The Lowdown on Wooden Toys
Sustainable toys provide countless benefits to both children and the planet yet, still, finding such toys can be difficult. What, exactly, makes a toy sustainable? Are wooden toys (ahem … Melissa & Doug) considered eco-friendly simply because they are made of wood?
These days, most toys are made of plastics; stuffed animals and dolls are also made of artificial (read: plastic) fibers. Through a complex chemical process, plastic toys are made from fossil fuels and eventually break into many small pieces, or microplastics, that pollute our planet for the next 800-ish years.
This week, I speak with blogger Christina Floyd. Like most parents, Christina found herself confused about the many issues surrounding toy sustainability so she started a blog to help others navigate the ins and outs of the toy market. And while I’ve done shows on *minimalist* playrooms in the past, this show is heavily centered around eco-friendliness. Indeed, Christina and I do a deep dive (and I mean real, real deep!) into the world of eco-friendly playthings for the children in our lives.
Here’s a preview of this week’s episode:
[5:00] Beyond wooden toys: The 4 qualities of sustainable playthings
[7:00] Is Melissa & Doug an eco-friendly corporation?
[8:30] 3 things to look for when buying any toy for the children in your life
[14:30] Non-plastic stuffed animal ideas
[15:30] Why toy packaging matters
Resources mentioned in this week’s episode:
- Christina on Instagram
- Christina’s 13 sustainable toy recommendations
- Sustainable Toys free Facebook group
* Thank you to Outrage + Optimism for sponsoring this episode! Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts for new episodes every Thursday.
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* Want more episodes like this one? Check out #164: Your Minimalist Play Room.
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One thought on “The Lowdown on Wooden Toys”
This was a great discussion. I have always wondered about the glue that Melissa and Doug use for their wooden toys. So many of their toys are not solid wood but layers glued together. That was a concern to me and I avoided buying their products. I also went to their website (years ago) and could not find enough information. I also want to point out that is difficult to find organic cotton or wool stuffed toys that are not stuffed with polyester filling. I don’t know if it’s green washing exactly but it feels like it is when you have a gorgeous organic cotton stuffed animal packaged to look very eco friendly that’s stuffed with polyester.
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