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Gerhard Gollnest goes green

(Güster, February 17, 2011) Jürgen Trittin, leader of the Green Party in the German Bundestag, visited Gollnest & Kiesel. Trittin has always felt a special connection to wooden toys and often remembers the times in his childhood, when environmentally friendly Anker building blocks gave free range to his developing creativity and imagination. After some discussion about the Northern German toy manufacturer's product diversity and the worries of the industry about mounting administrative obstacles, Trittin welcomed Gerhard Gollnest as a new member of the Green Party. Member of Parliament for the Green Party, Konstantin von Notz, Mölln, also took part in the meeting.

Gerhard Gollnest and Fritz-Rüdiger Kiesel informed Trittin about their motivations to produce wooden toys, and their social engagement. For instance, the eighth 'cause school is just about to be completed, this time to help children in Uganda to escape the cycle of child labour and a subsequent life of poverty. In April, both company owners, together with children from a forest kindergarten, will plant 60,000 trees for a new public forest in Molfsee near Kiel.

"Toys go green" was this year's motto of the Nuremberg Toy Fair, placing special emphasis on the idea of sustainability in connection with toys. This is old hat for Gerhard Gollnest. "We were already promoting sustainability at a time when no-one in Germany had any idea that the concept of sustainability might apply anywhere outside of forestry." Traditional wooden toys with high play value can be considered the epitome of sustainability in toys. Anker building blocks have traditionally been made from natural materials for 130 years.

Gollnest considers his decision to become a member of the Green Party to be no more than a logical consequence. Given his company's traditionally responsible and sustainable way of doing business, it seemed the right time for him to add his own political convictions to the Green Party. Gollnest was a member of the FDP (German Liberal Party) for 37 years, but has accused the party of having thrown their original political convictions overboard. He on the other hand believes he has remained faithful to himself and his principles.