Green Options

I always intended to get Layla the Haba Baby Walker Wagon, but starting at $150; it was an expensive purchase that I hesitated over. I am so happy I hesitated, because I came across Plan Toys baby walker that we totally love {great sustainable and safe toy company}. The Plan Toys baby walker is sustainable, because its material is composed of all natural Organic recycled Rubber Wood. The traditional walker is sturdy, comes in natural and primary colors to encourage visual play, and best of all; it also comes with a set of 24 very substantial and colorful blocks. This is the PERFECT toy for budding walkers, but can also be great for toddlers too.

Some of the features of the Plan Toys Baby Walker:

• There are two adjustable height for infants as well as for toddlers.
• And I mentioned previously, it does come with a set of blocks. If you have seen how much a set of blocks costs these days; you know that this is a huge perk. These are some serious blocks and very large sized; so no worries about a choking hazard. If the walker does not; then the blocks will provide entertainment for hours.  Block toys are one the greatest toys to encourage learning and creativity.
• Made in Thailand out of sustainable and recycled rubber wood
• Has gotten accolades from other moms which is always reassuring

Here’s a basic marketing tip: Don’t position your product as green.  Well, not primarily green. Instead, position your products and services first as delivering core consumer benefits then-as a second set of attributes-green. You may even find that your competitors are not onto this savvy positioning strategy.

A couple weeks ago I was looking for examples of this principle. I wanted to show how a company’s marketing message should extend beyond greenness to appeal to other core consumer attributes people expect from a good products.  I put out a query on HARO and received dozens of interesting products.  Of those, five stood out.

The first thing I noticed about Vers iPod Docks is that they are incredibly beautiful.  But, they first thing theat Vers wants you to know about their products is that they sound great. They let the fact that they have been touted as the most environmentally friendly iPod dock available speak for itself and focus instead on the benefits that consumer’s want in a an iPod dock: Great sound and good looks.  In the words of David Laituri, partner in Sprout Creation makers of Vers products:

“We tend to focus on superior sound quality and design, and environmental thoughtfulness a fast second. Since our sustainable design efforts are a work in progress, we avoid ‘green’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ whenever possible.”

Green Toys are made out of recycled milk containers and are made in the USA (so from a supply chain position they are very environmentally sound.) Green Toys are also packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties, and are 100% recyclable. But most importantly, they positioned as safe (they contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA and have no external coatings with lead paint) and fun (they are chunky and colorful and beg to be played with).

Fancy a new online store for eco-friendly children’s products?  Green product website Ambitious Green calls itself a “fun place to buy great products at the center of today’s environmental issues, concerns, and debates.”

Says Ambitious Green: “We think the environment and education are challenging debates worth having. Every time you make a buying decision you are telling manufacturers and the market what’s important to you.   We share the same frustrations you do - finding products that are natural, functional, friendly and fun. We believe that what’s good  for you can be good for the planet.”

Here are a few of the latest toys at Ambitious Green:

Dancing Alligator, $19.99 (shown above) “This award-winning, wooden alligator pull toy struts his stuff as he wiggles, bobs and click-clacks along.”  These toys are made in Thailand by Plan Toys, a green company that emphasizes socially responsible manufacturing.   It’s green because it’s made of organic rubberwood, non-formaldehyde E-Zero Glue, water-based dye, recycled and recyclable material and soy ink and water-based ink.

With all the cold, overcast weather we’ve had here in Atlanta, I have to say we’ve time our vacation perfectly. Okay, so we actually had no choice in the matter thanks to my husband job, but still, heading to the beach in the dead of winter sounds practically perfect to me. So, in exactly one week (oh yes, I’m counting), I’ll be packing up my family of five and shoving off to a warm beach destination, which in the past has meant one gigantic eco nightmare.

Granted, it is vacation and so it’s going to be hard to keep things as green minded as I usually try to be, but thanks to so many exciting new products, it’s not that hard to go green on vacation.

Whether you’re flying off to an island resort, or just taking a long drive South for the winter, here are some great products that will help lessen your carbon footprint and still enjoy the sun and sand.

Straddling the middle is how I might describe the trend in green products. Ecopreneurs have been producing green and eco friendly products for the home and office for years. This trend, is of course now in high gear. The smaller segment, those aimed at parents of infants and young children has taken off recently driven by the scary news out of China and the growing awareness of the toxins in baby products.

Marketing for baby products has focused on the purchaser…the parent, rather than the purchase influencer, the child…for obvious reasons. But, a whole new niche is opening up - targeting green kids.

A new study finds:

More than half of kids age 6-8 encourage their parents to buy green products, according to the report from Packaged Facts, a market research firm. Nearly three-quarters believe people should recycle, and 40% think they should buy recycled-content paper products.

What about those kids? Will they fall for the latest green gimmick? How aware are they about greenwashing.

“What’s interesting about the green trend among kids is that the kids themselves are fueling it,” says Tatjana Meerman, publisher of Packaged Facts. “Environmental awareness, even at the youngest ages, is acute.”

And they’re savvy about what it means to be green. With more and more schools, parents, television programs and media dedicated to spreading the gospel of green, kids know chemical names that leave parents tongue tied and exactly which materials are petroleum derivatives.

I am not a fan of plastic toys, as they often end up in landfills after a very short play life, and plastic is derived from oil.  The number of plastic toys in my household could be counted on one hand, yet I fear I have derived my children of the creativity and spatial relations Legos can teach children.  Then I discovered Uberstix, which are compatible with other building toys, such as Legos, K’Nex and Erector.

The Uberstix Scavenger Series utilizes recycled materials, such as straws, water bottles, and cups, to create working models. This is a unique idea in children’s toys to use upcycling, the process of using something of waste to create a product of greater value.  My only concern is that Uberstix uses name brands, such as Starbucks or McDonald’s, in its list of suggested waste materials to use.  Considering I try to raise my children as commercial-free as possible, this is concerning to me. I also think that Uberstix could much farther towards greening its product by making the products from recycled plastic.

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.