Green Options

Since October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, it’s fitting that Dandelion Earth-Friendly Goods just launched their new Pink Collection, a special group of organic baby toys that will help benefit breast cancer research.

If you’re not familiar with Dandelion, they have all the “eco-ssentials” for babies including rattles, teethers, development toys and even toddler feeding products made from corn. Their classic shape sorter even made Dr. Toy’s best green product list for 2009.

We’ve made a special effort to encourage toymakers of all sizes to enter as we search for the greenest toys under $25.00. We’re all interested in maximizing our dollars these days and I’ve been surprised to find out just how many relatively inexpensive green toys there are!

Say “bye bye” to toys made of bad plastic and covered in lead paint. Instead reach for the wood- wooden toys that is.

Plan Toys offer superior quality wood toys made with environmentally friendly kiln dried, chemical free, rubberwood. They also use E-Zero glue, water based non-toxic colors, and recycled and recyclable materials. And at Plan Toys they do everything with “green” in mind.

Rosie Hippo shares the “green” passion and sells only ethical, quality, eco-friendly toys for children.

The search is on for the Top 10 Eco Friendly Toys of 2009, and we need your help!

Goddard Child Development Centers and EcoChildsPlay are proud to sponsor the Second Annual Eco-Friendly Toy Test, which will evaluate the best green toys for preschool and early elementary-aged children based on the creative, child-engaging qualities, the interactive qualities, the price, and the eco friendliness of the product.

Are you a concerned parent who is searching for a way to increase your childs Earth savviness? If so, I’ve found the perfect Holiday gift for you!

Idbids.

This little guy is the water drop, Waverly. He is here to teach you about protecting and preserving water. Waverly has two friends, Lola the Flower and Scout the Cloud. Lola is an expert in trees, flowers and plants while Scout is all about our air.

Each Idbit Starter Kit comes with:

Need a green gift for kids?

Looking for safe, eco-friendly toys?

Toys made from 100% recycled materials?

Toys that are free from BPA and phthalates?

Made in the USA?

Toys made by the winner of the Dr. Toy Green Toy Company Award?

Look no further.

The Green Toy Company, winner of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, makes a line of recycled-content, BPA and phthalate-free toys that are fun, environmentally friendly, and packaged in recycled-cardboard boxes.

Reduce, recycle, rethink.

Solar power, wind power, carbon credits.

It’s not what you expect in a board game, but the eco-friendly game Earthopoly focuses on the environment, teaching kids to go green while playing a game.

Earthopoly is an eco-friendly toy educating kids about climate change, conservation, and taking care of the Earth. A take-off on the standard Monopoly (which is all about the money…) with an environmental focus, children collect carbon credits and trade them in for clean air, increasing property values through recycling and reducing.

One of my fondest childhood memories was playing with a brand new refrigerator box with our neighbors in the front yard.  This large box was a space ship, a school bus, a house, etc.  Parents know that kids love boxes, and sometimes these corrugated containers are more interesting than the toys they contain on birthdays and holidays.  Kidsonroof has combined children’s love of cardboard boxes with dramatic play to create the MobileHome.

The MobileHome is made from recycled cardboard, is biodegradable, five percent of profits are donated to UNICEF, and is made in China.  It has eight secret rooms and is easy to take with you to the park, on vacation, or around the house.  My children immediately integrated their other toys, including their children’s yoga mat,  into dramatic play with our MobileHome.

Children are fascinated by animals. Perhaps they feel a closer connection to our furry friends than adults, or perhaps their fascination stems from their cravings to learn about the world around them. Playing with toy animals opens up possibilities for dramatic play beyond dolls and blocks, as well as complements these traditional toys. You’ve probably seen the plethora of plastic animals in toy stores, from zebras to giraffes, but the wooden toy animal options are usually simple cutouts that are hardly recognizable as animals. Anamalz are different, in that they truly look like animals, are made from wood and felt, and are poseable.

I first read about Anamalz in a post titled “What Makes Toys Green” on Z Recs. I was intrigued and had to get a set for my family. These are the first wooden toys I have encountered to be made from organic wood! Designed in Australia and made from non-toxic European materials, these maple animals are interactive and encourage creative play. Children can bend, balance, intertwine, move, etc. to their heart’s content without breaking these quality toys. Anamalz comes in 30 different species, including a 7 foot tall giraffe! Of course, my favorite is the elephant.