LEGO bricks are made by injection moulding: plastic granules are melted, forced into precise steel moulds, cooled and ejected as finished elements, which are then decorated where needed and packed. LEGO has used ABS plastic for its bricks since 1963, and its own history says its moulding has been accurate to 1/200 of a millimetre since then.
Quick answer: granules, melting, moulding, cooling, printing, packing. ABS plastic since 1963. Moulds accurate to 1/200 mm. Six factories, with a seventh in Virginia due in 2027. 52% renewable or recycled material bought in 2025, mostly through mass balance.
The material: ABS since 1963
The first LEGO bricks were made from cellulose acetate. In 1963, after a series of tests, LEGO switched to ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), which it describes as more stable and better at keeping its colour. ABS is still the main brick material. Some elements use other plastics; in 2018 LEGO introduced botanical pieces such as leaves and trees made from plant-based polyethylene from sugarcane.
Moulding: granules to bricks
Plastic arrives at the factories as small granules. In the moulding halls the granules are melted and injected under high pressure into steel moulds shaped like the inside of each element. The plastic cools and hardens in the mould, and the finished elements are ejected and collected. The precision of those moulds is what makes the system work: LEGO's history records that moulding was done to an accuracy of 1/200 of a millimetre after the change to ABS, and that a dedicated quality control department was set up the same year.
Decoration and packing
Parts with printed faces, panels or markings are decorated after moulding, and parts that ship as assemblies, such as minifigures, are put together. The elements for each set are then counted into numbered bags, and the bags, instructions and any stickers go into the box. Our guide to how to tell a set is about to retire explains what happens at the other end of a set's life.
Where LEGO's factories are
LEGO has factories in Billund (Denmark), Kladno (Czech Republic), Nyiregyhaza (Hungary), Monterrey (Mexico) and Jiaxing (China), and opened its sixth, in Binh Duong, Vietnam, in April 2025. Its seventh factory, in Chesterfield County, Virginia, is due to start production in 2027. None of them offers public tours; the only factory visit LEGO offers is part of the LEGO Inside Tour in Billund.
Renewable and recycled plastic
-
2018: the first elements made from sugarcane-based polyethylene, starting with botanical pieces.
-
2023: after two years of testing, LEGO dropped its plan to make bricks from recycled PET bottles, saying it would not reduce carbon emissions.
-
2025: LEGO estimated that 52% of the materials it bought to make bricks came from renewable or recycled sources, up from 33% in 2024. Most of that is through mass balance, where suppliers mix certified renewable and recycled inputs, such as used cooking oil or plant oil, with fossil inputs and certify the share.
-
Goal: LEGO aims to make its products from more sustainable materials by 2032.
Related guides
Facts from LEGO's own history pages and newsroom and from reporting on LEGO's 2025 annual results, checked in October 2026. This guide is research based.
