Have you seen these great play sets? They’re from Green Toys, a company out of San Francisco, California, that is dedicated to creating eco-friendly and safe alternatives to traditional toys. Their toys- which include an awesome sand play set, tea set, cooking set, and sweet little gardening set- are made out of recycled milk jugs in California. Novel idea, right? Their website explains further:

“Yes, the exact plastic milk jugs that you and your family drink from every day. When you finish your milk and toss the container in the recycling bin, these milk containers are collected at your curb by a local recycling company, who then sorts them from all the other types of plastic. Next, the milk containers are reprocessed into super clean fresh plastic. For you plastic geeks, the plastic material we use is called high-density polyethylene (or HDPE). This material is considered one of the safest, cleanest plastics around”.

The toys contain no phthalates or BPA, and are designed without external coatings so that they are lead-free and meet FDA requirements for food contact. They also are minimally packaged in recycled corrugated boxes using no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties. These toys are such a win-win-win.

For those ultra-concerned with toy safety (and rightly so)…
Green Toys products pass a plethora of tests, including:

• Consumer Products Safety Standard Specification, ASTM F963
• California Prop. 65 restrictions on lead & cadmium
• FDA regulations for food contact
• California regulations prohibiting phthalates in toys
• Voluntary testing for no BPA (Bisphenol-A)

And for everyone concerned about the planet, it’s great to know that every step in the manufacturing process, “from milk container recycling to toy production to final assembly, occurs in California.Our raw materials and toys aren’t shipped from overseas, which saves a lot of energy and reduces greenhouse gases”.

Plus, if I failed to mention it, they’re fun and great for the imagination!

Available online at WildDill and Amazon.

It’s Fair Trade Friday!…

These adorable hand puppets from Kenana Knitter Critters have got to be some of the cutest I’ve seen. They’re all hand knit by a group of women in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya using locally grown hand-spun sheep wool, then dyed with all natural plants from their garden, and naturally moth-proofed with a local daisy-like flower. Since each “critter” is individually handmade, no two are exactly alike and they have their own unique character. The Kenyan women are proud of their work and sign the cards that accompany their products. It’s also great to know that while you and your children enjoy the wonderful fair trade animals and dolls, the women have gained income, status, and economic growth in their community, and ultimately a better life for themselves and their families.

The Critters come as hand puppets, finger puppets, or stuffed knit animals.

Available from $18 at Wild Dill.

Every baby needs to be swaddled, and doing so with a blanket or sack made of bamboo makes a lot of sense. Bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-microbial, plus it regulates body temperature, so it wicks moisture away from the body. It’s also non-irritating which is perfect for a delicate new baby, and is a natural UV protectant. A great eco-friendly and sustainable material, it’s practical because it’s fully machine washable. And if you’ve never felt bamboo fabric, you will definitely be surprised by it’s softness. Beba Bean’s Organic Bamboo Jersey Baby Swaddling Blanket is an oversized, triangle-shaped blanket made of 100% organically-grown bamboo fiber. Swaddling instructions are sewn right into the blanket for easy reference, which I love.
($29.99 at Amazon.com)

Kiddopotamus makes their highly popular SwaddleMe blanket in a bamboo variety, too. This incorporates all the benefits of bamboo with their SwaddleMe design, which includes wings that provides a custom fit. This has been a popular product because the SwaddleMe, according to the manufacturer, “soothes infants and reduces symptoms of colic byrecreating the familiar, soothing snugness of the womb. It also reduces the incidence of the startle reflex, allowing babies to sleep for longer periods of time.” Plus it’s a timesaver, and helpful if you can’t wrap up your baby like a burrito in a traditional blanket - (it’s harder than you might think!). An excellent choice if you’re in the market for a baby shower or new baby gift - believe me, it will get a lot of use!
($14.99 at Amazon.com)

Even though I’m not in the market for a diaper bag, I sure did a LOT of extensive research of and shopping for them a few years back. So I was delighted to discover today that Fleurville, synonymous with trendiness (and priciness), has developed new, ultra-cool diaper bags made from recycled plastic bottles. Called Re-Run, this new line of bags is crafted by processing used plastic bottles into fabric. They use this instead of PVC, which many other diaper bags use because it’s a cheap material. So that makes this bag safer than others for your kids, plus it’s obviously environmentally friendly and can set a great example for kids about the importance of thinking about the environment, even when using everyday items like a diaper bag.

These bags posess all of the usual wonderfulness of regular Fleurville bags, with new bonuses like internal fleece-lined sunglass and IPod pockets, plus an ear bud pass-through badge.

I sure wish these would have been around a few years ago for me… But kudos to Fleurville for developing this cool recycled material now for such a great, functional purpose. And for making them so much more affordable than their others (about half price!).

Messenger-style diaper bags in 5 diferent colors/patterns Available from $74.95 at Amazon.com. They also offer Re-Run stroller diaper bags and micro-pods starting at $27.95.

Fair Trade Friday…

Pastel Toys are “special toys made by special people” in Kishorit, a kibbutz-like, non-denominational, non-profit community location in Western Galilee. 120 developmentally disabled adults live and work in a friendly and supportive village here, growing organic vegetables and creating these high quality collectible toys.

They’re created from all natural materials that meet the quality and safety standards of the Israeli Standard Institute. The pastel colors are made with lead-free, water-based paints “create a calm and relaxed mood where a child’s imagination can flourish”. Converted from blocks of wood by hand, all of them have moving wheels. All kids love that, no matter where in the world they play with them.

The Gap recently started selling these toys too, which I thought was very interesting. However, the resale prices at Wild Dill are lower for us as consumers- they start at $24.00.