New Book on Best Green Products
by Mairi Beautyman, Berlin, Germany 
on 06.28.06
Looking for something that sifts through the massive amounts of green products out there—and gives you the best of the best? Green Design, recently released by Mark Batty Publisher, is a full-color journey through a carefully chosen selection of green toys, objects, fabrics, paper, and alternative energy sources. And, it sports a chapter about LEGO by TreeHugger writer Dominic Muren. Over 50 designers are included, from American Apparel to Sonic Fabric to Jimi Wallets to Stupid Sock Creatures. Printed on recycled paper of course, the book is priced at $34.95. (Yep, not cheap. But worth it—your treehugging friends will be green with envy when they spot it on your coffee table.) Click here to purchase at 37 percent off. ::Mark Batty Publisher
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Can someone please explain to me the greenness of LEGOs. Yes, they are a great toy with many uses but they are petrochemical soup loaded with carcinogens. I fail to see how ABS plastic can be considered good for the environment or for the children who play with these toys.
I agree with Zuzka.
Well, it's not immediately obvious, and I haven't read the book yet, but Allison Arieff has this to say in today's NY Times, and I find it pretty convincing: "Virtually every kind of toy sold today is made from plastic (using cheap labor) and typically ends up in landfill, Muren notes. Legos are plastic, too, but she lauds them for being safe and durable (and thus able to be passed along from one kid to the next), for being modular and backwards-compatible (any Lego brick from any kit or era will connect with another), and for being produced near their markets, so that a minimum of energy is needed to get them to the shelves. Not least, Legos are, and have been since their invention in the 1950’s, toys that invite the use of children’s imagination — perhaps the thing we most need to sustain."