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Eco-friendly Toys Win At National Toy Awards

CharleneSmith — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 11:33:38 +0000

Every summer, noted childhood development authority, Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D. (aka Dr. Toy) recognizes the best toys of the season with the prestigious Dr. Toy Best Vacation Products Awards. This year, six of the recipients are eco-friendly – proving that green toys can compete in the mainstream market. (Eco-friendly toys exclusively compete in the Dr. Toy Best Green Product Awards held earlier this year.)

Eco-friendly toys make up a small percentage of the toys sold in America. But, is that due to little demand or a small supply? The major toy manufacturers have been slow to introduce eco-friendly options. Most parents head to the local mega-store to buy toys and find rows of plastic toys in plastic packaging. Green options are slim. What do they buy? Most buy what’s on the shelf.

But, a growing number are turning to the internet and specialty stores to find eco-friendly options. Recognizing the need and the growing demand, small businesses have sprung up to provide parents with options.
That’s the story of Young Minds At Play (www.youngmindsatplay.com), whose First Jigsaw Puzzle – Square was among this year’s Best Vacation Product Award winners and Best Green Product Award winners. Frustrated that they could not find the natural, educational toys they wanted for their infant son, Jeff and Charlene Smith started making their own toys. Their son loved them and so did they, so they started their own eco-friendly toy company in 2010.

“Most wood puzzles are made of plywood or pressed wood, both of which contain adhesives, and they are covered with paint or glued-on pictures. The thought of our son putting one of those in his mouth made us cringe. We wanted a puzzle where we didn’t have to worry, so we made ours out of 100% solid maple and cherry woods and finished it with a safe, food-grade beeswax/oil – like what is used on wooden kitchen cutting boards.”, says Smith. All their wood is locally-sourced and sustainably harvested.
The commitment to green living goes beyond the toys themselves. The packaging is eco-friendly as well: 100% recycled material with sustainable and compostable PLA seals. Everything is made in America from American materials and all packaging is American-made, keeping fuel and emissions to a minimum.
Companies, like this, are providing options for families – experts, like Dr. Auerbach, are taking notice. It is now up to parents to cast their deciding vote.
Dr. Auerbach is a national expert on play and children’s products. She approved the first proposal for “Sesame Street” and has authored 15 books and hundreds of articles on toys and play. She holds a Ph.D. in Child Development and has over 40 years of experience evaluating toys/children’s products. Her extensive toy guide, including the Best Vacation Products and Best Green Products Awards, can be found at www.drtoy.com.

Photo of Dr. Toy Award Winner:

Young Minds at Play - Green Toy Award Winner

OrganicBug.com – Inspiring the Next Generation of Green Thinkers

Martin — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 01:37:24 +0000

My wife and I brought our first baby home from the hospital about three weeks ago and his first Christmas has been filled with baby clothes, blankets, cuddle toys and rattles! Our friends and family all know how much we love eco friendly products and many of our baby boys gifts were organic or made from recycled materials.

Long after we had opened all of the Christmas gifts we found that we had also received a very special gift from a wonderful online store simply called Organic Bug.

Organic Bug was founded by sisters Peggy English & Patty Nalley.

Peggy & Patty started their online store with a vision of personal well-being, social justice and a sustainable future.

The Organic Bug online store is super easy to navigate and features a wide range of eco friendly toys and gifts. We will be doing most of our holiday gift shopping online with Organic Bug next year;

The Organic Bug Online Store

The wonderful gift that we received was a green toy recycling truck made from recycled milk jugs and I have to say, I am super excited about teaching our little boy about recycling by using this excellent toy truck.

Our Green Recycling Truck from OrganicBug.com

The Truck is Made From Recycled Milk Jugs!

Recycled Milk Jugs Turned Into Toys

We Rushed to Get the Little Green Truck Opened

Thanks to OrganicBug.com We Have a Unique Educational Toy

Even the Packaging Can Be Used for Education

The packaging for the recycled milk jug recycling truck is also part of the toy, you simply cut out the various recyclables such as the paper stacks, plastic bottles and tin cans, these can then be placed into the truck through the correct recycling chute! Genius

A Cool and Educational Green Toy

The Green Recycling Truck In Dump Mode!

The Truck Teaches Kids to Recycle Paper, Metal and Plastic

The Green Truck is Made by "Green Toys" and is Available from OrganicBug.com

Thanks to OrganicBug.com, We Love Our Green Recycling Truck!

We hope you enjoyed sharing this wonderful eco friendly toy with us and we hope you will visit our friends at the Organic Bug Eco Store.

Organic Bug - Sustainable Products Promoting Healthy Lifestyles

Kids Eco Game Play Green Spinning Tops!

Martin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 14:51:53 +0000

Green Kids Game by Play Green

Our gifts at Christmas this year had a distinctively green theme and one particular fun gift was this spinning top game by “ImagiPlay Play Green Spinning Tops“. This toys is made with all natural sustainable rubberwoods and managed-forest pines which are fast growing. Even the packaging is green, it is made from the same sustainable farming wood and doubles up as the “arena” for the spinning tops.

Play Green Spinning Tops - All Natural Eco Game

The top of the packaging slides out and can be reversed and slotted back into the box to create a battle field for the duelling spinning tops!

The Play Green Spinning Tops Arena

The game comes with a wide selection of brightly colored wooden spinning tops in different shapes and sizes, we didn’t waste any time in laying them out on the area floor and choosing our favorites;

Green Spinning Tops

The spinning tops are all hand painted using fair and ethical trade labor and they look great. My wife and I picked our favorite spinning tops and started our spinning duel! The tops are very well balanced and they spin for along time when given the right flick of the wrist… Check out our green spinning top battles in the video below;

If you enjoyed reading about these green spinning tops then check out the other products made by ImagiPlay;
http://www.imagiplay.com

Green Plush Toy, Fuzz that Wuzz!

admin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:18:43 +0000

Have you ever wondered whether you can buy a wonderfully soft plush toy which is also good for the environment? Well now there are a range of super cute stuffed animal toys made by Mary Meyer, they are the amazing green plush toys called “Fuzz that Wuzz”.

Green Plush Toys by Fuzz that Wuzz

Amazingly these cute stuffed toys are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles! We bought this green plush toy dog and considering he is made entirely from recycled bottles he is super soft and feels like a regular stuffed toy. His dog tag says his name is Woofzzzz Dog and he was made by the Mary Meyer stuffed animal company. Mary Meyer started making stuffed toys in 1933 and her company is now making these eco-friendly creations for us to enjoy…

Green Plush Toy Dog by Mary Meyer

The dog tag is packed with eco facts and this one stated that less than 30% of used plastic bottles in the U.S. are actually recycled. These Fuzz that Wuzz stuff toys are helping increase that percentage everyday and I would totally recommend getting one for yourself or as a gift!

Fuzz that Wuzz Earthmates by Mary Meyer

The Fuzz that Wuzz stuffed toys are part of the “Earthmates” range from Mary Meyer and we thoroughly applaud this Vermont based business for “going green” with their stuffed toys.
You can buy your very own cute recycled plastic bottle stuffed toy dog from Amazon, check the link below;

Our Everyday Earth - Green Blog » Our Everyday Earth – Green Blog

Eco-friendly Toys Win At National Toy Awards

OrganicBug.com – Inspiring the Next Generation of Green Thinkers

Kids Eco Game Play Green Spinning Tops!

Green Plush Toy, Fuzz that Wuzz!

Buy a Fuzz That Wuzz Toy on Amazon