Eco-Friendly Toys for Toddlers
Price: Various Prices
Age: Varies

Trying to go “green?” Choosing green toys is a great way to become more eco friendly while teaching your kids about the importance of caring for the environment. There’s also some reason to believe that eco friendly toys are safer for children as well, which makes sense because if the toys are made from environmentally friendly materials, they won’t contain lead or other chemicals and ingredients that may be harmful for children.

Let’s talk about green toys for toddlers. Before you head out to the store to look for eco friendly toys, there are a few things that you’ll want to consider about what makes a toy “green.”

- When choosing stuffed or plush toys, look for items that are made with 100% organic cotton or another organic material.

- When possible choose wood or metal over plastic. Plastic is difficult to recycle (some plastics can’t be recycled at all). The process used to make plastic is also very much petroleum dependent and not good for the environment at all.

- Pay attention to packaging. Less packaging is better because the package that your toy comes in goes directly into the trash.

- Choose toys that bear the Free Trade Label. This means that the employees who worked to make the toys were paid fair wages and work in a decent working environment.

- Look for toys that are made locally. Buying local whenever possible is always better than buying something that’s shipped across the country or overseas.

- Green toys are toys that will last a long time, so you’re better off spending a little more money up front to get a high-quality, well-made toy that won’t break and end up in a landfill as soon as you buy it.

- Look for toys that are died with organic or vegetable-based dyes instead of synthetic dyes.

So, now that you know what to look for if you want to buy green toys, you probably want to know where you can find these eco friendly toys for your toddler.

You probably aren’t going to find green toys on the shelves of your local WalMart, but you can definitely find eco friendly toys if you take the time to look.

1. Melissa and Doug make an entire line of great, high-quality toddler toys that are more eco friendly than a lot of stuff that’s on the market today. Their toys are mostly made of wood, most of them come in wood packaging that can also be used to store the toy, all of their toys are inspected at the company headquarters for safety and to ensure no harmful materials are used in their production, and they last for generations.

2. Haba is another company that’s does a great job at making green toys for toddlers. The company has been around since 1938. They’re based in Germany and they’ve passed a European Environmental test, which ensures that they are an environmentally responsible company.  The products made by Haba are largely made of wood, they’re extremely durable, and they’re educational to boot!

3. Plan Toys is another company with a line of wooden toys that are eco friendly. They’ve got everything from musical instruments to wooden cities, and doll houses to traditional blocks. They also use non-toxic water based paints on all of their toys. You’ll spend a little more on these toys than plastic – but they’ll be well worth the extra money since your grandkids will play with them some day!

4. Corolle makes eco friendly baby dolls that are phlalate free and lots of fun for toddlers to play with. You can read a recent post about them here.

There are certainly other companies out there that are making green toys for toddlers. Use the guidelines listed above to find the most eco friendly items for your child and remember the concept of reduce, reuse, and recycle as you choose toys. Buy less, choose toys that will last a long time and can grow with your children, and then recycle or pass them on when your child is done with them!

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Tags: eco friendly toys, Green Toys, haba, melissa and doug, plan toys

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