Today I want to introduce you to Apple Park’s Picnic Pals, a new line of organic plush toys created from eco friendly materials.
The Picnic Pals line includes 5 animal friends including a monkey, a bunny, a lamby, a cubby, and a ducky.

Apple Park was founded by Angie Ting, when she set out to create the line of eco-friendly products with her two young children in mind. Angie formed a partnership with Pate International, a highly respected San Francisco mother and daughter design firm known for their environmentally friendly designs, together they created the Apple Park brand in 2009. Susan Pate, …read more

Don’t forget the batteries, or maybe I should say batteries not included. You hear both of those phrases quite a few times around the holiday season. It seems like every toy you pick up needs batteries, and the electronic gadgets older kids have on their Christmas lists eat batteries left and right.
This Christmas you will have a new choice in batteries. Fuji debuted their new EnviroMAX™ batteries this summer at Target.

The EnviroMAX™ gives consumers a “greener” choice for batteries. Here are some of the features of these new Fuji batteries.
EnviroMAX™ batteries…

NOT contain poisonous cadmium, lithium, or mercury
are packaged with recycled …read more

I have a soft spot for the soft and cuddly, and this new Organic Sleepy Bear from NAP Inc. definitely looks like he fits the description. He’s so adorable, and he’s carrying a baby sleepy bear in a Sleepy Wrap Sling.
The outer cover of both bears and their wrap are made from 100% organic cotton. It doesn’t get any softer than that! He’ll make a great green selection for gift giving this holiday season.

The bears are machine washable on the gentle cycle, with a mild detergent, and can even be tumbled dry on low.
Sleepy Bear’s eyes and nose are embroidered, …read more

International Playthings has a new line of toys out, batteries not included… or needed. The new line of techno toys don’t require batteries to operate. They operate on people power, or kid power. Just turn the crank to charge up the batteries for play.

Another plus, they come packed in Geopak™ packaging, which is made of completely bio-degradable materials.
The new line includes cute little farm animal flashlights, radios, a robot, a rocket, and microphone.
Here’s a video that shows you how the toys are powered.

When you’re worried about all the recalls, and how it affects the toys you buy your wee ones, make sure you check out the handmade toy companies. One of these companies is Earth Friendly LLC.
They feature safe organic toys from renewable resources. In 2008 Earth Friendly was chosen by MAYA to exclusively distribute their products in the US. Most of these toys are very affordable, and retail from $8 to 22.
From the company:
The nonprofit Maya Organic Collective (MAYA), created 1989, has provided a livelihood for workers throughout India, while ensuring that the children of these artisans were educated, …read more

If you’re looking for eco-friendly toys for your children, particularly with the holiday season quickly approaching, then you might want to take a look at the PlanToys website.  PlanToys offers a wide variety of green toys for a variety of ages, including puzzles, games, pull toys, manipulative toys, musical instruments and more.  Check out a few below:

Hat tip to Peggy at Tree Hugging Family for posting about the new Sprig toys that deliver electronic-like features such as lights and sounds without batteries.  Of course, no batteries is very eco-friendly, but most parents will also agree that toys that don’t require batteries are simply great!  First, batteries are too expensive and die too quickly!  I love the idea of toys that simulate battery-operated without batteries!
Sprig toys are also made from recycled materials and include no decorative paint (that means no lead paint problems).  The toys use a push-and-pump play action for power.  Here are some details from …read more

b5media’s Tree Hugging Family blog is hosting a cool contest where you can win green toys for your children to use this summer.  Prizes include:

Tea set
Indoor gardening kit
Sand play set
Cookware and dining set

The toys come from Green Toys, and you can get all the details (and enter) on Tree Hugging Family.
Good luck!
Image source: Greentoys.com

Earth Day is later this month, so I thought it would be appropriate to highlight a cool environmentally friendly toy.  A Google search for “eco-friendly toys” brings up a myriad of results, but Earthopoly caught my attention for a few reasons. 
First, I love that a classic toy has been recreated into an eco-friendly version.  Second, I think the Earthopoly version of Monopoly adds even more educational elements into the classic board game than the original version has.  For example, the original version teaches children about money and investing, but the Earthopoly version also teaches them about the world as they …read more