1. Eco-Friendly Tea Set from Green Toys – $24.99
2. Oval Xylophone from Plan Toys – $22.99
3. Crayon Rocks – $5-27
4. CitBlocs – starting at just $15
5. Contemporary Dollhouse from Plan Toys – $99.99 (seriously, one of the best deals for an eco-friendly dollhouse, most are well into the triple digits.
6. Sprig adventure toys – $9-28
7. Organic Veggies and Crate from Under The Nile – $25.99
8. Whole World Fun Eco Activities – $5.99 (Cedar loves this)
   
9. HappyMais Building Blocks – boy’s set and girl’s set available – $29

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Most likely, not all the toys your kids get this year are going to be perfectly green. First of all, for holidays, you should do the following:

• Encourage family and friends to purchase green toys for you child. Of course, you need to do the same.
• Make sure that handmade, safe, green toys continue to be an option for your child.
• Buy less or give the gift of time over simply giving products to kids.

Not all the tips above work all the time though. Some family members can be a hard sell, and will continue to give your child toys that aren’t so green, and that may not be safe. To protect your kiddos do the following:

• Sign up to receive information about toy recalls.
• Always fill out and return the registration cards that come with toys – many have online registration options. If there is a recall, you’ll be notified.
• Read the label to make sure the toy is age appropriate and check for out of the box broken pieces.
• Thrift store are a good green choice, but one investigation reveals that 63% of thrift stores sell hazardous or recalled items. Be careful, and always check with cpsc or the manufacturer to make sure a thrift store toy hasn’t been recalled.

Stay up to date with current toy news at:

• Leadsafe
• W.A.T.C.H
• Toy Industry Association
• Consumers Union

For more tips read this excellent article; 250+ Lead-Free Toys Made in USA 4 Tips for Finding American Toys This Holiday.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

• Cookware & Dining Set
• Indoor Gardening Kit
• Sand Play Set
• Tea Set

As mentioned before, all Green Toys have the following perks:

• Easy open 100% recyclable packaging made from recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties.
• Made from plastic made from recycled milk containers.
• Locally produced – as in, every step in the process, from milk container recycling to toy production to final assembly, occurs in one place (in this case California).
• Contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA.
• Designed without any external coatings – non-toxic, no lead, no icky paint, etc.

The company uses recycled milk jugs to make their wonderful toys and offer some stats on just how much energy this saves:

Very cool. Another big aspect of this company is their safety testing. They want their toys safe for your little ones. Some safety tests they participate in (and pass) include:

• Consumer Products Safety Standard Specification, ASTM F963
• California Prop. 65 restrictions on lead & cadmium
• FDA regulations for food contact
• California regulations prohibiting phthalates in toys
• Voluntary testing for no BPA (Bisphenol-A)

Read all the press on Green Toys.

Last chance to enter giveaway:

The Green Toys giveaway ends tonight at midnight (west coast), and tomorrow I’ll be announcing our four winners. So, if you haven’t entered yet, now’s your chance. Also, make sure to read the entry rules, so that your entry isn’t disqualified.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Grab your kids (or someone’s kids) and get ready to win a great prize.

Thanks to our wonderful sponsor, Green Toys, we’ve got four amazing toy sets to give away.

We’ll be looking at each toy a little closer over the next three weeks, and we’ll be learning more about Green Toys. But to keep this contest entry post short and sweet; here’s a simple quick run down to kick this contest off.

What you can win:

• A Tea Set
• Indoor Gardening Kit
• Sand Play Set
• Cookware and Dining Set

Green fun:

All of the above toys are made with recycled milk containers as the main ingredient, made in the U.S., so fewer transport pollution issues if you live in the U.S., and the toys contain no traceable amounts of Phthalates or BPA. They are also designed without any external coatings, eliminating the issue of lead paint. Lastly, all Green Toys products are packaged in recycled corrugated boxes with no plastics, cellophane or twist-ties, and are 100% recyclable.

During the month we’ll learn more about this company’s green practices and more about how milk containers are used to create cool toys.

Contest rules & how to enter:

Basic rules:

• Open to U.S. residents only.
• If you’re not a blogger here at Tree Hugging Family named Peggy or Jennifer, then you are eligible to enter.
• You can enter once per household (sibs will have to share).
• One of each set is going to be awarded (four total) but you can’t choose which toy you want. This is a random win. But since all the toys are great, no worries.
• Enter by midnight (west coast time) on May 31st.
• We will randomly draw four winners and announce them June 1st.
• I will then email you for your mailing information. You’ll have five days to email me back, or the prize will go to another randomly drawn winner.

How to win:

Grab your little one, and ask them this question, “What outdoor summertime activities do you love best?” Then tell us what they said, in their words in the comment section of this post. We did this before here’s an example of kids answers.

If you have a little one who can’t talk yet (as in a baby to young toddler) you can enter for them, just let us know what sort of fun activities you do, or plan on doing. If they can talk though we want to hear from them. I.E if you’re a parent leaving a comment about an older kid activity, you won’t be entered.

Questions? Ask in the comments.

Stay tuned for more posts on these very cool toys.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

[photo via Green Toys]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family