Trying To Be Greener

Safer eco-living, one day at a time

Update to homemade toy sales being banned in the US and Canada December 29, 2008

Recently, I wrote about how homemade toys may soon be banned from being sold in the United States and Canada. The LA Times reported on December 25, 2007 that the Consumer Product Safety Commission staff recommended certain natural materials be excluded from the ban, due to the fact that they are lead-free. The materials listed in their report are:

  • wood
  • cotton
  • silk
  • wool
  • hemp
  • flax
  • linen

The commission must still vote on the recommendations but it’s a big step that can help small businesses who make safe, natural toys for our children.

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Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.
 

For the holidays choose safer, natural toys November 14, 2008

Recently, I wrote about introducing my daughter to toys made of safer, natural materials. My desire has been to try to limit her exposure to lead, BPA, and phthalates, all of which are extremely harmful but even more so to small bodies.

This isn’t an easy thing to do. You can’t always rely on safe toys being sold in conventional places. Many of the products sold there contain the harmful components mentioned above. I’ve always just ended up doing research myself on individual toys and just searched for them all over the internet.

I used to feel uncomfortable about well meaning relatives and friends purchasing toys for my daughter that may not be the safest choices and with the holidays coming up, this could be a time of “plastic overload”. I found, though, that there’s an easy way around this. When asked what they can get for my daughter, I just suggest a store that has a variety of choices with a high standard for safety.

One of those stores is Natural Pod. Natural Pod is a Canadian company that was started by individuals who were just interested in finding safer toys for their own children. Their site has a variety of beautiful toys for babies, toddlers, and young children. These are toys that you’ll want to hang onto for generations to come – how often have you been able to say that about typical toys you come in contact with?

They have lovely toys for babies:

Organic Soft Block Set

Organic Soft Block Set

Stacking toys for toddlers:

Nesting Birds

Nesting Birds

Toys that inspire imagination:

Chef's Kitchen and Hutch

Chef's Kitchen and Hutch

And toys that keep your child active:

LikeaBike Forest

LikeaBike Forest

Not to mention others, like musical instruments, bath toys, arts and crafts, and dolls just to name a few.

Lucky you: Get 10% off your first order at Natural Pod when you use the code “GCM08″ through December 31st. Be sure to pass this information along to any family members who may interested in purchasing holiday toys for your little ones.

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Copyright © 2008. Trying To Be Greener. All rights reserved.
 

 
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