Go Green and Send a Message to Retailers:

Find Green Toys on the World Wide Web

by Daniel Sean Kaye

Last month we tried to find environmentally friendly toys at our local retailers and pretty much struck out. This time we went to the Internet and began to unearth some truly terrific products that we’re pretty sure you don’t know about. In a world trying to “go green,” the toy industry still has a lot of work to do to let people know they’re here.

The thing to remember about organic or all-natural toys is that they don’t come with bells and whistles. None of them shoot water, make loud rumbling noises, or transform into anything. Maybe that’s one of the things that drives the public away, especially in an age of Wiis and mass market plastic toys linked to the action movies of the summer.

But there is something sweet and genteel about these items. Yes, they are made with environmentally friendly processes, and true, most of the companies go out of their way to explain the fair trade practices they employ, but the toys themselves allow a lot of room for imagination and play away from the TV and computer (which kids today could do with more of today). They are open to your child’s mind and that may be the best attribute of all.

Toys from Imagiplay (www.imagiplay.com)
Billed as “toys with integrity,” these sweet and simple items for ages 1+ come in several lines: ImagiToddler activity toys, Playsets, NaturalDream 3D puzzles, and Imagiroom accessories. They are handcrafted from all-natural, renewable rubberwood, use fair and ethical labor practices, and the puzzles especially challenge the child. The items have been winners from Parenting Magazine, Creative Child Magazine, Dr. Toy, Parents’ Choice Foundation and others. 

Maple Landmark Toys (www.MapleLandmark.com)
Made out of solid hard maple with no chemicals, these items are winners of the 2008 Creative Child Magazine’s Preferred Choice Award. The Bunny is the item I have in my hands and it is simple and cute – a throwback to a more peaceful time. But Maple Landmark offers a huge line of safe, natural items from which to choose. They have train railway systems (for those of you still nervous about the whole “Thomas” problem of last year), jigsaw puzzles, schoolhouse toys, hobby horses, trucks, cars and more, all made with their non-chemical coating process. Of course, I haven’t been able to play with many of their items, but the durability and care they take in the ones I’ve seen does make me want to advocate for their products.


Green Toys products (www.greentoys.com)
These items, made from 100 percent recycled plastic, come in packaging that is recycled and recyclable cardboard. The items are sturdy and attractive, and the company must be doing OK, considering how many sites I found them on. The one I received, the Indoor Gardening Kit, is a real gardening set for ages 5 and older, allowing them to grow Teddy Bear Sunflowers, basil, and zinnias in three yellow pots. The tray, pots, and trowel are all made from curbside collected recycled bottles and the product even includes soil that allows the plants to grow. Their other items include a Sand Play Set, Tea Set, and Cookware and Dining Set

Calafant cardboard crafts and toys (sold exclusively through Creative Toyshop at www.creativetoyshop.com)
This line of toys, created in Germany, are building sets made of white, recyclable cardboard and there are more than 20 models to choose from, including castles, forts, dinosaurs, race cars, pirate ships, and doll houses. The company says the items are for ages 3 to 12, but I can actually see people older than that playing with them. It’s not so much that the items themselves are spectacular as it is that they offer unending creative possibilities for the creative child. They can paint them, draw whatever they want wherever they want, or even cover them with stickers. They are big and seem sturdy and truly bring creativity back to the toy arena. Best of all, if and when your child gets tired of them, they can simply be recycled. You aren’t wasting space in a landfill somewhere. Prices

Under the Nile toys (available at amazon.com)
The toys here are made with 100 percent organic cultivated cotton that is naturally dyed (heavy metal-free) and fair traded. They are simple toys that are good for baby and come in such forms as “Veggies and Crate” (four soft and friendly looking vegetables in a soft wood crate); “Organic Fruit Tote” (a series of smiling fruits in a carrying case); and teething toys (teething toys in fruits and vegetable shapes). There are also cotton monkey and duck dolls. The company says that this “Veggin’ Out” helps poor Egyptian villages, paying the women a fair wage and empowerment. 

Products like these give me hope that the future may be full of quality organic, eco-friendly toys. It is easy to get distressed by the mainstream retailers lack of embracing of such items, but the more products like these that everyday people buy from Web sites, the more the “big guys” will start to see the value in selling such items. The holidays are coming people, so get online and support these concerned artisans.