The 8 Best Organic Baby Toys of 2023

Best Overall

Finn + Emma Rattle Buddies

5

View On Finnandemma.com

Although each of the toys in our list could have earned the Best Overall spot, we chose Finn & Emma Rattle Buddies because not only are these knit stuffed animals charming, they’re also hand-knit in Peru using Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified organic cotton yarn at a fair trade artisanal women’s collaborative that fosters financial independence. They’re stuffed with wool and, according to Finn & Emma, their dyes are “non-toxic” and the rattle inside is phthalate-free.

Whether you choose Finley the Fox, Ramsay the Racoon, Kellan the Elephant, Jack the Shellback, or Sully the Flying Pig, this 8-inch-tall toy may become your child’s preferred exploration buddy well into their elementary school years.

Finn & Emma also offer 100% certified organic cotton clothing and pacifier holders, and unfinished Indian hardwood toys.

Price at time of publish: $22

Best Overall Runner Up

Wee Gallery Meadow Activity Pad

5

View On Maisonette.com

As babies learn to use their hands, they love toys that they can manipulate, tug, and crinkle. This toy offers all of that and more. The activity mat features sweet woodland creatures drawn in a high-contrast style. It has a wooden teething ring, a rattle, and crinkly elements sewn into different parts of the pad. You can lay it on the floor to entertain baby during tummy time, or tie it to a stroller or car seat for entertainment on the go. 

It’s made from GOTS certified cotton, and filled with polyester that’s OEKO-TEX certified, meaning it’s free from concerning chemicals. 

Price at time of publish: $39

Best Budget

Apple Park Blankies

4.8

View On Applepark.com

It’s clear that organic and natural toys cost more than those that are mass-produced with lesser materials and lower standards and quality. But when it comes to your baby, perhaps fewer, high-quality toys are better than quantity. Remember to watch for sales and clearance as well to save.

Apple Park carries a range of organic baby toys including the adorable Apple Park Organic Farm and Picnic Pal Blankie Buddies in a variety of styles. You can choose from many options in their GOTS Certified organic cotton Blankie Buddies lines. Each uses GOTS Certified fabric dyes and is filled with naturally biodegradable and hypoallergenic corn fiber. Their toys comply with a number of other Good to be Green Standards as well for your peace of mind. Each has the head, hands, and feet of a stuffed animal or knotted corners and an approximately 12-inch by 12-inch blanket as the body.

Your baby will appreciate the snuggly security of their Blankie Buddy as well as the soft sensory stimulation and cheerful colors of a blanket. This San Francisco-based company also won Dr. Toy's Best Green Product Award.

You may also enjoy their teething rattle lines that include sweets, flowers, woodland pals, farm pals, and mushrooms.

Price at time of publish: $16

Best Plush

Bears for Humanity Organic Stuffed Animals

View On Bearsforhumanity.com

Plush toys are often your baby’s favorite snuggly. My son couldn’t sleep, travel, or even head to the grocery store without his stuffed dog, Pickle. To our children, they are security, friendship and gentle sensory stimulation.

Bears for Humanity Organic Stuffed Animal Pals are an excellent candidate to become your baby’s favorite. Created by a California mom and made in the United State, Bears for Humanity remains family-owned. You can choose from 10-, 12- and 16-inch sizes in a variety of soft and floppy animals including teddy bears, pandas, eagles, orcas, and a range of African animals.

They use GOTS Certified 100% organic cotton for the exterior, and the interior is recycled post-consumer polyethylene teraphthalate (RPET) fibers made from plastic bottles. Although cotton or corn fill would be more ideal, using RPET fiber filling does keep a waste product out of the landfill for a bit longer.

Each stuffy is hand-sewn and stuffed, helping to create jobs for underserved communities. Bears for Humanity’s Buy One Give One program donates a stuffed animal to a child in need for every product sold.

Price at time of publish: $30

Best Cotton

Under the Nile Soft Toys

View On Thenestinghouse.net View On Underthenile.com

Under the Nile Scrappy toys are sustainably made with GOTS Certified 100% organic Egyptian cotton scraps from a clothing manufacture that have been upcycled into toys. Under the Nile was the first company in the United States to earn GOTS Certification. The cotton is grown using biodynamic agriculture, which includes organic farming practices focused on sustainability. Each toy is made in a Certified Fair Trade facility in Egypt that trains women in textile manufacturing, and employs labor standards that ensure workers are treated and paid well.

Unlike many of the other brands, Under the Nile Scrappy toys are also filled with GOTS Certified 100% organic Egyptian cotton scraps. Choose from Scrappy Cat, Dog, Bunny, Lamb, Elephant, Scraptopus, and even lovies, bibs, and training pants in a range of upcycled colors and sizes.

Price at time of publish: $12

Best Splurge

LOVEVERY Play Kits

View On Lovevery.com

Selecting just the right quality, quantity, and educationally appropriate toys for each stage of your baby’s development can be time-consuming.

Lovevery has already done that work for you. The company has developed Stage-Based Play Kits for each stage of your baby’s development, with a range of high-quality organic and natural toys that are just right for your baby’s growing brain. Each kit includes enough variety that you may not need to buy other toys. You can buy kits individually or subscribe to a monthly box, and Lovevery will automatically send you a new age-specific kit every two to three months depending on the age of your child, up to age 48 months.

Each kit is inspired by the Montessori learning tradition and was built based on advice from a team of academic and research scientists that specialize in child and brain development. Kits use only Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, sustainably harvested wood, and OEKO-TEX certified organic cotton.

Lovevery aims for these multi-award-winning kits to be carbon neutral by 2030 by funding environmental projects that offset transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Price at time of publish: $120

Best Wooden

Uncle Goose Blocks

View On Unclegoose.com

Wooden toys are a staple of many childhoods. Whether for stacking, learning the alphabet, or for imaginative play, blocks are versatile toys that will entertain and educate your child into adolescence.

When choosing your foundational set of blocks for your baby, Uncle Goose Blocks are an excellent option. Each set is made by hand by talented craftspeople, who are paid a living wage in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Some have families who have been in woodworking for generations.

Each block is made from fast-growing, sustainably harvested American basswood trees, also known as Linden trees, a hardwood grown in the Great Lakes area. This makes the blocks sturdy yet soft to the touch. They’re untreated so you don’t have to worry about your baby being exposed to varnish, polish, sheens, or glosses.

The blocks are big enough so that they’re not a choking hazard. Uncle Goose also buys inks from an American manufacturer that are third-party tested to confirm that they contain no heavy metals. You can choose from, yes, 62 different kinds of blocks, that include 25 different languages. The colors and designs are classic yet unique and beautiful. 

Uncle Goose’s dedication extends beyond their products too. The company re-purposes its scrap and wood dust to heat homes and as horse bedding. It's also committed to using recycled paper for packaging and literature.

Because these blocks are uncoated, Uncle Goose recommends that you leave your block set out of reach until your baby has passed the stage where everything goes in their mouth. But the company also notes that: “If a child licks or bites a block, they’ll be fine.”

Price at time of publish: $19