Lego hopes the addition of sunflower lanyards among its minifigures will help and encourage people to ‘embrace diversity, value inclusivity and remove stigma’

In recent years, Lego has added characters of different skin tones and cultures, as well as physical and non-visible disabilities. Figures with limb differences, Down syndrome, anxiety and vitiligo have also been embraced by children.

“As one of the most loved toy brands, we know that our choices about which characters we make and what stories we tell about them have a big impact on how kids learn to perceive the world,” said Lauren von Stackelberg, the Lego Group chief diversity and inclusion officer.

“We hope that modelling a world in which all kinds of people are celebrated will help us all embrace diversity, value inclusivity and remove stigma,” she said.

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is the company behind the now globally recognised sunflower symbol, which allows individuals to discreetly share that they have a non-visible condition which may require extra support, time, space or understanding.

The symbol is recognised in more than 90 countries.

Chief executive of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, Paul White, explains that wearing the lanyard is a simple way of “letting everyone know that you might need extra help, understanding, or just more time”.

White explained that the symbol is particularly helpful as while the official symbol for disability is a wheelchair, only 7 per cent of disabled people are wheelchair users.

The Sunflower range is aimed at different age groups, from Duplo for preschoolers to a complex modular build for adults.

All 55 LEGO Minifigure Factories worldwide will launch Sunflower lanyard designs, allowing fans to personalise their minifigures as Sunflower wearers.

The new characters will go on sale next year.