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, along with her daughter Chloe Pate, helped her realize her dream.

The team also introduced the Apple Park line as Picnic Pal Blankies for the little ones.

You can find more information about the Apple Park Plush line, and where these cute little picnic friends can be found at the Apple Park website.

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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 paper and fully recyclable PET plastic.
• can be harmlessly disposed of through normal waste systems
• do not contain ingredients harmful to the environment
• are landfill safe as they degrade
• equal or exceed performance/longevity of major equivalent brands
• offer outstanding performance at an affordable cost

I’m still a big fan of rechargeable batteries whenever possible, but I know rechargeables are not practical for every application.

I had the opportunity to test out the new Fuji Enviromax batteries. I slipped a pair of their double AA’s in my Flip(tm) Video camera while I was at the lake a couple weeks ago. We were out on the lake and the kids were swimming and having a great time. The batteries in my Flip quit working so I decided it would be a great time to give the new batteries a try.

They worked great, all through the weekend, and again this weekend to tape a bridal show. The batteries are still going strong, so I’d say they are just as good as not so green traditional batteries.

You can find more information about the new Fuji Enviromax at GreenFuji.com.

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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, so that means he doesn’t have any small parts to break off and cause a choke hazard for small children.

The best part is, we’re going to be holding a giveaway for one of these fabulous bears in the next day or two, so stay tuned for details!

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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.

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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, given proper nutrition, medical services and other opportunities. During the
first five years of its inception, MAYA worked directly with children, removing them from work places and enrolling them into schools. Now MAYA combines children’s rights with the creation of sustainable family wage employment for MAYA collective workers.

In addition all of the ornaments and toys are colored using Indigo, Tumeric, Kanchi KumKum plant extracts and extract from Ratanjyoti tree.  The toys are also crafted out of Hale wood (Wrightia Tinctoria). The tree entire tree is not chopped down, instead the larger branches are cut out and the tree is allowed remain, and grow back. To find out more about how they produce these toys and to find retail locations check out the Earth Friendly website.

My son loves their tops. His favorite is the Flip Top. You start it spinning, and it flips over. It looks like such a simple toy, but it’s so fun to watch. The String Top is also very interesting, you hold on to the ball where the string is, then pull the string to set it in motion.

The Tutu Pull Turtle, Abacus Rattle, and Aba are all really cute for the little ones. They have very tight construction to help them handle all the attention they will receive.

If you’re looking for organic, sustainable toys it’s definitely worth the time to check out what Earth Friendly has to offer.

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Tie-up Shoe

Click Clack Tree

Sorting Bus

Solid Drum

Images: Plantoys.com

Technorati Tags: green toys,eco-friendly toys,plantoys,wood toys,holiday toys,children toys,baby toys,wood instruments,pull toys,preschool toys

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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 a Sprig Toys press release earlier this year:

“Made from Sprigwood™, a child-safe, bio-composite material derived from recycled wood and reclaimed plastic, the Sprig Adventure Series harnesses the natural energy of push- and pump-action play to power lights and other electronics—all without batteries.  Fun Adventure Guide characters wearing LED-lit hats plug into durable, attractively designed vehicles and engage preschoolers with audio that guides them through exciting adventures as they play.”

These new Sprig toys won’t be out until the fall, but they’ll make great Christmas and holiday gifts!

Image: Sprigtoys.com

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• 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

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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 become caretakers of locations across the globe.  Finally, Earthopoly teaches children about the environment (of course).  Children collect Carbon Credits throughout the game and trade them in for Clean Air.

Earthopoly is made by Late for the Sky.  According to the company’s website:

• All paper is 100% recyclable.
• The plastic shrinkwrap used in the packaging is completely biodegradable.
• All tokens are made by nature.
• The glass used for the game’s Carbon Credits comes partially from recycled glass (the goal is to use 100% recycled glass once a supplier can be found).

You can read more about Earthopoly and the story behind its creation on the Late for the Sky, Earthopoly web page. 

Image source: Lateforthesky.com

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