Top Ten Green Toys

With Green Day hours away, we are certainly pleased with the trend in the toy industry to go green.  It seems like every week there are new organic doll collections, toys made of recycled materials, and toys/games that have an empowering (but not obnoxiously heavy-handed) green agenda.  More good news-the packaging also seems to be more friendly to the environment-with fewer toys trapped in a sea of plastic.

Here is our current list of top ten green favorites–happily the list keeps growing!

blabla dolls (blabla)

Earth Mates (Mary Meyer)

My Natural Collection (Hosung NY)

Organic Joobles (Fair Indigo)
Recycling Truck (Green Toys) 

Recycling Truck (Playmobil)

Eco-Trucks (Sprig Toys)
Busy Bugs (Mudpuppy)
Green Dollhouse (Plan Toys) 
Elia Mini Chair (eliafun.com)

Pick of the Day: Fair Trade Joobles

I just opened a box of Joobles…a really adorable collection of knit dolls (made of organic cotton) from Fair Indigo. Each doll is knitted (some with yarn hair)…and stitched features. This is now the third collection of fabric dolls we\’ve received this month that have such wit — a really good sign that there is still a great deal of talent and creativity out there in toy land.  (Apparently a lot coming from Peru! – the blabla collection is also made in Peru.) The Joobles are $29 each. They will appeal to both boys and girls- also a plus!  They will be  just right for toddlers that will love their squish factor and cheerful design. According to the company’s information, Joobles are made in a Peruvian co-op that also provides free breakfast to the children in their community.

Pick of the Day: Blabla Collection

Today we’ve been opening a whole host of boxes that have arrived since we were at toy fair.  Lots of books (how many books can there be about Miley Cyrus?), games, toy trucks and audio tapes.  At the bottom of the stack we just opened a box that had the most WONDERFUL new dolls inside from Blablakids.com. Rarely do we get products that are so fresh looking–yet have a very retro, pleasingly familiar feel to them.  There are dolls that will appeal to both boys and girls–they are all knitted – and each character has tons of personality!  They have that extra dose of whimsy that makes this an outstanding collection (can you tell I really like them!).  The entire collection is inspired by a trip to Peru by co-founder Susan Pritchett and French designer Florence Wetterwald. My suggestion–take a break from what you’re working on and go to their website. There are fingerpuppets, mid-size dolls, rattles, and giant (3′) dolls–you will be in for a treat. We have asked to see some of the other dolls in the line – it is truly very special.