Green Options » wood toys

10 Eco-Friendly Toys Under $30

mcmilker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:48:41 +0000

As the holiday season approaches we’re all looking for quality toys for our children. Readers of this blog, and increasingly the world at large are seeking toys that are eco friendly and inexpensive too.

That’s why Eco Childs Play agreed to team up with Goddard Systems, Inc, one of the largest child care providers in the country, to seek out the best green toys we could find for under $30.00.

After a national call for submissions, the Toy Test Committee, consisting of Eco Child`s Play representatives and Goddard educators, evaluated entrants based on a number of criteria, including:

* Affordable price range ($30 and under)

* Appropriate for preschoolers and early elementary school-age children

* Creative, social or engaging

* Eco-friendly

* Interactive, child-initiated play focus

We’re happy to announce the 10 finalists today!

The Top 10 Eco-Friendly Toys are as follows (in alphabetical order):

Green Shopping Guide For Toy Lovers

mcmilker — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:49:56 +0000

Now that the stores are starting to display Christmas decorations, of course before we’ve even taken down our Halloween decorations, some of us are starting to think about holiday shopping.

I have a number of ideas for great eco toys this year since being involved with the Eco Toy Test sponsored by Eco Child’s Play and the Goddard Schools. We had over 50 entries from great green toys companies and because we’ve created a Facebook and Flickr, we have an excellent shopping guide if you’re looking for gift ideas.

Every one of these toys is eco friendly. They are made from wood or organically grown cotton or recycled plastic. They teach kids about nature or going green. Many of them I had seen before but there were a few that were great new ideas for infant gifts, toddler and preschool gifts and even some for big kids.

Pass the word along that Eco Child’s Play has a green gift guide site! You can find it on Facebook or Flickr – add your comments to help other parents with their green gift choices.

You can talk about it or follow it on Twitter with the hashtag #bestgreentoys

Green Birthday Party Solutions: Eco-Friendly Party Favors

Jennifer Lance — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:09:47 +0000

My children’s birthdays are only two days apart, so we have only one party. That party is rapidly approaching, and though I ask guests to not feel compelled to give gifts and to consider the planet when doing so, my children like to give out party favors to their friends. There is nothing I hate more than coming home from a birthday party with a bunch of dollar store junk we have to get rid of immediately. Now, GreenPartyGoods offers solutions for eco-friendly birthday parties.

GreenPartyGoods explains their company’s motivation for offering parents eco-friendly solutions for birthday parties:

While walking my dog through our local park and watching families disassemble their parties, I was horrified at all the waste that ended up in the garbage cans. Bags of plastic utensils, plastic table cloths, crepe paper and cheap goodies bags filled with dollar toys headed for land fill. This is what motivated me to create GreenPartyGoods.

Here are some of my favorite green party goods offered by GreenPartyGoods:

Toy Wooden Racing Boat: These hand-crafted, hand-painted wooden racing boats are my favorite party favor and the ones we will be giving to our party guests. Since we hold our party at the river, the boats will be perfect for added water frolicking fun. The boats are made by award-winning Anatex. The wood comes from Germany, paint from Russia, and assembled in China. They are tested lead free by a third party and cost $2.50 a piece.