The Best Places to Buy Kid-Safe, Green Toys

I must admit that when it comes to being green, a true shade I am not. As a mother of two children under two, I commit several eco-infractions daily. I take long showers when I can—it is my one selfish indulgence. I don't always remember to turn out the lights, and I definitely do not compost or use cloth diapers.

But I do recycle, I always use cloth grocery bags, and I am somewhat obsessive about buying organic and non-toxic items for my home and pantry. I'd say my color, for the time being, is a fairly green shade of aqua.

Recently, however, I have grown increasingly conscious of my carbon footprint and have tried to make choices that will help the environment while setting a good example for my children.

As the holidays approach this year, with the economy in crisis and the environment faring only slightly better, I find myself trying to make environmentally-friendly purchases that are also friendly to our family's tighter budget. I have found a few companies attempting to provide the same, and so I am happy to say that, this year, the toys I wrap will be as green as the [potted] Christmas tree they're placed under.

Through trial and error, I have winnowed down the list of green toy companies to three favorites:

1) Green Toys. This is one of the best eco-friendly toy manufacturers I have found. Made in the USA from 100% recycled milk jugs, Green Toys are lead-free, BPA- and phthalate- free, and they're relatively inexpensive. Because the toys are not shipped from overseas, they save energy and reduce greenhouse gases. The milk jugs are recycled in California, where the toys are manufactured and assembled. The company also packages its toys in 100% recycled cardboard, so there is no Styrofoam or plastic padding to throw away.

My daughter is especially fond of her recycled milk jug tea set. The soft colors are fun without being flashy, and our set has been extensively road-tested by a two-year-old who likes to throw things down the stairs and a ten-month-old who grinds everything between his surprisingly destructive four teeth. Despite frequent use, the set still looks brand new. I plan on buying Green Toys' indoor garden set for Christmas, which I hope will brighten our very long New England winter.

Here’s one other fact that makes me feel good about supporting this company: According to the US Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, each pound of recycled milk jugs saves enough energy to equal 3,000 AAA batteries, enough energy to power a television for three weeks, and enough energy to power your laptop for a month.

2) Plan Toys is another company I rely on for eco-friendly toys. This company makes a variety of wooden toys for children ranging in age from birth to five years. Aside from the fact that the toys are shipped from Thailand, Plan Toys has a very earth-conscious production plan. Its factories are powered, in part, by solar energy and biomass. The toys are manufactured from rubber trees that no longer provide latex (these trees are considered useless after they cease producing latex and are usually turned into charcoal), and every time a tree is cut down, another one is planted. Manufacturing waste is recycled into woodchips used to fire the kilns; heat produced by the kilns is used to sanitize materials rather than using chemicals to do so. Plan Toys also pays its workers twice the average wage in Thailand; a spokesperson for the company tells me that “any OSHA inspector would be quite impressed” with their factory.

My daughter and son both love the company's pull toys and stacking tree, and I recently purchased their entire play kitchen set for my daughter. The beautiful wooden construction of this set (bought individually) is—by far—the best I have seen. Although hardly inexpensive, the cost-benefit here comes from the fact that Plan Toys' products will last and last. The quality of their toys is unbelievable—you will be passing these down to your grandchildren and quite possibly to theirs.

3. Fat Brain Toys is a great site for finding everything toy-related on this great green earth. It's a small, family-owned and operated business with a huge selection of toys made in the USA—again, think "no carbon emissions to ship the goods here from a factory overseas." Fat Brain breaks down its "green" category into sub-categories so that it is easy to find toys for every age as well as something to fit everyone's budget. I love the organic cooking sets, and I found a wooden drum on the site that sounds pleasant no matter how hard my daughter bangs on it. With incredibly friendly customer service and free shipping on orders over 75 dollars, you could easily check off every kid on your shopping list with one click of the mouse. Green and easy—what could be better?

In the end, of course, the best way to go green when buying toys is simply to buy fewer things. The less we purchase during the holidays, the less waste we produce. If every parent out there decides to buy just one less toy for each of his/her children this season, imagine the impact that would have on the environment—not to mention your wallet.

If you want to slowly start replacing some of your less green (and probably more toxic) toys with earth-friendly ones, pack up all those battery-operated toys and take them to Goodwill. Or have a yard sale and use the money to buy green.

I recently gutted my playroom and gave away a closet's worth of toys that my children rarely played with and I no longer wanted to look at. Not only did it infuse the space with a newfound serenity, but my daughter played for hours with her "new" toys that had been impossible to find in the former clutter.

Going green doesn't always mean buying new—sometimes you just have to dig a little deeper to unearth the green you may already have.