Most families are now trying their best to be more eco friendly and eco aware when they can. This may manifest itself in different ways, for some families it’s about buying eco friendly clothes and other daily products, for others it’s about making eco friendly swaps such as buying reusable nappies and reusable sanitary products, whereas for some it will be about being more self sufficient and growing their own fruit and veg and making their own DIY eco friendly skincare products. Whatever you chose to do as a family to become more eco friendly is brilliant as even small changes can help make a big difference to the world we live in. However, always make sure that you are making informed decisions and researching the companies that claim to be eco friendly before you make the swap, especially when it comes to toys.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!There is a pushback that invariably occurs when talking about eco friendly toys and other products – does the use of those products really contribute to a cleaner, safer environment? Or does the waste they create manifest in a different form?
Well, it all depends on what sort of eco-friendly toys you’re buying. The fact is that children’s toys are most often created from plastic, and given the short life cycle of these toys, this is obviously just not sustainable. Plastic toys, which tend to be inexpensive, account for 90 percent of the market. The cheap and vibrantly coloured playthings have a much shorter life span, and are impossible to recycle, meaning that at some point they will end up on a dumpster or landfill heap. Even more expensive plastic toys will eventually get thrown out, and they can’t be recycled either, even if they don’t land in the trash immediately.
That’s why it is important to look for alternative, greener options. Eco friendly toys tend to be a lot more environmentally safe, owing to the fact that the materials used to create those toys are organic, recyclable, as well as biodegradable. Even the paints used on these toys are water-based, which not only reduces waste, but also makes them safer for children to use.
When it comes to eco-friendly options, there is a wide range of toys online that you can choose from. Eco friendly toys include trucks, dolls, train sets, wooden puzzles, stuffed toys and tea sets. They’re also made for babies, with eco friendly teething toys and rattles easily available. Here are a few tips you can follow in order to ensure that your children’s toys enhance their playing experience without contributing to the destruction of the environment.
1) Eco friendly toys tend to be made of wood, but rubber wood is a more sustainable option than regular wood. The environmentally friendly material avoids pollution that adds to climate change or the greenhouse effect in general. You can get alternatives to most toys in wood now, including a selection of wooden board games. Bamboo is another excellent eco-friendly option for a material for toys. Plus, toys made out of bamboo are light and flexible, but strong as well as safe.
2) Recycle materials as much as you can in order to reduce the amount of waste you produce. Wrap gifts with recycled materials, for example – avoid tearing wrapping paper off any presents you receive, and then use it to wraps gifts yourself.
3) Avoid getting toys with a lot of moving or assembled parts. These can fall off, which then leads to them not only contributing to waste, but also posing a threat to your child’s safety.
4) If you’re looking to give your kid a high-tech toy, look for models that use rechargeable batteries in order to avoid waste.
5) Avoid lead or formaldehyde based toys, since these materials can cause health complications.
6) Avoid imported toys at all times. The packaging and delivering process is very inefficient, and contributes greatly to a polluted environment.
(This is a sponsored guest post written by a third party).