**5. Conclusion and future work**

In this chapter, design as a driver for education for environmental sustainability and the need for application of ecological concepts in the production of new products, in this case in what concerns toys, have resulted in the creation of new toy design methodologies.

The methodologies presented in this chapter were the result of a lengthy and elaborate re‐ search about early childhood education, environmental sustainability and sustainable devel‐ opment and of research on products already produced and which are available.

The methodologies for the design of toys and ecological design for education awareness for environmental sustainability are the result of an amalgamation of three methodologies, thus trying to bridge existing gaps in literature.

The chapter concludes with presentation of two toy projects that are expected to contribute to the aims set forth in the introduction.

In the process of assessing the design results for validation of the methodologies reached at, it is proposed for future work to conduct a survey collecting empirical data through ques‐ tionnaires, which may give rise to the creation of empirical models relating the properties of objects created with the judgmental impressions of parents and other relatives of the childusers. In this way, one may determine if the methodologies proposed and implemented giv‐ ing rise to the design of toys are effective towards attaining the objectives that guided their creation.

It is also proposed for future studies to carry out a test phase with prototypes embodied in latex, since the prototypes shown were made in gypsum, thus postponing the confirmation and analysis of the properties and the strength of the material proposed (latex).
