The Best Eco-Friendly Toys for Kids & Years of Fun Playtime (2024)
Image: Cassarokids
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where to find eco-friendly & sustainable toys for kids
Looking for eco-friendly toys that are both fun and sustainable? Look no further! In this article, we will unveil the top 13 eco-friendly toy brands for kids that will not only entertain but also promote a greener and healthier future. With environmental consciousness on the rise, parents are increasingly seeking toys made from sustainable materials, non-toxic & lasting. Our carefully curated list includes toys that tick all these boxes, ensuring your little ones can play without harming the planet. We have something for every age group and interest, from wooden puzzles to organic plush toys. These toys are safe for children and inspire their imagination, creativity, and love for nature. So, join us as we explore the world of eco-friendly toys and discover the best options that are kind to both children and the environment. Let's play responsibly and create a brighter future for our kids, one toy at a time!
While shopping secondhand is one of the best ways to get sustainable toys for kids, there are a few brands that are super planet-friendly and make amazing toys for babies, toddlers & kids!
Of course, we always recommend shopping at local stores, too, if you have them. It’s wonderful to keep small businesses thriving, especially when there is so much competition within the toy market.
What we Look for In a Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Toy
As many of you know, the majority of toys you find today are made with plastic and often of poor quality, making it hard to pass down to other children. When we add brands to this post, we ensure they use conscious materials that withstand many years of play. We also look at the brand as a whole to see other ways they implement sustainability - from their workers to their packaging and more.
Our Favorite Non-Toxic, Sustainable & Eco-Friendly Toy Brands:
1. Playper
Adventure awaits your kids ages 3 and up! Kids build, play, and unleash their imaginations in the Curious Kingdom, Playper’s new plastic-free playsets. Parents love the quality and velvety feel of the toys, and kids love the story-driven characters. Kids can enjoy a castle playset, a gnome catapult (it really works!), a dragon trainer set, and Story Starters, which invites kids to make up their own fun stories and silly tales. All the toys in the Curious Kingdom line come with tons of imaginative playtime and stories!
2. Reusable Water Balloons
If you have children, I'm sure they have begged you for water balloons at some point.
My son loves throwing water balloons, but I can not stand how wasteful they are.
When I came across these Reusable Water Balloons from Soppycid, I thought, 'What an amazing alternative!'.
Soppycid is the inventor of Self-Sealing Reusable Water Balloons - the first reusable water balloons in the world that can be used over 1000 times.
It is the only reusable water balloon brand approved by CPSC-Accepted Testing Laboratories: SGS, UL, and TÜV Rheinland.
They are made of gentle silicone so that you can ensure safe play for children without any harm.
The mess-free water balloons are easy to use; just sink them in water, filling them up in 1 second!
Play it anywhere anytime, even with no taps. Find them in 4, 8, 12 or 16 pieces - and a pretty glitter option!
3. Lovevery
Lovevery is probably most famous for its baby play mat, which features activities and colors for a baby’s development in the first 12 months. However, they also have these fantastic play kits you can have delivered to your door every two months as your child grows. Every piece of wood that comes with The Play Kits is sourced from FSC-compliant sustainable sources, using soft, natural, 100% organic cotton. They also ship carbon neutral through projects that offset any carbon they emit while shipping.
4. PlanToys
This lovely toy brand prides its business model on three pillars: Sustainable Materials, Sustainable Manufacturing, and Sustainable Mind.
PlanToys uses rubber trees and sawdust called “PlanWood,” made from surplus sawdust and wood chips from production reformed using a thermal process. They finish their products with a chemical-free kiln-drying process to ensure they last for years.
5. Cleanable Splash Bath Toys
This is another excellent alternative from Soppycid to a problem we encountered in our home.
My son was gifted some splash toys, and I quickly realized there was no way I could truly clean the inside. I had heard of children getting infections because of mold within these popular bath toys and decided to throw all of them out because I could never be sure they were clean.
With these Soppycid bath toys, you can pull them apart and give them a genuine clean.
No more worrying about what is happening inside of your bath toys! Kids love splash toys in the tub, and these are so fun.
6. Clixo
For those who like to be more creative, Clixo is an innovative tool for kids to click and construct 3D creations from flexible 2D shapes and powerful magnets. The possibilities are endless for what you can create! Each piece is made from recyclable materials that are non-toxic and kid-safe. Plus, their packaging is recyclable, compostable, and made of bamboo pulp and kraft paper.
7. Cassarokids
We're sure you have seen this brand grace your Instagram and beautiful nursery photos on Pinterest. These play sets are made to last and created using sustainably-sourced wood from the forests of New Zealand. The beech and birch trees are cut carefully to preserve the ecosystem, and a new one is planted for every tree cut. Plus, they use only recycled cardboard and paper during shipping making their products plastic-free.
8. Micro Kickboard
Micro Kickboard is well-known for their kid scooters and fun helmets, but recently they released an ECO scooter made from recycled, discarded fishnets. The Mini Deluxe is $90 and is for 2-5-year-olds, and the Maxi Deluxe is $140 and is for ages 5-12. They both come with a gold standard 2-year manufacturer's warranty. Truly an excellent buy, and your children will spend years using them!
9. eco-kids
A family-based business from Portland, Maine, eco-kids started with one product - an eco-dough Cammie’s (the owner) mother used to make when she was little. They expanded on this product and created several different non-toxic arts and crafts supplies. The ingredients used are safe for children and made from things like non-GMO flour, vitamin E, and essential oils. They are some of the best kid’s art supplies around!
10. Green Toys
This is one of our favorite sustainable toy brands for kids! Every Green Toys design is made from 100% recycled plastic, primarily from milk jugs. Everything is manufactured here in the USA, and the milk jugs are collected, cleaned, and reprocessed into raw recycled plastic before being mixed with food-safe, mineral-based color dyes. They have many different toys, but their bathtime ones are always a big hit!
11. Le Toy Van
Another wonderful wooden toy brand, Le Toy Van is a small but big-hearted family company. They have been making wooden toys since 1995, and all are ethically made with sustainable materials.
They use and replant a by-product of the rubber industry, Rubberwood, which they, along with other woods, recycle into eco-friendly, high-quality toys. Many seem to LOVE Le Toy Van & they have won numerous awards.
12. Tegu
The blocks are all specially designed to work together, and it’s amazing what you can build with them.
Tegu toys - all responsibly-made in Honduras - are known to help support childhood development from fine motor skills to story telling.
They make toys for babies to kids over 8, and you can find them at your local Target!
13. Cuddle & Kind
1 Doll = 10 Meals
The owners of cuddle+kind wanted to create a sustainable stream of giving that wouldn’t rely on donations. Since September 2015, the sales of their adorable little dolls have helped provide over 13 million meals to children in need! Every cuddle+kind doll is handmade, stitch by stitch, with much love in Peru. They are hand-knit, hand-loomed, embroidered & crocheted by traditional artisans.
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