A LEGO building blocks set — complete with bricks, cars and bridges — is the highlight of my toddler’s toy cupboard. It has been in my family for over three decades, surviving rough play among cousins, flooded homes, and years locked away in an attic. Its continued usability is no accident: LEGO is made from tough, impact-resistant ABS plastic, a non-toxic, food-grade material; and its quiet status as a cherished hand-me-down has kept it alive across generations.

But as a new mother, I’ve felt the pressure to go completely plastic-free. I’ve bought my share of wooden and bamboo toys and cutlery, drawn by their promise of being more sustainable. The reality, however, has been more mixed than I expected. Food stains cling to the otherwise attractive bamboo plates, and within weeks, the handles of wooden play utensils come loose. I find myself returning to the sturdier stainless steel kitchen set from my childhood, or opting for other toys made from the durable ABS plastic.

In 1957, an Indian plastic-packaging maker chronicled the happy fate of a hosiery brand that had begun wrapping its products in plastic. The result, he wrote in an Indian daily, was a 65% jump in sales.

Paper, wood, aluminium, tin and other containers had been on the market for decades, but were opaque. “It is well known that when a customer sees what he wants, he is more apt to want what he can see,” wrote G.R. Bhide, an executive at Plastics Packaging Pvt. Ltd.