It’s perfectly possible to display and organise toys for shoppers without labelling them for boys or girls. Here are a few examples of websites and shops doing a great job. Please contact us with more suggestions of good practice.
Games and toys in the window at Fagins Toys, Muswell Hill, north London. June 2013
Jigsaw puzzles and games grouped together at Fagins Toys, Muswell Hill. June 2013.
Toys organised by age group at Barnums toyshop in Penarth, South Wales. June 2013
With Love and Hope in Loughton, Essex. Toys organised by theme, with vehicles grouped together, and play food and home-corner toys together. June 2013
Baby and toddler toys grouped together at With Love and Hope, Loughton, Essex. June 2013
Science toys at ToysRUs. The heading 'Let's discover Science', and images of boys and girls are appealing to all. (Enfield, June 2013)
Koolmami toys in Bristol displays toys by age.
Hobbycraft have dropped their old 'Kits for girls' signs in favour of signs promoting craft for boys and girls. Gender-neutral signs for 'Face painting' and 'Science and nature' kits are also visible. Hobbycraft Reading, May 2013
Morleys department store in Tooting say, 'We have made a conscious decision to try to keep things as gender neutral as possible.' 
'We opened the Toy Department in September 2012 and it has proved very successful and popular. Our aim is to try to make the department as simple and easy for people to find their way round.' June 2013.
'We have listened to customer feedback about the layout/signage/product range of the department, in addition to our own ideas, to try to create a Toy department that children and parents love!', Morleys Tooting, June 2013
Fun learning's website organises toys in categories such as 'Science toys', 'Craft kits' or 'Building and construction'.
Elys department store in Wimbledon organises its toy department by theme and type of toy.
Elys, Wimbledon. Construction, Outdoor Toys and Skylanders all labelled without mention of boys or girls.
Science toys grouped together at Elys, Wimbledon
ToyShop UK is a toy and toy retailer directory, which offers a number of different ways to browse toy ideas, without gender labelling.
Baking sets and equipment for boys and girls at Hobbycraft Reading, May 2013.
Boys and girls can enjoy dressing up as a knight at Hobbycraft Reading, May 2013.
Puzzles and books grouped together at Koolmami, Bristol.
Little Scholars, Watford, uses no gender labels in store.
Toys organised by theme, including 'Creative Play' and 'First words' at Little Scholars, Watford
Good practice gallery
3 Comments
Leave a Comment
Our awards
But they are still pink and blue – would be much better in a neutral colour.
I meant the baking toys – it’s great they understand boys like to bake too, but a neutral colour would make it much better, maybe it’s a ploy to make us buy two of each (if you have mixed gender siblings that is!)
Lisa it’s only a ‘ploy’ if the buyer feels uncomfortable buying pink toys for boys and blue toys for girls – and frankly that’s the buyer’s problem, not the shop’s. As a parent I have no such issues and happy for kids to have any old colour as long as its not only pink or only blue. Neutral options are good too, but we can’t always hide behind it.