Green Toys

The Uberstix Scavenger Series utilizes recycled materials, such as straws, water bottles, and cups, to create working models.

One of my fondest childhood memories was playing with a brand new refrigerator box with our neighbors in the front yard.  This large box was a space ship, a school bus, a house, etc.  Parents know that kids love boxes, and sometimes these corrugated containers are more interesting than the toys they contain on birthdays and holidays.  Kidsonroof has combined children’s love of cardboard boxes with dramatic play to create the MobileHome.

Report about the "Good Green Fun" line of eco-friendly toys from Toys R Us.

Fair Trade Toys are not only educational and creative; they are also safe and unique.  Most of them are handmade and use natural materials just because that what is available for small craftsmen in developing countries.

When Gigi sent me the set of 5 finger puppets shown here though, I was blown away...$11.00? That's it? These are hand knitted finger puppets (the penguin is my favorite) intricately detailed and perfect for storytelling.

As environmental awareness becomes a dominant theme, it’s no surprise that green-tech learning toys are emerging. Does that mean there’s a major entrepreneurial opportunity here? Science kits will always occupy a niche within the toy industry, and those demonstrating alternative fuels and other eco-friendly technologies could stake a place alongside the rockets, microscopes and chemistry sets that are the mainstay of that market.

Every time you turn on the evening news these days another toy has been recalled due to toxic ingredients. Have you started breaking into a cold sweat every time you see your toddler stick a random piece of colored plastic into her mouth?

Experts predict that 2008 will be the year of the green toy as retailers and toy makers offer more eco-friendly options in natural materials. Board games specially should also score well as families stay home amid a challenging economy. With so many toys on the market manufactured with environmentally unsafe materials, is no wonder that this is happening. Environmentally friendly toys are a very small (albeit growing) segment of the toy market so the potential for growth is explosive.

The PowerHouse is a toy house with solar cells and other green (faux) tech for the kid who wants to change the world. The promotional patter promises 70 green experiments and 20 building projects.

How does one define a toy or game as “eco-friendly?” The basic materials, the paints and dyes, and the manufacturing process all come into play. Ideally, every toy would be handmade by local artisans using recycled, organic, or renewable resources and plant-based dyes. This article highlights a raft of eco-friendly toys & games that are perfect for the little ones on your "naughty and nice" list this season.

San Francisco-based Green Toys is launching a line of what it calls environmentally friendly toys. The toys will be made from a bio-based plastic produced by Cereplast. Green Toys are produced using an injection molding process. Because of this, the Cereplast resin is combined with polylactide (PLA) from NatureWorks LLC. PLA is a versatile polymer that is made from a complex process beginning with corn.