How to Green Your Kids' Toys
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 05.26.07
What’s the Big Deal?
It’s a little cliché but true nonetheless, your children and your children's children will inherit the world that we create today. So, the stuff we give them shouldn't make life any harder on them in the future. If that alone isn't enough, how about the fact that your child will, more likely than not, chew everything edible and non-edible in his/her sight. Now there's motivation to make sure your child's playthings are green and healthy! Here we’ll give you the scoop on how to find more sustainable and less toxic toys for your little TreeHugger so you can do good for your child and the environment.Guide Navigation
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1. Look for PVC-free
PVC (aka polyvinyl chloride) seems to be everywhere we look. Some beach toys, teethers, dolls, and even (gasp!) rubber duckies are cheaply manufactured with the environmentally dubious material. A dioxin-producing powerhouse, PVC releases toxins into the environment all the way through its lifecycle from manufacturing to disposal. Many PVC toys also contain phthalates, chemical compounds that make the PVC plastic more flexible, which initial studies have linked to both cancer and hormonal disruption. Although the long-term effects of phalates on youngsters is not fully known, we fully subscribe to the idea of an ounce of prevention now over a potential pound of cure later.
2. Wood is good
Look for FSC-certified wood to find sustainable toys that will last generations longer than the cheap plastic stuff. For the little ones, untreated, unpainted wood is safe to chew unlike plastics that contain PVC. When your child is done, wooden toys can be passed on to a relative, friend, or even sold on eBay or Craigslist to give it a second life. The FSC certification is important, it ensures that the wood you buy has been forested responsibly, allowing for sustainable growth.
3. Power down
Batteries have become second nature in most toys today. Not only is this a terrible problem when these toys get disposed of, who wants to give their child the opportunity to chew on a battery? For the young ones, decide if all the battery-powered noise is worth it. Could your child stay just as entertained with a simpler toy, one that might even let you keep your sanity. For the older ones that absolutely must have the newest electronics, look into rechargeable batteries to eliminate waste. For more, see How to Green Your Electronics.
4. The great outdoors
The most rewarding toy might not be a toy at all. It might be the act of planting a tree or a vegetable garden. Want a truly carbon neutral activity for your kids? Play tag or hide and seek. Getting your wee ones outside provides them with abundant opportunities to run around, have fun, get exercise, and learn about the urban and natural environments around them. You probably remember time spent outside with family and friends in your youth...your kids will too.
5. Second-hand magic
Just because a toy has been used once doesn't mean that it can't be just as much fun the second time around. Check out eBay, Craigslist, Freecycle, yard sales, or your local classifieds for perfectly good toys than have simply been outgrown. And, don't forget that you can always give that same toy a third life (and recoup some of the cost) by putting it up for sale right where you found it.
6. Get organic
There are more pesticides and fertilizers sprayed onto conventional fibers than you might care to know about. Not only does the thought of chemically treated fabric probably raise a red flag when you think of your child, it raises a huge red flag for the environment as well. The chemicals we use to "improve" our crops often contaminate the soil they grow in and the air and water systems around it. Look for organic and naturally-dyed cotton, bamboo, tencel, and wool for toys such as stuffed animals. For more, see How to Green Your Baby.
7. Sometimes it's not what's in the box...
It is the box. Sometimes it is the stuff you already have that can prove the most fun to imaginative children. So, next time you think about throwing the box from that new toy away, think of it as a potential arts and crafts project instead.
8. Non-toxic paints
It's not just the paint on your walls that you should think about. The paint on your child's toys may also have VOCs (volatile organic compounds). There are a slew of new toys that use water-based and low-VOC or no-VOC paints (and nearly all of them will advertise this fact). This way a non-toxic toy gets the non-toxic paint job it deserves.
9. Lasting toys
When purchasing new toys, keep the toy’s potential longevity on your mind. A long-lasting toy not only means that you won't have to buy another one in a matter of months, it also means that when the toy is no longer in use, you can always pass it along. More money for you + keeping materials out of the landfill = easy decision.
10. The color purple
Subtitled: Everything on this list can't have a cheesy "green" pun. But seriously, what better way to go green than with the color itself. Craft projects give your kids an opportunity to use their imagination. Find non-toxic paints and crayons and let the kids loose on all sorts of recycled material from cardboard boxes to junk mail to items they find in the woods. Pet rock, here we come.
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(Solar toys from Imaginarium
1. Eco-learning toys
Find toys that teach a lesson while also providing fun. You might be amazed how easily you can find DIY solar power kits and hydrogen model cars for your young eco-engineer-to-be. And, you might be surprised how much you would want one for yourself. See below for more toys that educate and inspire.
2. Fair-trade manufacturing
It's simple: your kid’s toys shouldn’t be manufactured by someone else’s. Look for fair trade certification to protect against child labor and to make sure you help provide a living wage across the globe.
3. Locally made toys
Anyone in your town make toys? Cutting down the length a toy has traveled to your front door is a greener option. As a bonus, locally made toys are often hand-made and unique.
(Playmobil toys have been PVC-free for twenty years. Skull Pirate Ship pictured above.)
1. Americans purchase around five billion batteries each year and leave behind a minimum of 146,000 tons of battery waste annually.
2. One fourth of total pesticide production each year is used on conventional cotton crops.
3. In 1999, the European Union banned six phthalate plasticizers from children’s toys designed for kids younger than three. The legislation became mandatory in 2006.
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(A naturally-dyed wool octopus made by a Kenyan women’s collective, available from Branch)
Phthalates: a family of chemical compounds often put into PVC in order to make it more flexible. Some common phthalate compounds include DEHP, DINP, and DBP. In addition to their use in PVC, phthalates are also sometimes used in nail polish, adhesives, and cosmetics among other things. Some initial studies have shown that high-doses of phthalates can cause damage to the liver, kidneys, and reproductive systems. DEHP, in particular, has been termed a "probabl human carcinogen" by the US EPA. The long-term effects of phthalates in frequent smaller doses, the way in which we usually interact with them, is unknown at this time.
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(This mini wind turbine illuminates an LED light. Available from Select Solar)
Too many unused toys around? You can “re-goody” them to other kids who might enjoy them.
LikeaBike gets the 2-5 year-old set bicycle-ready.
Wood rocking horses last longer and are potentially less harmful than plastic ones (and better looking too!).
Here’s a puzzle made with sustainably harvested maple wood and non-toxic paints.
Natural wool is making its way into quite a few toys: Natural wool finger puppets from Branch and a natural wood octopus made in Kenya.
HappyMais is a new toy that features a natural GM-free corn starch material that is totally biodegradable, and from non-toxic compostable food colourings.
This toy lemur is made from fibers produced from the waste of tofu production.
Get them started on solar with this build-it-yourself toy car.
Make veggies cool, try these organic cotton hand knit varieties.
Nest makes a host of cool, sustainable kids toys and furniture.
Imaginarium toys teach kids about gardening and renewable energy.
Jess Hutchinson not only makes quirky and beautiful stuffed toys, but offers patterns for do-it-yourselfers.
Select Solar offers solar-powered toys that hop, glow, and roll.
Check out the crafty, eco-friendly winners of the Soft Toy awards.
Netto toys and kids’ furniture from Finland use sustainable wood and natural (forgive the pun) finishes.
Indian toy master Arvind Gupta demonstrates countless ways to make trash into toys.
miYim stuffed toys sport snuggly organic cotton skin.
Ideal Bite’s take on green gifts for kids
The Lazy Environmentalist radio program tackles to the toy issue.
Children's Environmental Health Network
Greenpeace has a number of studies on toxicity and children’s toys. The report, “Cleaning up our Chemical Homes”, investigates individual toy companies and ranks them.
One option I'm surprised you didn't mention was sharing toys with other families. I'm a member of a parent-run cooperative toy lending library and playspace in Pittsburgh (http://www.pghtoys.com), and rather than buying toys, I'm able to borrow them for a few weeks at a time --- usually enough time for my daughter to tire of them. We save money, we don't have to worry about her outgrowing things, and the toys in the lending library are shared among the couple hundred member families.
Our other rule is that we get toys three times a year --- at Christmas, at Easter, and at our child's birthday. We either buy one large long-lasting present (an easel, a tricycle, a play kitchen) that we expect her to use for several years, or we restock her art supplies or the like.
ne option I'm surprised you didn't mention was sharing toys with other families.
Where can I find the toy just pictured above? I followed all the links but could not locate that item!
The top 10 points I couldn't agree more with.
Often just sticking to the basics can be difficult for good intentioned parents who live in smaller cities and towns. But even in these locations there are usually consignment and / or thrift stores...What a great way to recycle toys, cloths, gear... etc and save a few dollars. The money I save on gear and cloths from second hand stores (these cloths have been washed so money times that I doubt there is any formaldehyde left) we put away for college or pay for the more expensive organic/eco toy we can't find second hand. e.g. wood building blocks from Haba.
Christmas is coming, so I was glad to find this thread. My husband and I do not like our daughter (age 2 1/2) to have a lot of toys. Since our friends and relatives often buy her toys for christmas and birthdays, this means that we have rarely bought her anything. We also cycle through toys, putting some up while the others are down for her to play with. We donate a lot of her toys, also.
This situation has changed now, however, because what toys she did have I have thrown away due to concerns over lead paint. (I am sorry, but I did not know of a different alternative to throwing them away-they are not marked with a recycling number). It is fine with me that these toys are gone--she is going to a Montessori preschool, and any items we have ever bought her are imaginative/educational. So this is an opportunity to buy eco friendly, safe, educational toys that appeal to the imagination. (Man, I hate toys that have prerecorded talking, etc.-we take the batteries out!)
I have been looking through Montessori catalogs, as well as websites for ecofriendly items, been asking a lot of questions.
But this question is for Treehuggers. I remember playing with Colorforms when I was little, and I loved that toy! But they are vinyl, so I assume that means PVC? and not safe? I do remember they had a distinctive smell. If Colorforms are not ecofriendly-Oh well, there are lots of alternatives. In fact, I'm pretty excited by these toys, and will have to be careful not to get her too much!
This is a great list. And you can go even farther if you're concerned with going green with your kids. I know a woman that just got her child's playroom and nursery designed entirely eco-friendly as well as chemical and allergen safe, by an interior design firm in Santa Monica, Storm Interiors. Her child had major sensitivity and skin reactions to everyday materials and had to find a solution. The firm used it's own brand of manufactured green furniture, painted all the walls and casegoods with V.O.C.-free paint, used 100% recyclable toxin free wallpaper, and revived a vintage chandelier and hardware. It's so great that more and more people are becoming aware and concerned with this cause, so in turn there are more options out there for us to make better, green, choices. :)
I'm having my son's 7 year old birthday party next week and my problem is the silly treat bags. You seem to have to have them but I at least wanted to make them as green as possible. I think we are going to color brown paper bags to hold a few things but any suggestions on something to put in them that will not break the bank?
Would you provide examples of mass produced toys by major toy companies and sold by major retailers that use paints described in section 8.
8. Non-toxic paints
"There are a slew of new toys that use water-based and low-VOC or no-VOC paints (and nearly all of them will advertise this fact).
I can't stand it! Every time I turn around I hear "this and that causes cancer" and la de da... Not too long ago I was wondering what the heck is organic clothing.. A few months ago I found out that all the pesticides that they put on crops actually get carried over in the garment. It is probably naive that I didn't realize that sooner.. But enough rambling. I have soon to be 2 and 3 year old and to think that the cloths they wear may be killing them, just makes my stomache sick. I live in a rural town and the option for organic clothing is limited by what little walmart sells. Why are we hurting ourselves with all these chemicals? Someone needs to step in. OH and btw I am throwing away the bulk of my children's toys tonight. They chew on their rubber ducks also. Ahhh I am just so disgusted.
What a great way to recycle toys cloths.. The money I save on gear and cloths from second hand stores
Thanks for the article. My household has switched to natural wood toys. They are typically better made, smarter, and better for the environment.
Go green!