Nichakamol Chitirattanasre
1. Executive Summary
Pop Mart generated ฿5.3 billion in revenue and a ฿1.6 billion net profit in its joint venture with Minor International (MINT) in 2024 in its joint venture alone. With 7 physical stores and RoboShop establishments across Bangkok, the company has left a significant mark within Thailand’s economy but is also deteriorating our environment through its massive contributions to plastic waste at the same time. Many countries have struggled to tackle this issue as Pop Mart’s mixture of different materials, as well as excessive quantities, makes it hard to process through the recycling process. This issue is much more prominent in Thailand due to the country’s ongoing waste problem, where the demand for a much more efficient waste management is more than the existing infrastructure (NextMSC, n.d.).
2. Introduction
Pop Mart initially started as a general retail store, founded by Wang Ning. The franchise then shifted towards the rising collectibles market by taking inspiration from the success of the Japanese market with ‘surprise toys’. Skyrocketing to success and aggressively expanding, Pop Mart soon became the leader of the ‘Art Toy’ Industry through its distinctive intellectual property (IP) strategy with collaborations with artists around the world, e.g., artist Kasing Lung with his creation of Labubu. This global phenomenon has found a particularly fervent response in Southeast Asian markets, with Thailand emerging as a standout example of both economic success and escalating consumption challenges.
With Thailand’s reliance on tourism and retail, Pop Mart has certainly expanded its economic activity in each respective sector. In major shopping districts like CentralWorld, Pop Mart’s presence contributes to tourist spending, especially from high-spending demographics. It is also important to note how Thailand’s retail sector is growing. In 2024, retail sales reached approximately THB 4.12 trillion, growing by 3.8% (Kasikorn Research Center, 2025a). Even though the sector is undergoing a significant shift towards e-commerce, physical retail, especially in prime locations, remains strong. Pop Mart’s strong foundation in both physical and online sales has contributed significant numbers toward each sector’s growth. Thus, this report will outline the economic alongside the environmental costs of Pop Mart in Thailand.
3. Pop Mart’s Rise to Fame
In the Journal of Consumer Culture, Reith (2009) states in his article, ‘Gambling and the Contradictions of Consumption: A Critical Perspective’, how the uncertainty of each purchase induces a reward system. Similar to the concept of gambling, consumers are then encouraged to repeat buys and contribute more towards their dopamine loop. Studies have shown that the “blind” aspect creates a mystery that is central to Pop Mart’s appeal, creating excitement and anticipation with each purchase (EB Games Australia, n.d.). This is escalated by the “Secret Chases,” where each release of toys contains a very rare and highly sought-after variant within a specific blind box series, referred to as the “Secret.” This is a deliberate marketing strategy that uses the principles of chance, scarcity, and social sharing to increase the anticipation and collectibility of their products, leading to repeated purchases among fans and continuously increasing Pop Mart’s revenue and market share growth.
Apart from the Secret Chase, Pop Mart’s strategic IP and collaborations with other artists as well as franchises like Disney are one of its unique selling points, as they allow the company to connect with strong and existing fanbases and grow a much more loyal consumers base. Social media plays a large role in marketing Pop Mart with its large influence, where unboxing videos and viral trends as well as FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) (Pires & Breazeale, 2020) have contributed to huge sales numbers. As many consumers and Pop Mart enthusiasts tend to buy the same collection multiple times in order to complete a full set, a significant resale market has also emerged as a place for collectors to buy rare figures, such as Labubu figures reselling for thousands of baht, according to Wang (2023).
As for Thailand, Pop Mart has also contributed directly towards the economy massively since the joint venture between Pop Mart and Minor International (MINT), Pop Mart Thailand—with Pop Mart owning 58% and Minor International 42%. This generated a hefty revenue stream of ฿5.3 billion and ฿1.6 billion in net profit in 2024 (36Kr, 2024; Pop Mart International Group, 2025). This also contributed towards 9% of Pop Mart’s global sales as well as 6% of its global net income (36Kr, 2024; Pop Mart International Group, 2025). Kaohoon International also reported how the venture contributed to MINT’s core profit by 8%, not to mention how 40% of MINT’s core profit growth in 2024 came from Pop Mart Thailand alone (36Kr, 2024). This successful joint venture indicates a positive signal to international investors and can allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to increase into Thailand’s retail, entertainment, and consumer goods sectors.
It is reported that 70% of products within Thai Pop Mart stores were sold out and 90% of customers are local Thais (36Kr, 2024), indicating robust domestic consumer spending on discretionary items and reflecting a certain level of consumer confidence and disposable income within the Thai market. The majority of consumers tend to buy four or more mystery boxes per visit, with Thai stores restocked two to three times weekly (36Kr, 2024). This then indicates significant demand for local logistics, warehousing, and transportation services, leading to the flourishing growth of these ancillary sectors.
It is also worth mentioning Pop Mart’s spillover benefits, prominently contributing towards the retail sector. With the majority of the flagship stores located within shopping malls around the city center, mean the stores act as ‘destination drivers’ for these malls and also increase the revenue stream of other stores throughout the mall. Moreover, Pop Mart has also expanded sectors like logistics, warehousing, and potentially even administrative roles. The increase in job opportunities leads directly into income generation for Thai households, stimulating domestic consumption beyond just Pop Mart products. This integration into the formal employment structure helps address unemployment challenges and supports the overall economic stability and growth of the Thai workforce. In December 2024, employment in the Wholesale, Retail, & Repair Vehicles sector in Thailand was reported at 6.86 million people (CEIC, 2024), a significant portion of the total workforce. Non-agricultural sectors in Thailand saw 1.1% year-on-year growth in Q4 2024, with strong growth in the transportation and storage sectors (NESDC, 2025; Xinhua, 2025).
One of Pop Mart’s bestselling lines is the Crybaby’s, which is made by Thai artist Molly. This not only showered Pop Mart with endless revenue but also provided a global platform for Thai intellectual property and creative talent, contributing to the nation’s growing creative economy.
4. The Environmental Footprint of Pop Mart’s Success
As competition in the toy industry gets progressively higher, demand for PVC and ABS plastics has reached a new peak due to their cheap, durable, and versatile nature. However, they are notoriously difficult as well as expensive to recycle, causing them to often end up in landfills (UNEP, 2018). It is also without a doubt that the rapid release of new series often leads to older, unwanted figures being discarded, contributing to vast quantities of plastic waste. Not only do the figures themselves contribute to this, but it is also the excessive packaging. Each blind box contains multiple non-recyclable elements like the foil bag, plastic trays, and wraps, etc. Thus, instantly creating waste upon unboxing each box, according to the European Environment Agency in 2020. Recycling companies also struggle since the rise of Pop Mart as the small size, mixed materials, and contaminants in the toy and its packaging impose difficulties on the recycling procedures. Most figurines use a mixture of all types of plastic, offering different textures and aesthetics, which makes it difficult for recycling companies to separate these plastics and recycle them respectively. It is also very challenging to recycle PVCs considering their harmful fumes and toxins released during the recycling process, making it difficult for countries lacking PVC recycling plants to do so and contributing to more landfill. The International Transport Forum (2019) also stresses the energy-intensive process of manufacturing figurines in China and their international shipment and how this substantially increases the global carbon footprint. In addition, fast production cycles driven by the continuous demand for new releases pressure faster production, increasing resource consumption and waste generation as well.
This issue is quite significant in Thailand, which generated an estimated 26 million tons of waste each year, with about 50,000 tons ending up in the ocean (NextMSC, n.d.; UNOC, n.d.). Thailand’s waste management market, while growing, faces challenges from not enough processing facilities as well as difficult regulatory compliances, causing an over-reliance on facilities that struggle to handle the increasing volume and diversity of waste (NextMSC, n.d.; Enviliance Asia, 2025a). The country has implied measures like banning plastic waste imports from January 2025 and is developing a Roadmap on Plastic Waste Management (Enviliance Asia, 2025a) however, the sheer volume and mixed-material nature of Pop Mart products exacerbate existing difficulties in a system already under strain.
5. Societal and Ethical Considerations
In 2005, Dittmar describes how the “Mystery” and “Collect ’em All” aspects, which are Pop Mart’s biggest sales drivers, foster addictive purchasing behaviors. His article suggests that such behavior will lead to excessive spending and financial strain for consumers. Pop Mart also seems to attract more of the younger demographic as its main consumers; multiple sources describe Pop Mart’s main demographics to range from ages 15-35. This is concerning as Griffiths (2009) expresses how the “gambling-like” mechanics influence younger demographics into impulsive buying. Experts also mention concerns about supply chain ethics. While details remain ambiguous, the high-volume yet low-cost production models have raised multiple questions about worker conditions and fair wages in manufacturing (Fair Labor Association, 2023; Better Work, 2024). The lack of transparency is also a problem, as there is a greater need for Pop Mart to refer to its supply chain, ethical sourcing, as well as labor standards. So far, there are no public reports or academic sources that can refer to or state any of Pop Mart’s specific consumption data regarding manufacturing inputs or waste outputs. However, one of the greatest issues must come from how Pop Mart’s immense popularity has led to a much broader culture of materialism, which Kasser (2002) states results in consumers pursuing novelty over lasting value.
6. Strategy Suggestion for a More Sustainable Pop Mart Future
ChemAnalyst reported that the global Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) market size was valued at USD 86.93 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 89.49 billion in 2025 (TowardsChemAndMaterials, 2025). Therefore, it is suggested that Pop Mart shifts into a much more sustainable alternative when producing their figurines, e.g., plant-based plastic or certified recycled content. As Pop Mart’s packaging is also quite excessive, reducing it and shifting to a much more minimalist and recyclable packaging can also be very beneficial in reducing waste. The European Union’s new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (EU) 2025/40, entering into force progressively from 2025, mandates that by 2030, all packaging must meet a minimum Grade C recyclability standard and requires minimum thresholds of recycled content (Innovation News Network, n.d.; European Commission, n.d.). While this directly applies to the EU, it sets a global standard and indicates a direction Pop Mart could voluntarily follow to enhance its global brand image. The International Energy Agency (2025a) also states how many manufacturing and logistic firms should focus on reducing emissions, namely by exploring electric heavy-duty vehicles for transport, as highlighted in their Global EV Outlook 2025.
As mentioned above, increased transparency, such as publishing a comprehensive sustainability report detailing their environmental impacts, material sourcing, and labor practices, can not only help build more trust between the consumer and the firm, but this can also incentivize Pop Mart to build a greener brand image and potentially increase demand for more sustainable and recyclable practices. Pop Mart should also leverage its strong customer base by emphasizing a much more conscious purchase of collectibles, convincing fans to prioritize quality over quantity. This can significantly reduce excessive buying as well as avoiding impulsive purchases.
In addition, external benchmarks further highlight the company’s sustainability challenges. For example, Pop Mart’s latest ESG score, assessed by MSCI in 2024, was rated at BBB, reflecting moderate risk exposure in environmental and governance categories compared with global peers. This score underscores the urgent need for the company to adopt more aggressive reforms if it wishes to compete with leading firms in the sector. Moreover, Pop Mart has acknowledged these issues in its 2024 Annual Report, where it outlined plans to enhance waste management practices and improve transparency across its supply chain. Including both independent scoring metrics and the company’s own official statements provides a fuller picture of where Pop Mart stands today and how it must evolve to achieve long-term sustainability.
7. Conclusion
As the market leader within the collectibles industry, Pop Mart has a huge responsibility to address the overconsumption of its products. A sustainable shift in its materials, packaging, and supply chain practices, along with encouraging much more mindful consumer habits, is thus extremely crucial for Pop Mart to grow responsibly in order to mitigate its environmental and social impacts in the future. The company’s significant economic contributions in Thailand, from job creation to stimulating retail and logistics sectors, are undeniable. However, these benefits come with the severe negative externalities of plastic waste in a country already struggling with waste management. For Pop Mart’s long-term sustainability and brand reputation, addressing these environmental and ethical challenges is paramount, turning its economic success into truly sustainable growth.
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Nichakamol Chitirattanasre
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