The eco-lifestyle may be the new rock-and-roll lifestyle but it's more than just a cool and hip trend-our future and more importantly, our children's future, depends on our adherence to it. Eco-consciousness is probably one of the most important values we can pass on to the next generation- to our kids. Growing up in the 20th century, most of us (from this part of the world at least) were raised in a consumption culture where fast food, grocery chains, and malls are ubiquitous, most everything is disposable and made of plastic, and advertisements bombard us daily, greeting us from the time we wake up and bidding us good night as we sleep. Going into the 21st century, we are now faced with the environmental consequences that were borne out of our mindless consumption and materialist way-of-life. Climate change, global warming, deforestation, air and water pollution, food crisis, energy crisis, and weekly oil price hikes are issues that are no longer remote to us but directly affect and threaten our way of life. We can no longer ignore these issues that once were only discussed in environmentalist circles. Today, going green is going to the mainstream and it starts with being more conscious about what we consume, and what we buy. Teaching our kids early on how vital it is to live lightly and be kind to the planet will usher in a new generation of green thinking-one that will make conservation and sustainable living a true and universal lifestyle. The consumption culture should be coming to an end; it is our duty as parents to raise intelligent consumers. We can start by incorporating eco-consciousness with the things our kids love the most-games and kids toys!

Finding treasure in junk

Games and toys are supposed to expand a child's imagination but because of over-consumption and media saturation, too much toys, video games, television, and cartoons are actually causing children to become easily bored, have shorter attention span and poor concentration. Bombarding our children with the latest toys and video games also make them cynical and world-weary in the long run, making them not easily amused or entertained and causing them to lose their awe and wonder of the workings of the world. To sustain their fascination, we need to teach our kids that even the simplest things can be made into a fun game or toy with just a little imagination. Ingenuity and creativity can be fostered by games such as scavenger and treasure hunts. With your kid, you can go around the park, the beach, your neighborhood, or even in your own backyard and look for objects that can be possibly made into kids' toys. In modern art, they call it found objects. These objects can range from the everyday to the unusual-plastic bottles, scraps of wood, discarded kitchen appliances, colorful stones, clothes hanger, obscure musical instruments, straws, old clothing, and so on. Not only will the process of hunting for objects be exciting, it will also help clean up the area because you are picking up junk after all. You can bring all these objects home and try to create something out of them together with your kid-whether it is quirky furniture such as a lamp shades made of apple carts, mechanical toys such as toy cars made out of egg cartons and bottle caps, or installation art made out of clothes hanger, dead branches, and old rubber. Instead of using plastic blocks bought from the toy store and manufactured in a sweat shop, you can use all kinds of objects as your building blocks. For sure, both you and your kid will have a lot of fun building and creating. You bond with your child, expand both your creativity and imagination, and help save the environment in the process.

Green business is good business

Anywhere you look, the eco-conscious trend is riding high and driving business and industries-toy companies are no exception. What better way to spread environmental awareness and make conservation and sustainable living a true lifestyle than to advocate it among young minds? With more pressure and immediacy to save the planet, culminating in Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, parents are becoming more conscious whether the products they consume or buy are easy on the planet or add to the detriment of nature. A lot of people are veering away from plastic because it is non-sustainable and is made from petroleum. Thus, parents today think twice about getting kids toys made of plastic, especially since toys are easily outgrown and are discarded just like that. It helps that there are a lot of toy companies riding the green bandwagon and giving parents more choices and thus becoming green has also become a lot more convenient. More and more toy companies are using earth-friendly products made from renewable resources such as organic fabrics and soy products. They are also adopting a manufacturing process that is more environmental, making use of basic materials that are organic such as in their use of paints and dyes. For a toy company to be truly eco-friendly, ideally their toys are handmade by local artisans. Not only does this have lower energy costs, it also helps the local economy and brings sustainable jobs to the people. It used to be that green toys and games were hard to find, and those that were available were actually boring and failed to compete with the more colorful and sophisticated toys that big toy manufacturers bring in month after month. Today, there are a wide range of attractive, entertaining and healthy green toys and games available for kids of all ages, from infants to preteens, and even for adults (if you're the type who still buys stuffed animals because you simply could not resist). With the green options for toys available today, there's no longer an excuse for you not to go green.

If we start supporting and endorsing green kids toys and eco-conscious toy manufacturers, there will be more pressure for the big companies to start going green and in turn revolutionize the toy industry. Let's do our part!