Green Toys Inc.: Recycling Their Way to Loads of Fun
Eco-friendly toys have increased in popularity in recent years due in part to the numerous toy safety recalls and the trend of consumers becoming more eco-conscious.
Green Toys Inc. is one example of a company that is creating products that are fitting the demand of a growing number of consumers. Founded in 2007 by Robert von Goeben and Laurie Hyman, Green Toys sells toys ranging from blocks, chef and kitchen sets and outdoor toys (flying discs, planting kits, jump rope), to baby toys and toy vehicles, all of which are made from recycled materials.
“Green Toys Inc. provides consumers with environmentally friendly and safe products while making efforts to improve and preserve the world around us,” von Goeben, Green Toys’ president and co-founder told IzzitGreen.
“Green Toys products and raw materials are tested by independent third party labs that have been accredited by the Consumer Product Safety Commission,” von Goeben added. “These extensive tests ensure mechanical safety as well as chemical compliance against BPA, phthalates, etc.”
Best Seller: The Recycling Truck
The San Francisco-based company produces toys that are made in the United States, the majority of them in California. Green Toys uses recycled milk containers for the majority of their toys, including their most popular toy, the Recycling Truck, which not only provides fun, but a learning experience.
The Recycling Truck ($24.00, ages 1+) was launched in 2009 and is made with 100 percent plastic milk containers, is non-toxic and BPA-free. The toy teaches children how to do their part in protecting the environment. The truck has a movable recycling bed, a rear door that opens and closes, and no metal axles.
“[The Recycling Truck] may now be the best-known eco-toy on the planet,” von Goeben said. “Toy stores around the world make it the centerpiece of their eco-friendly product displays.”
Recycled Packaging, No Plastic
Green Toys strives to limit toy packaging. The trucks, kitchen sets and baby toys are tucked inside packaging made from recycled corrugated boxes and are themselves 100 percent recyclable. Plastic and cellophane isn’t used, the company says.
But all this eco-friendly production does increase the price of the products. To make a product 100 percent eco-friendly and produce it in a safe, non-hazardous domestic factory does make things more expensive, according to von Goeben. Though many people believe the cost is worth it.
“Customers have told us they would gladly pay extra for the peace of mind that their products are made in California, a state with some of the most stringent worker safety and environmental laws in the world,” von Goeben said. “Plus, our business is growing rapidly, so demand is definitely not an issue.”
The number of companies that produce eco-friendly toys, like Green Toys, is limited, but on the rise. They’re not just available online anymore, but at stores like Target, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us.
What to Look for in ‘Green’ Toys
Consumers need to be cautious. “When you look into the true credentials of many green products on the market, you will see that very few of them are the real deal when it comes to sustainability,” added von Goeben. “What we do is very unique.”
According to the Eco-Toy Alliance – Green Toys and three other companies are in the Alliance together — there are five main categories that make a toy eco-friendly:
- It’s made of organic materials such as cotton, natural fiber filling, plant and mineral dyes.
- It’s composed of recycled materials.
- It’s made from wood that is plantation-grown, such as rubberwood.
- It’s battery-free.
- It will make children play on their own.
Green Toys products are available on the company’s web site and Facebook page, Amazon.com and from various retail stores including Pottery Barn and Barnes & Noble.
By Melissa Turtinen
Image credits: Pottery Barn, Green Toys, Barnes & Noble.
