Green Options

We paid a visit recently to one of my favourite toy stores in the whole world, Hot Toads.  The physical store itself isn’t all that impressive — it’s a small, concrete-floored basement room in a medical building, with sparsely-stocked wooden shelves, draped with puppets and stuffed toys hanging by clothespins from simple lines strung across the room.  The back wall features a working 10-foot long model train table made entirely out of Lego.

But it’s not about the decor — it’s what they carry that makes this place special.  Plan Toys.  HaPe.  Schylling.  Plastic toys made from recycled milk jugs.  Non-toxic wooden toys.  Toys intended to enrich the mind and body of your children, not just feed into consumerism and branding.

And for me, it is a local store, within driving distance, right here in Atlantic Canada.  Unfortunately for my American friends reading this, while they do take online orders, Hot Toads only delivers within Canada.  Sorry, eh?

One of the many cool items they have is a line of large toy cars called E-Racers, from HaPe’s Bamboo Collection.  I had a nice chat with the fellow working there, and learned that apparently these were the first toys to be made from bamboo.  I was surprised that, while bamboo has been used for clothes, cutlery and dinnerware, flooring and even wallpaper for some time, the idea of bamboo toys was still relatively new.

He also filled me in on a fact I had previously been unaware of.  Of course, bamboo is the new golden child of the eco movement: it grows easily and quickly without pesticides, and is therefore a readily renewable resource with low environmental impact.  Bamboo wood is attractive and sturdy, and bamboo cloth is soft and has natural antibacterial properties.  As worldwide consumer demand for bamboo has increased dramatically in recent years, some companies have taken to clear-cutting hardwood forests in order to make room for bamboo plantations.  And despite bamboo’s rapid growth, difficulty in seed propagation combined with over-harvesting has even threatened some species to near-extinction.

Ugh.

Here’s another eco-friendly yarn option for those who use animal fibers: Eco Wool from Sirdar in the U.K.

Eco Wool comes in DK weight in 50 gram balls. It looks quite lovely and natural.

Packing a lunch without using plastic can be a challenging. With all the Ziploc baggies and plastic containers out there makes it hard to avoid. Packing a healthy lunch is one thing but having to worry about packing a plastic and waste free lunch is where it can get difficult.

Look no further…LunchBots are here to the rescue! 100% stainless steel and non toxic lunch containers.

LunchBots was created by a mom who couldn’t find any non-plastic containers to use and no longer wanted to worry about which plastics are safe. Sound familiar?

Jacqueline Linder of LunchBots began the company with the idea that we could eliminate the use of Ziploc bags and other plastic containers that are harmful to the environment. Plus, she wanted them to be unique and have a great design so kids AND parents would love them.

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child, there was really no question in my mind that I’d be making baby food. Ensuring a healthy diet and knowing that my son would be getting the necessary nutrients were my determining factors. I also wanted to be in charge of what was going into my son’s system and wanted to be able to offer him a wide palate of foods.

I knew this couldn’t be done if I bought food from a jar at the grocery store. How often do you see eggplant, collard greens, and zucchini purees at the grocery store? Unless it’s an organic gourmet baby food line such as Yummy Spoonfuls it’s highly unlikely you’ll find less common veggies and even fruit.

To be in control of my son’s first start with solids I knew I’d have to make his baby food from scratch. If making his own food meant being aware of the ingredients, then I was willing to take that plunge and go for it. I’d much rather know what was going into my son’s food then always worry and have to read each and every label. With all the preservatives, chemical, added sugar, salt and starch it made absolute sense to avoid those factors and just make it.

Hammer Balls from Plan Toys is a curved wooden box with three colorful balls and a mallet, this toy helps children to improve hand-eye coordination, aligning, slotting and aiming. Pound the balls and watch them roll out one by one. It is now one of my all time favorite toddler toys.

We got Hammer Balls for our 3 year old son as a green Christmas gift and not only does he love it, his older siblings do to! It is just a simple wood block with a lovely curved shape that has three holes in it. You place one or all of the three colorful, wooden balls on it and then you use the hammer to pound the balls through the holes. They roll out from underneath and the fun begins again. The concept is incredibly simple but it is fascinating to most young kids. It is similar to the idea of wack-a-mole but without the violent concept of striking an animal.

Natural dolls are almost impossible to find in conventional stores. Most dolls you can get at big box stores are made of plastic with phthalates and PVC. Cloth dolls can be found at specialty stores but they can be very expensive. Getting quality, natural, safe dolls for your little ones can be a tall order if you are on a budget.

Recently my little girl fell in love with small wooden fairy dolls from an etsy seller, The Fairy Ring. These dolls are simple, adorable, and very stimulating as far as creative play is concerned. Upon getting her first fairy doll, which she decided to name “Jewel”, she insisted on having more right away and they have been with her constantly ever since. When she takes a shower they hang on the shower door. When she goes to sleep at night they are held lovingly in her hand. Her dreams are now filled with fairies.

After getting down and dirty with your craft, there’s that dreaded task of cleanup. This simple task can get a little more dicey once the paint, marker, oil pastel or glue finds itself outside of the protected craft area. So to help, here’s a list of green cleaning products that you can use to clean up after craft time using supplies that you already have in your house.

If you’re crafting with the environment in mind, more than likely your materials are water based. These spills can be quickly and easily swiped up with water and a rag.

If wondering hands happen to get crayon or pencil marks on the wall, a little baking soda and water should do the trick.

If you’re looking for an eco-friendly place for Valentine’s Day gifts, check out Organica Deluxe.

The online eco-boutique offers eco-conscious minded consumers gift options for every occasion: Baby, Wedding & Anniversary, Birthday, Thinking of You, Get-Away, Thank You, House Warming, Holiday and more.

“We created Organica Deluxe because we wanted a beautiful place to buy eco-friendly and organic for ourselves and our friends,” say owners Wendy James and Jane Hunter.

“We recognized that organic companies often miss the gorgeous and ever miss the green when creating packaging.”

One sweet eco-friendly gift from Organica Deluxe is their BABY LOVE gift set.  “This delightful assortment of organic goodies is filled with softness and love for baby’s sensitive skin,” says Organica Deluxe.

You care about the environment and also your family’s health. So it’s time to embrace eco-friendly child care!

Many daycare and child-care centers around the U.S. are embracing eco-friendly ways, and it’s not a day too soon. That’s why we’re building a huge directory of eco-friendly child care centers around the country. We have over 120 listed so far and we’re adding more every day. Check them out! And if you know of one you’d like to add, please send us an email to feedback@lowimpactliving.com.

The State of Oregon’s Environmental Council has taken a pioneering role in certifying child-care centers with their Eco-Healthy Child Care program.  Child care facilities qualify as “Eco-Healthy” by completing a 25-element checklist that highlights 25 steps facilities can take to ensure a safe place for children. Eco-healthy child care centers commit to reducing a child’s exposure to toxins and other environmental health hazards.

Organic bedding and mattresses can go a long way to giving babies a healthier sleeping environment and new parents a good night’s sleep.

Take the Coyuchi Organic Cotton Percale Fitted Crib Sheet from Toronto-based Grassroots Environmental Products.

“Coyuchi bed linens are made from 100% certified organic cotton, which means the cotton is grown and processed without the use of pesticides, chlorine bleach, or chemical softeners,” explains the company.

Grassroots recommends washing the organic cotton sheets with baking soda or one of their Nature Clean products.

If you’re redecorating your child’s room, do you have any eco-friendly furniture in mind?

You’ll definitely have eco-friendly furniture options at eConscious Market, a “For-Benefit” online commerce site.

“We sell the finest ecologically and socially responsible products available and donate a minimum of 10% of every purchase to the exceptional non-profit organizations listed on our website,” says Boulder, Colorado-based eConscious Market.