knowing very very well that those claims are false and the patents have expired long ago.
However, customs has to hold and store the shipping containers until the court settles, and they charge for it. A lot. This forces small shops (down to your local mom&pop toy store) to pay for customs storage fees, for weeks, sometimes months. These costs are high enough to force small shops out of business, mind you.
Along with the declining quality of the sets and the increasing cost, Lego is very well a shitty company.
The high cost is an issue, but I don’t know what you’re talking about with declining quality. It’s still fantastic quality.
You might have a point. It’s only one document that they decided not to mention DEI related words in dispite using it 7 times in the same document the previous year.
However, I’ve been on the fence about even buying Lego for my daughter. The fact is that they sell a product entirely made from plastic, it doesn’t matter that they use paper bags now to contain their plastic. This is the modern day equivalent of buying your children toys made with asbestos or lead. These products make our children and planet less healthy in ways we aren’t fully sure yet.
Maybe they aren’t evil. But they also seem to be far from innocent.
I think I’ll still stick to buying second hand if at all.
The plastic used to make Lego is a byproduct of fossil fuels. It won’t stop being added to the environment until we get off of fossil fuels. It’s not like Lego is digging up oil just to make toys.
They’re also actively searching for renewable plastic alternatives. Like, it’s a huge initiative for them.
In the meantime they just recently started a recycling program where they buy back old bricks, with the stated purpose being their concern for what happens to the plastic when it’s no longer being used.
If you’re looking for a toy company that’s conscientious about their impact on the environment, you’d have a hard time finding better than Lego.
If they suddenly care what Americans think they should just go ahead and rename the system “legos”.
😂
It’s a sort of anti Brussels effect, I suppose: When fascism has infected the US, it starts spreading everywhere else, too.
My response to this is always…Putin really needs to die
This isn’t going anywhere. Climate change will make sure of that.
After which someone worse will take his place and continue the same shit
What Russia needs is a fucking revolution full 1917 style where they murder the shit out of all oligarchs and setup a functional democracy
You think the bolsheviks should try again?
Maybe the second time it’ll work?
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“and then it got worse”
Ah yes all the dastardly Russians fault.
Come on dude, the US does not need any help being a fascist hellhole. Their fascism is homegrown
In the context of power and money, absolutely. Although the fascism is being generated beyond the US too: fossil fuel companies are considered to be the main proponents of disinformation to destroy social cohesion against minorities, for example.
Another company that doesn’t need to, cow-towing to the cowardly cunt in the White House. Or is it the kitsch Gold House now?
Omg 😂😂😂 ive been calling it the gold leaf house recently
Profits before ethics.
Shame, I expected better of them.
Everyone needs to remember regardless where they are based out of a multinational corporation is just that multinational. So they will do what they have to do to curry favor with a powerful government for corporate kick backs.
Plus regardless of how wrong it is the the people of the United States told the world what they want when the majority elected these clowns not only by the electrical college but also the popular vote. So companies are going to respond to what they perceive is what their markets want.
I hate it as much as the next human with even a little empathy but it’s how the world works right now. Just like with countries, companies don’t have morals they have interests. So there is no good or bad companies only whats in their interest at the moment.
The electrical college is truly a shocking way to run a country in the 21st century.
Good place to study electrical engineering though.
Didn’t John Goodman run that program at Greendale?
So there is no good or bad companies only whats in their interest at the moment.
That’s absolutely not true. Just because a company doesn’t “have morals” doesn’t mean a company isn’t immoral. No different than a psychopath not having morals, but us as society being able to judge them for that. You, as a consumer, have a choice on companies you interact with (somewhat, of course). Companies generally seek profit, so yes, capitalism is at fault it the core. But there are companies like:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LifeStraw
vs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_(drinkware_company)
Which one is more ethical?
These companies could have broken ties:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_collaboration_with_Nazi_Germany
That being said there’s currently a pretty strong rise globally in support for nationalism / fascism / racism / anti-science / religious domination of government and media / genocide. So even companies that seem more local can immediately change their culture to adopt to a shift in power, belief, etc.
Just because interests align with the wellbeing of the public doesnt make a company moral. You back a few years ago and Tesla started by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning to push Electric cars and battery tech and thus would get us off fossil fuels. We all for the most part think of that as a good thing and look at them now.
The problem is companies by design eventually get big enough that the people in them don’t truly care of the mission of the company. Most people do what they need to do to keep their job and when you have enough people doing that in the micro where they dont see it as immoral, but it adds up at the maco to some really immoral stuff.
Fuck Lego. What does the k’nex annual report say?
K’nex appear to be owned by Basic Fun!, a U.S. company. Unlike LEGO I can’t find any social obligations that they’ve committed to in the past. https://www.basicfun.com/about/
The oligarchy transcends borders
Welp, fuck Lego too I guess. I hope at least some of their fans vote with their wallet and choose new hobbies a little less supportive of fascism.
As if I could afford any to begin with.
That would be assuming most corporations care about idealogies.
LEGO would sell their toys in Nazi countries simply to make money. Like any other corp, that’s the one and only thing that matters.
Anyway, knock-off LEGO has become just as good as the real thing these days, but significantly cheaper to buy. Perhaps better, since knock-offs often have colours LEGO doesn’t.
Yes, I’m sure the Chinese companies that create those are much better when it comes to human rights and diversity.
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Really Denmark?
Imo the title falsely implies that Lego not being a US company means they are completely independent and unaffected by US actions.
Lego presumably does substantial business in the US and thus is beholden to US jurisdiction and the whims of Trump to some degree. Them dropping diversity and inclusion from their reports just shows their priorities. However on that note Lego still being family owned lets us pin this decision more squarely on some particular individuals, rather than the usual vague mass of shareholders.
Damn. You’re right. I actually thought my title implied that connection, but I can see how it works the opposite way too. I’m not sure how to phrase it without editorialising too much / posting opinion as fact. I’m open to suggestions.
Lego is an anti-family company.
What’s the US have to do with it?
China doesn’t have DIE, despite Blackrock heavily investing in China.
Blackrock requires it everywhere else they invest, except China.
As do the European sovereign funds.
It’s a 180° u-turn on their statements just a year or two ago. The timing is interesting from that point of view. USA is also their largest market.
And while LEGO is a privately held company, they likely have US investors too.In other words, I don’t see any other motivation for the shift than the political climate in the U.S.And while LEGO is a privately held company, they likely have US investors too.
No, they have not. 75 % are owned by the family, 25 % by the LEGO foundation.
Thanks for the correction. That’s significant.
China doesn’t have DIE
So that’s how they have such a large population!
