The Green Familia » plan toys

TGF Ethical Christmas Gift List – Day 11

erica — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:00:55 +0000

Today’s TGF Ethical Christmas Gift List focus is on gifts for toddlers.

Chatterpants Giraffe Bamboo Pyjamas are adorable and very soft. Bamboo is warmer in winter and cooler in summer than cotton, so these will last all year. Sue reviewed them earlier this year and you can see what she thought about them here. They come in a range of sizes from 12 months to 5 years. Their price is £18.90.

Only Fair’s Fair Trade Rucksacks come in 3 different brightly coloured animal designs: turtle, caterpillar and cat. They all have a main compartment and 1 or 2 smaller compartments on the animal motif itself. The straps can be adjusted to fit your child, so this gift should last for some years. They are made from cotton in Nepal and are priced at £13.99.

Farmyard Playroom Set – This children’s set of table and chairs is great fun and would look great in a bedroom or even the kitchen. You can buy this set with either a round table or a square one. If you haven’t got room for 4 chairs or your child is duck mad, you could buy the items separately to create your own combination. The pictured set of 4 chairs and a table is available from Kids’ Rooms for £121.

Plan Toys Fire Engine and Fireman - Fire Engines are a favourite with many small boys (including my own). I love this wooden fire engine with its extendable rotating ladder, fire hose and fire extinguisher. It comes with 3 firemen which can be used in a range of role playing games. It’s made from rubberwood with water based dyes and is priced at £36.99.

Kite Kids Girls Mink ‘Loving our Planet’ T Shirt – This is a fun long sleeved T Shirt has a more serious message with it’s ‘Love Life, Love Our Planet’ slogan. It’s made from 95% organic cotton and 5% elastane and there are matching leggings and flippy skirt to team it up with. The price starts at £16 and it’s available in sizes from 2-11 years.

If you missed day 10 of the TGF ethical Christmas gift list, check it out here.

Quick selection: Eco-friendly toys

Brenda — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:00:59 +0000

Brenda writes…

Plan Toys Dancing Alligator

This simple wooden pull along alligator will give hours of fun to your baby. With its rhythmic click clack noise, your bambino’s newest flexible friend will soon be an integral part of the family. Available from Mail Order Express for £10.99.

Under the Nile Veggie Crate

This fab set of vegetable teething toys are made from 100% organic cotton with no chemicals making them ideal for being savaged by a tetchy baby They’re also great for promoting a healthy relationship with vegetables. Hopefully in years to come, your baby will be begging you for a carrot instead of sweets! Each little vegetable crate comes with a tomato, mushroom, carrot, and green beans. From Lula Sapphire £18.50

Greenie Thought for the Day: Choose wooden toys

Brenda — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 08:00:38 +0000

Brenda writes…

Most of the commercial toys that are in circulation are made without thought for our planet and the world we live in. So if we were all to make the decision to buy or recycle wooden toys (of course ones made from a sustainable and ethical source) which are usually made to a higher quality and are much more stimulating for our bambinos, or even fair trade or organic toys, then we would all be making a small contribution to the future.

Of course as our kiddies get older it is harder for them to resist the lure of the plastic commercial ones but if we lead the way from bambino age they will learn to appreciate the finer things in life.

Leaders in wooden toys include Vilac, Pintoy, Plan Toys, Djeco, Brio, Le Toy Van, Melissa & George, amongst many others. There is a lot of choice with many at extremely reasonable prices. Check out our sister blog Bambino Goodies for its large toy section.

The toy pictured is the fabulous Vilac Marble Toboggan