Of The Earth

Rubberwood, bamboo and hand-picked organic cotton…one day, a much larger percentage of toys might be made using these earth-friendly materials. The end result is always a higher-quality kids' product, but it comes with an unavoidable price—higher mark-ups on toy shelves. For now, there are at least some manufacturers who recognize the positive environmental affects of creating toys with organic resources, despite the higher costs of production. And while they admit there are some challenges to producing better quality toys, they believe it is worth it in the end—for the environment, for their workers and for the kids who will be playing with their products in the years to come.

Plush, wooden blocks, building sets and games are just some of the toys that can be produced using natural materials, according to several "green" manufacturers who spoke to Playthings.

Barbera Aimes, owner of ImagiPlay, the Boulder, Colo.-based manufacturer of wooden play sets, puzzles, building blocks and other educational toys, says the toy industry has an obligation to produce the best, and most natural, products as possible, in particular those for preschool-aged children.

"We all, as human beings, need to adopt a broader view of our world and our impact on it for us to survive," Aimes says. "Global warming has really brought a lot of attention to this desperately needed new awareness, and I think it has caused people to begin to question how their thoughts, words and deeds impact others." This philosophy strongly infuences the way ImagiPlay manufactures its toys. Plantation-grown rubberwood, from several factories in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, is used to produce all of its splinter-free hardwood toys, Aimes tells Playthings.

And Imagiplay's wood is not the only earth-friendly material used in its preschool products. The company's kid-sized building blocks are made in Wisconsin with 50-percent recycled cardboard and water-based, non-toxic inks. In addition, Imagiplay has intentionally set up its warehouse near its manufacturing plant in order to cut down on the amount of fuel it uses to transport cardboard from North America to China and then back to the U.S. or Canada. "It's important that manufacturers understand this is critical, as we are the ones who are causing things to be produced that will either add needlessly to landfills, or be passed down and enjoyed by generations," Aimes says.

To that end, Aimes provides brochures and table tents to retailers with each shipment of ImagiPlay's products in order to promote awareness of these issues to consumers.

This year, ImagiPlay is releasing 40 new items in its Counting & Alphabet, North American Animals, Wild Animals, Trees and Sea Life lines of puzzles, as well as in its Giant Building Blocks, Little ReaderBlocks, Play Sets blocks and Wondrous Wilderness series. ImagiPlay will also debut new wooden toys and 16 new AniMates (male and female animal sets) this year, plus a new Southwest Series line of puzzles.

Aimes says rubberwood is just one of the natural raw materials she sees being used more and more in recent years to produce high-quality wooden toys. Her company is also exploring the potential uses of bamboo as well as organic cotton, a pesticide-free alternative most often found in high-end apparel.

These materials, she says, are also found in a handful of other toy products currently on the market—such as the MiYim line of plush and baby products from Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Hosung NY, which also has facilities in Ecuador and has just opened a new factory in Shanghai.

MiYim offers a unique, patented, non-toxic dying system for its products. The PureWaterWash system uses ingredients derived from plants and minerals (i.e. clove and madder for the color beige, or gardenia flower for yellow) to dye the MiYim plush dolls, which are made from the organic cotton grown in Western China. Hosung's factory is unlike most in the country, according to Petrie Hahn, vice president of design and development. Dust levels are kept at a minimum within the eco-friendly factory, he says, and new employees are trained to produce product with little waste and in the most earth-friendly way possible.

Hahn sees more manufacturers picking up on the benefits of producing toys with organic cotton grown without pesticides or other harmful toxins.

"Lots of big players are trying to get into the organic cotton market," Hahn tells Playthings. "While the toy business is still staying out of it, I see more people exploring it in different categories. Sam's Club is one of the biggest organic cotton buyers for T-shirts. Wal-Mart has an organic baby line, George. For that reason, we are always searching for new resources for cotton. And our product is big enough to develop a factory in China."

The company currently sells into 150 U.S. specialty retailers, including independent toy stores, the Whole Foods grocery chain, online retailer Babycenter.com and the West Coast specialty toy chain Geppetto's. The company will also start working with Pottery Barn Kids and Babies "R" Us (BRU) this year.

Hahn says that one challenge in making organic toys is the price point for consumers, but retailers like BRU and organic shops in general cater to a core group of consumers who are willing to spend more for quality. But price is still an issue among more mainstream shoppers, particularly in the current toy-buying market where consumers are looking for the best quality at an economical price.

"With any organic, eco-friendly item, the price issue always comes up with consumers," Hahn notes. "There are people who will always buy it, but there are also people who will question it. We cannot put our product out at $5.99. It's just one issue that any eco-conscious company has to deal with."

Another challenge, according to Hahn, is the somewhat longer production process of dying these toys, particularly if a retailer places a large order. He usually asks for a 90-day lead time for all orders.

The goal for the company this year is to continue working with retailers to promote its items as well as the organic cotton toy concept overall. More knitted toys will debut this year, in addition to its Storytime, Puppet Theater, Sleepytime and Peaceful Dreams lines of plush toys. The first knitted gift set may be an exclusive to BRU.com, Hahn says.

For Atlanta-based Blabla—which is committed to the fair trade ideal of good wages and working environments—toys and other products are hand-knit in Peru by local Peruvian crafters, using natural fibers like hand-picked cotton, which has fewer impurities than machine-picked cotton, according to the company.

Blabla distributes through its Web site as well as through specialty toy stores, high-end department stores and catalogs. However, the cost of making the packaging more natural is significantly higher than traditional packaging, so unless the company has special requests from retailers, it markets its products in natural fiber drawstring bags. Blabla is also looking into using organic cotton in the future, but unfortunately, it is presently too expensive.

"We have always favored natural fibers for their feel, look and touch," says Susan Pritchett, co-owner of the company she started with long-time friend Flo Wetterwald. "We do think it is important for companies to keep in mind that we all have a global part to play, and share a responsibility when it comes to developing toys. In 2007, we will be showing the same natural fibers and upholding our fair-trade work ethics."

Also in 2007, the company will be adding several new dolls to its existing lines. Although Blabla has been so busy growing its brand that it has not had a chance to work with retailers to develop in-store signage or promotions, it is definitely a goal for the future, Pritchett says.

Another company offering organic items is Tempe, Ariz.-based Biltmore World Trade, whose line of Soysilk Pals is created with earth-friendly fiber extracted from soybean cake, or tofu, a material often used to make "green" textiles. The plush pets are currently available on the BWTI Web site as well as at select specialty toy and yarn stores around the country.

Jonelle Raffino, president of BWTI, tells Playthings that the company hopes to expand distribution to traditional toy retailers in 2007. In the meantime, BWTI is using blog-based promotions to increase consumer awareness of its products. "For example, Tofu's Travels chronicled, from a teddy bear's perspective, Tofu Bear's visits with retailers around the country in 2006," Raffino says. At present, the company also works with retailers one-on-one to help them "emphasize the benefits of earth-friendly products in their sales efforts," Raffino adds.

This year, Biltmore is launching several new Pal designs and colors to the existing collection. A line of jointed bears will also be available for collectors.

Raffino says the company wants to stay true to the product, and recently declined a big opportunity with a major chain because the packaging requirements conflicted with the company's earth-friendly mission. "We understand the need to protect plush in a retail setting, but we have to find a way to meet the needs of the retailer in a wiser way," she says. "Until we can do that, we will not box our plush."

To Julien Mayot, founder of San Francisco-based Blue Orange Games, the use of high-quality, kid-safe materials in a sustainable, eco-friendly way is a very important component of all of the company's wooden games, blocks and puzzles. Blue Orange manufactures its products in a heavily forested, mountainous area in China, using untreated wood hand-carved by local artisans who have passed down the craft down from generation to generation, he says.

"Wood is a material that's recyclable, and basically it is not made of chemicals—at least we use the minimum [amount of] chemicals as possible," says Mayot. "We use water paint that's made from natural products, that's non-toxic. Not only that, but we want to protect the planet. Since wood is a gift from Mother Nature, Blue Orange Games is the first company to launch a campaign to better the environment by making a promise to you—and a commitment to society— by re-planting two trees for every tree we use in creating our games."

Rob Wilson, owner of Ashland, Mass.-based Challenge & Fun, a retailer and wholesaler of natural toys and baby products largely from Europe, notes that he has seen more high-quality wood products recently from European companies such as Heros Toys and Furnis. And some of these bigger players on the scene are certified by the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) in Europe and the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), he says.

"This is in response to selling high-quality, natural wood products," Wilson tells Playthings, noting, "This is another approach to ensuring sustainability and ecological responsibility. In cases where the wood is not certified, usually this is simply due to the high cost of certifying the chain of control of the wood, but the wood still comes from such forests or so we are assured by our supplier."

Wilson has also noticed the emergence of Oko-Tek certified cotton, which is processed without harmful dyes or other chemicals. "Essentially this was a standard set up in response to the tons of chemicals that are in the cotton (and colors/dyes) that we wear," he says. "It is a way to assure the consumer that the certified product is exceptionally clean of such harsh chemicals. Some of our baby products are made with Oko-Tex certified materials."

And there are more manufacturers—such as Kids Preferred, Plan Toys and Pintoy—who continue to develop toys with rubberwood or are beginning to look into the possibilities for using organic or non-toxic cotton and other natural materials. The niche category of earth-friendly toys currently on the market may multiply in years to come as environmentally and health-conscious parents desire and demand more playthings that assuage their concerns about industry's impact on the planet and its people.

"We all have a responsibility to look for the most environmentally friendly way to manufacture and present our products," says Biltmore's Raffino. "Earth-friendly and green products are in more demand now than ever, and the trend is growing. What a great time! It is now possible to meet the needs of the planet and the consumer."