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Our Promise

Our History

In the mid-1960s, the best minds in Billund had a problem to solve.

The issue was that a group of people were unable to safely play with LEGO® bricks. Namely, toddlers.

For our owner, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, this simply wouldn’t do. Besides inventing the modern LEGO brick, Godtfred also drafted our company manifesto in 1963, which specifically encouraged “enthusiasm at all ages”.

So in 1969, the first toddler-focused LEGO bricks were launched globally. They were twice the size of ‘normal’ bricks, hence the name DUPLO® – a mix of ‘duplus’ (Latin for double) and LEGO.

But the 2:1 ratio was also significant because it meant they were compatible with the original LEGO bricks. They thus fit into the LEGO System in Play, explained by Godtfred as how “all elements fit together, can be used in multiple ways, can be built together… and will fit perfectly with bricks bought in the future.”

For DUPLO builders, this let them combine their play with older siblings and also meant their big bricks could eventually help them as they moved onto smaller LEGO bricks.

That’s how we started out: inviting little ones to join in the fun and helping them on their journey – both through LEGO play, and through life.

Though much has changed here at DUPLO in the last 50 years, that never will.

Safety and Quality

Our LEGO® DUPLO® bricks are made safe, because they’re made big. Meaning there’s no swallow-risk for teething toddlers, and although we advise against little ones tasting our bricks there’s no risk of exposure to any harmful substances if they do.

Indeed, when making our DUPLO bricks, we only use raw materials that have passed our intensely rigorous safety assessments. Plus, we’re always in complete control of our manufacturing and we constantly screen scientific research for any updates we can make.

As with all LEGO products, we at LEGO DUPLO are committed to providing products that live up to, and often exceed, the strictest global requirements – including the EU Toy Safety Directive and the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

When it comes to safety and quality, we have never – and will never – compromise. It’s part of our commitment to give children the best of quality, design experience and most importantly potential to explore and express themselves.

To find out more about how we approach big brick safety, check out these DUPLO safety videos!

The Official LEGO® DUPLO® Safety Test

How to clean your LEGO® DUPLO® bricks

The DUPLO® DNA

Learning Through Play is more than a snappy motto. It’s our guiding philosophy

It’s a philosophy that’s been shaped and supported by fifty years of product development, plus a heap of scientific research on the importance of joyful play in those crucial early years of a child’s development.

At the age when a child’s brain is developing at its most rapid rate, LEGO® DUPLO® playsets provide important lessons amid the fun.

Like the moment they learn how to put two DUPLO bricks together, for the very first time. No matter how long it took them to find the solution, that’s the moment they learn that by trying and trying (and trying) again, they can build whatever they can imagine.

And as those creations grow bigger, more unbounded and more extraordinary, so does the confidence of their builder.

Meaning that with every newly discovered DUPLO theme, diverse character or drool-worthy color along the way, there’s a newly discovered opportunity to express themselves.

Soon enough, the realization comes. There’s no right or wrong way to play with LEGO DUPLO. Thanks to the self-confidence that realization brings, there is only a world of possibilities.

It’s the small details built into every aspect of LEGO DUPLO play that add up to a BIG start in life.

Head home

Learn more about the value (and values) of LEGO® DUPLO® and find out which set is perfect for your little builder!
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