droolicious : green toys

Dump Truck by Green Toys

elizabeth leach — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:30:00 GMT

This fantastic Dump Truck, the newest toy by Green Toys, is made from 100% recycled milk containers. Perfect for hauling and dumping sand and dirt outside or toys inside, this truck looks cool and plays hard while helping to save the planet. Truck measures 11" L, 7 1/2" W, 7 1/8"H.

Check out Sunny's post on Five Green Gifts for Earth Day that includes the Recycling Truck by Green Toys. Find out where to buy the Dump Truck here. Visit Green Toys.

5 Green Gifts for Earth Day

SunnyChanel — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:01:00 GMT

This week features a very special day, Earth Day, a perfect time to bring some green, eco-friendly goodies into the house. But it doesn't need to be Earth Day, these 5 green gifts are good for any occasion. They celebrate play as much as our dear old Mother Earth.

Green Toys Recycle Truck (above)
Forget the regular old construction trucks, what’s way more appropriate these days is a very green recycle truck. This push toy is made 100% from curbside-collected recycled milk jugs and it’s safe with none of those icky phthalates or BPAs. You can pick up one of these trucks by Green Toys for $23.70 from Amazon here.

Sprout Your Own Sweet Scents
Seeds for your little sprout, this mini-garden kit has everything you need to create some sweet spelling plants. And perhaps the plants won’t be the only thing to grow, a green thumb might also be in your kid’s future. The kit includes a 32-page booklet, 3 biodegradable plastic planters and drip trays, 3 seed packets, 3 peat pellets and sticker sheet. This is appropriate for ages 4-12. Just add water and in no time your kid will be smelling the sweet life. You can pick one up here for $18.99.

Organic Fruit Basket Teething Toys
Young babies won’t get the whole ‘Earth Day’ thing, they’re too busy putting stuff into their mouths. But to combine those two things, you can pick up this organic fruit basket that features safe, non-toxic teething versions of a watermelon, pear, small banana and grapes by Under the Nile. Each fruit is made of 100% organic Egyptian cotton. You can pick up the set here for $24.89.

Idbids: Waverly Eco-Friendly Starter Kit
Waverly is one of three environmentally friendly characters, the idbids, that teach kids about our home, planet Earth. Waverly is handmade from organic cotton and comes with a storybook about the Idbids, a field guild with 10 “doable iddy biddy steps” to make the world a better place, and an organic cinch sack backpack to carry the new member of the family. You can pick one up from Progressive Kids here for 40% off! They regularly sell for #29.99 but you can pick one up here for $17.99.

Sprig Rally Racer
This extremely sturdy and durable racer by Sprig is made from some magical eco-friendly material called Sprigwood™. This lightweight resin like material is made from recycled wood and reclaimed plastic. They also managed to not use any decorative paint in the production process, the packaging is totally minimal and the people at Sprig made sure to partner only with ecologically responsible manufacturers. Yeah, they care.

The Rally Racer is kid-powered and as push and pump action is made, electronic features reward the kid’s play with lights and sounds. And since it’s ‘kid-powered’, no batteries are needed. You can pick one of the Rally Racers here for $27.50.

Hit the Green Trail with Sprig's Eco-Friendly Extra Guides

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:30:00 GMT

We geeked out over the eco-friendly Sprig Discover Rig a few months back, but it just occurred to us that the toy could get awfully lonely without a driver behind its wheel.

Made in Canada from recycled plastic and reclaimed sawdust, Sprig's Discover Rig Extra Guides are ready to hit the road -- and don't let the fact that they've got no features fool you. Once your kids' imagination gets hold, there's no vista these little figures can't navigate.

$10 from Nico & Zoe.

Green Toys Dish Set

AmandaHill — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 22:00:00 GMT

With the importance of green toys on the rise, Pottery Barn has some great sets from their Green Toys collection. The dish set seen above is made from recycled milk jugs. They contain no BPA or phthalates. The pieces are built to last and for safe play. I love the waythe little blue pot looks so much like a large Le Creuset.

Click on over to Pottery Barn Kids to check this set out.

Welcome to My Eco-Friendly Doll House

Lisa Estall — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:22:00 GMT

One day I want to get a dollhouse for my daughter. What’s great is now there are ones that are eco-friendly!

Wonderworld’s Eco-Friendly Wooden Doll House is made of rubber-wood and decorated with water-based, non-toxic paint. It iincludes a recycling...

trash can, solar panels, a bicycle, as well as the family and the room pieces.

Why not teach the young ones how to be more Green with this toy?

This dollhouse is only sold online at Toys R Us. Price is $129.99

Maple Landmark Rolls Out 2009 NameTrain Engine

Aaron Burgess — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:00:00 GMT

We've covered green toymaker Maple Landmark a handful of times in the past, but this being a new year and all, it's only fitting to highlight the company's 2009 exclusive, the latest edition to its NameTrain engine series.

Modeled after the old (1914-1933) British Remembrance Class 4-6-4 steam engine, this year's NameTrain choo-choo is made from solid hard maple and finished with non-toxic inks, and thanks to front and rear magnets, it'll have no trouble pulling your Brio, Plan or Thomas sets.

$4.90 from Maple Landmark Woodcraft.

FAO Schwartz: Earth-Friendly, Too

Erin Behan — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:07:00 GMT

If you're committed to buying only earth-friendly toys this season, one stop on the internet should be FAO Schwartz, which has a whole cadre of earth-friendly toys from which to choose. Several, like the above Patrick the Pup organic plush stacker (reduced to $28.50) are from their own line and all should make you feel just a little bit better about what your kids put in their mouths and what you bring into your home. Its enviro-friendly pedigree comes from the use of certified organic cotton, non-processed, non-treated, non-bleached raw cotton filling, a natural ingredient dye system called Pure Waterwash. Patrick is non-toxic, chemical free and UV light sterilized.

Eco-Friendly Stocking Stuffer: EnviroBlox

Aaron Burgess — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:04:00 GMT

Made from corn starch, Cadaco's EnviroBlox are the biodegradable alternative to traditional plastic building blocks. You wet the packing-peanut-style Blox with the included sponge to stick them together, and instead of having to shelve away a bunch of pieces when playtime is over, you just run the kids' creation under water to watch it melt away. Warning, though: EnviroBlox' melting capabilities can be alluring enough that more mischievous kids may get off on simply watching the blocks dissolve.

The EnviroBlox 400-piece X-Treme Builder Set (pictured) is $9.99 from Amazon, while the more stocking-sized Deluxe Set is $6.99.

Sprig Discover Rig a Literally Kid-Powered Green Toy

Aaron Burgess — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:39:00 GMT

Made in Canada from a combination of reclaimed wood and recycled plastic, the Sprig Discover Rig also has an eco-friendly motor to match its green construction. The internal generator juices up as your kids roll the car around during play, and once it's fully charged, little ones can activate three different play modes to enjoy lights, a rumbling engine, and safari-adventure sounds.

$49.99 from Toys"R"Us. [The Daily Green]

Bring the Train Station Inside with Plan Toys City Station

Heather Kuldell — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 21:04:00 GMT

Any faithful Droolicious reader may have noticed that we have a crush on Plan Toys. Here’s another piece for your children who are probably playing inside more these days: the City Station. This multi-level playset features a revolving door, check-in areas, a shop stand, a staircase and of course, two figurines to wander around the station. If you have the Rail and Road Systems, you can attach the City Station. As always with Plan Toys, the set is made of chemical-free, recycled rubberwood.

More Blocks with 'Tude

Erin Behan — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:33:00 GMT

If you, like me, are into blocks with attitude, then you'll appreciate these builders with modern-day imaginings of Little Red Riding Hood and Peter and the Wolf. The Fidoodle blocks are hand-printed and have illustrations on two sides. Flip them to the unpainted sides and you can assemble a puzzle. You get 22 blocks in the set in two sizes. Best of all (for the environment, anyway) the blocks are made of sustainable birch, are painted with nontoxic paints and finished with a food-safe sealer. A metal tin keeps the set together when not in use. The blocks are $88 at ReForm School.

Green Tea, Thumbs Part of Green Toys' Spring '08 Line

Aaron Burgess — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:03:00 GMT

A while back, we covered San Francisco-based Green Toys' venture into corn-based bioplastic playthings -- well, the company's resources seem to have changed a bit since then, but the output is as green as ever. This 27-piece Green Toys Cookware and Dining Set ($39.95 at Rabbit Kinney) is part of a new line of recycled-plastic toys that also includes a Tea Set, an Indoor Gardening Kit, and a Sand Play Set. Though it's not corn-derived (the actual material is high-density polyethylene, or HDPE), each set is made in California using recycled milk containers as its primary material. The toys also feature no external coating (and pose no lead-paint risks) and undergo testing to ensure no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA.

And thus concludes today’s chemistry lesson – for more information on Green Toys, including info on where to find them locally, visit the company's site.

Truth in Advertising: Pure and Natural Animals

Aaron Burgess — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:44:00 GMT

Let's see: Hand-made? Check. Naturally pigmented? Yep. Made from 100% organic cotton? Indeed.

From designer Volker Senger, these all-natural animals ($16 from Branch) are also machine-washable, which means you can run 'em through a warm cycle before baby starts to suck them into tatters. The only catch: Senger's animals are $16 each, so if you want a complimentary giraffe-and-camel set as pictured above, it'll cost you double.

7 Days of Indoor Toys: Xeko, the Eco Trading-Card Game

Aaron Burgess — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:03:00 GMT

Even though it plays a lot like Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering, Xeko trumps other trading-card games by having a social conscience beneath its surface. That's not to say kids will be turned off by Xeko's attempts at turning its players into activists. One look at the packaging -- a (sustainably farmed!) wood shipping crate with a "secret mission" inside -- and they'll be too jazzed about breaking into Xeko to question its makers' m.o.

And that's where Xeko is really clever: It uses a style of gaming with which kids are already familiar to school them on serious environmental issues. The objective, in ultra-simplified terms, is to build the strongest "Xeko-system" in one of several real-world ecological hotspots. You face off against opponents in the standard draw-and-battle style of Pokemon (demo here) and win by amassing the most "Eco-points" in your environment. The beautifully illustrated cards also teach you about the rare and endangered species you're saving.

Priced at $30, with 4% of proceeds going to Conservation International, Xeko starter sets include 40 booster cards, a rulebook, larger learn-to-play cards, and an oversized play mat/map. Kids can also send back the cards' wrappers for recycling and in exchange earn "green points" redeemable for landfill-sparing junk like screensavers and wallpapers. And, not only is Xeko's packaging made from recycled/recyclable materials, but if you order online from the company, you're likely to receive your game packed in a box that's been reused from a previous order.

Green Baby: Tori Riding Horse Rescues Wood from the Scrap Heap

Aaron Burgess — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:03:00 GMT

This modern take on a classic children's toy also has an interesting green backstory: Made from end-of-life rubber wood, the sort of "garbage" lumber that's traditionally burned in heaps to use for charcoal, the Tori Rocking Horse ($100) is also sealed with a non-toxic natural finish. It folds down for easy storage and transport and is aimed at kiddoes ages 2-3, although on school and government holidays like today, the older kids will have just as much fun whiling away the hours playing ride-'em.

Green Baby: Green Toys Bioplastic is Fantastic

Mir — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:02:00 GMT

Plastics made in China getting you down? How about some American-made bioplastic toys? Green Toys has created a line of children's toys here in America from bioplastic -- plastic made from renewable, sustainable sources (primarily corn).

These were first mentioned a little while back on Strollerderby, but unavailable at that time. Now, they're coming! Keep your eyes open for various Green Toys bioplastic toys to be arriving at Planet Happy Toys in the next few months. The tea set pictured above will retail for $24.95.