Call them Eco-friendly, Earth friendly, or Green; they are toys that have a minimal impact on the earth. For years people bought toys not considering the environmental impact of manufacturing processes, shipping, and even disposal when they toy was broken. Decades ago toys were really not that harmful however, like many other things, all that has changed. Have you thought about the construction and usage requirements of most toys today? Completely plastic, battery operated, computer controlled, and made in China, these toys create an ever increasing carbon footprint, taking it to enormous proportions.

If you are concerned about your family's impact on the environment there are several things you can do besides have your kids play with pebbles and twigs. With more and more consumers becoming aware of the impact of various products on the environment companies are making more products in a sustainable, earth friendly manner. The Internet affords the unique ability to buy products from small family run cottage industries all over the world.

With a little time and research your gifts can be unique as well as kind to the earth.

Most people know that plastic is toxic. It is manufactured using several chemical processes. It will never bread down. The plastic pieces may get smaller and smaller, but they will never go away. Have your read about the Pacific Ocean Garbage Patch?

Once of the most important things that you can do for the environment is to look for toys made from sustainable materials:

• Bamboo  
• Rubberwood  
• Organic cotton  
• Organic wool  
• Hemp  
• Wood

In our society we like to buy more and have more. One important way to cut back on our growing carbon footprint is to analyze what (and how much) you buy.

Before buying a toy ask yourself:

• How far did this toy travel? Transportation costs are high. Shipping something from half way around the world costs both money and the environment. Pollution from trucks and airplanes is at an all time high and growing.  
• Was it Fair Trade? It is sad but huge numbers of small children still are virtual slaves, working in unsafe, unhealthy, and horrible conditions to make items for the rest of the world to buy. Buying Fair Trade helps to ensure that you are not contributing to that practice.  
• Is it biodegradable? Will it break down over time? * Will it need batteries? Children need to use their imaginations. Batteries are hard on the environment. It makes sense to buy child powered toys rather than battery powered ones.  
• How is the packaging? Is it minimal? Biodegradable?  
• What is it going to teach your child? Ethics, compassion, social responsibility?
• *Will this purchase support a small, family owned company or a large corporation?

This is a beautiful take on the stacking sets for toddlers. A pine tree with various hues of green help children with their color identification. The smooth wood is a great tactile experience. It is painted with waterbased dyes and even the packaging is printed with soy based inks. The components can be stacked in a variety of ways to achieve a variety of tree shapes. Suggested ages 2 to 5 years. 

This eco friendly stacking set helps develop coordination skills as well as early math skills through comparison and shape identification.

The company itself uses alternative energy sources. 

Do you remember the parking garage, the farm, and other plastic toys the you (or your children) could run cars around, and spent hours playing with?

This all wood toy parking garage is an incredible version of those types of toys. The garage has three levels, an comes with a figure, a car, a gas station, and a car wash. Your child will spend hours in pretend play, moving cars around the garage, up the elevator and sending it through the carwash.

All pieces are made of recycled rubber wood.  This will last through alot of years of play. 

If you have an artist in residence make sure that they have plenty of eco-friendly art supplies.

Your Rembrandt can draw with these colored pencils and then apply water to get water color effects.  The pencils have small dots to help with grip and comfort in small hands.

The pencils are made with 100% FSC Certified wood. 

The toys that have the least impact on the environment or your wallet are homemade.  You may be interested in reading Homemade Toys for ideas of things that you can make.

We can change our habits, our tendency to be a throw away society.  It has not always been this way. Teach your children to take care of their possessions as a way to be good stewards of what they have been given.  And then give them toys that are well made and wonderful.