Greener toys for the holidays

So the holiday season has snuck up and smacked me square in the back yet again.  It’s like turning your back to the ocean you stare at it for a long time and get comfy with it, then turn your back to talk to someone and WHAM your off your feet and on your butt in the middle of the sand & water.

Back to the point!  How did this holiday season end up here so fast and what to get the wee ones in your life?  This year I’ve really started looking at the materials used in toys and where they were made.  I am trying to buy toys and gifts that aren’t made of plastic or made in China.  It’s actually a fun challenge if you think about it, I’ve gotten a chance to really look at some cool toys that I might not have found otherwise.  So I am going to give you a few of my favorite finds.

The first toy I found was at the Green Expo in San Francisco.  This is an amazing doll that is similar to the old fashion rag dolls, but with an Eco twist.  The company is called The Earth Friends and they make great dolls from organic, recycled and sustainable materials.  For more info about The Earth Friends, check out their site http://www.theearthfriends.com I think my favorite thing about this doll is the little details that remind me of dolls that my mom made me when I was little.  The yarn hair, the big eyes, the tiny line nose and so many other things.  Did I mention that B spent about 30 minutes lining the dolls up trying to figure out which one Santa might bring her.

Here is one of their fun dolls.  Did I mention that they are sewn here in the US!
This is one of the little girl dolls that they have.

And here is one of the little boy dolls they have.

The next toy that I found is made of recycled plastic, the thing that really surprised me about this toy is how sturdy it was and how interesting the texture is.  It’s made from recycled plastic, but doesn’t have that super smooth, cold, hard feel that plastic does.  I love this dump truck and there are a growing number of recycled plastic toys out on the market so keep looking.  Here’s one of the dump trucks from Green Toys, check out http://www.greentoys.com for more of the great products that they have.  They have a great tea set that my little B loves, haven’t bought it yet, but it’s on the list.

There are a few other items that I am interested in looking at first before I make any recommendations about them.  Until I get myself out of the house and into a store here are a few sites to check out for ideas on Eco toys.

http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toys/toy_categories/green_toys/index.cfm The cool thing about this site, besides the mass quantities they have of toys, is that they break down the “Econess” of the toys. They have categories which range from sustainable wood-recycled product- organic cotton.  They also let you search by interest, age, gender and origin of toy.  There really is a lot of items on this site.

http://www.moolka.com This is another company that has a lot of organic, wood toys.  They carry a brand called Haba majority of their toys are made in Europe, mostly Germany but they do outsource to China.  The thing is that this site offers you the ability to search by county where the product was made.  They also have a lot of other brands as well. When B was little we had a lot of toys from Haba that came from England, my parents spent about 5 weeks in England the summer after B was born and seemed to bring back one of every toy they could find.

This is a block puzzle and these have become B’s favorite type of puzzle. They have different scenes on each side. This one happens to be made by a Swiss company.

I hope you found this helpful.  If you have any other recommendations I would love to hear about them!  I’ll try to post more products as I find them.

Cheers!

To Greening up our kids!

One Crafty Mastermind, Priceless

I recently did a post about a great new etsy shop that makes goods out of recycled materials.  Here is a short interview with the crafty mastermind behind Kellypress on Etsy, soon to be To the Farthest Star Press.  I hope you enjoy her amazing creations as much as I do!

Tell us a little about yourself:

I’ve been an artist my whole life.  While my favorite medium is paper, I also love painting, renewing antique furniture and items, sewing and letterpress.  I have a wonderful husband and a Boston Terrier named Spencer (our only child so far.)  I’m a creative soul with a big heart, I guess you could say.  The only thing better than crafting, to me, is the joy that my creations bring others.

I graduated Antioch College in Ohio last year, and then my newlywed husband and I moved to Portland, Oregon.  While he transitioned easily into a great job, it took me longer to decide what I wanted to do: I was looking for a career that combined my strengths, talents and interests.  After long deliberation, I realized that I should create my own business!   It would combine my passion for crafting, my interest in small business, my belief in living a green lifestyle, and would position me as the owner, the manufacturer and the designer of the business.  This enables me to ensure great quality of product, great customer service and a direct connection between myself and my customer. Tell us about your company:

KellyPress, (soon to be To The Farthest Star Press,) is a one-gal show.  , I create paper goods, such as journals, foto book sand greeting cards out of recycled materials.  I also do custom orders, which are some of my favorites.  The style of KellyPress is really my own personal style: classic and sophisticated as well as cheery, bold and romantic.  My main goal is to create a beautiful, lasting item that will act as a tool, in a way, in its owner’s life.  Greeting cards will convey their wishes to another.  Journals will hold their dreams and secrets.  A foto book will hold their memories.  It is a huge honor to create the tools that hold a person’s dreams and memories.

I work at home in my attic studio, often using the view from my attic window as inspiration for my next piece.  My business front is on Etsy.com as of now, with high hopes of my own website coming soon, and eventually a storefront studio.

Where can we find your products?

www.kellypress.etsy.com, and I blog about my crafting on www.papersweet.wordpress.com What do you mean by “recycled” products?

I use materials that have been pre-owned, disregarded as too old or unuseable and  items that would otherwise be destined for landfill somewhere.  I use paper that is handmade, generally from other paper.  I even use thread, buttons and hardware from old clothes!  My favorite items to reuse into a craft are children’s books.  I never use pages or parts from a book in good condition; most of my favorite finds are scribbled-in, torn and warped books. Do you consider your business to be a Green business and why or why not?

I definitely do! As well as saving trees and helping the ecosphere, I’m making older, tired items into new ones!  The items I use are recycled in  one of several ways,  the paper I use is recycled and several other materials I use are, too.  I also consider KellyPress a green business because I highlight my products’ renewed quality, and stress the importance of it!  I show consumers that recycled doesn’t have to mean shabby or cheap. What inspires your to be creative and how do you keep new ideas coming?

Oh, everything inspires me!  I’m inspired by strong, old things like trees and old books.   I’m emotionally inspired by other artists’ creations,  children, my family and my personal experiences.  I also get inspired by listening to people.  People so often say, “You know, they should make a….”  I keep new ideas rolling by writing every idea I have (or that my husband suggests to me) down, and I made a sample or trial item to see how it works.  One botched trial usually means three new great ideas! What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of your craft?

Hmm…accuracy in measurements, perfect-line trimming, producing an item from a vague mental invented image and not being able to give everything away.  Oh!  And glue!  I use a special glue for bookbinding, and it’s so hard to find, and most companies won’t ship it in the winter for fear of freezing!  Being in a creative mood without glue is a terrible thing!  :) On a personal note, do you consider yourself “green” or Eco conscious?

I do.  About a year ago I broke into my thirties and realized that I needed to start paying attention to what I ate, what cosmetics I use and how I affect the world with my intake and output.  I recycle, I buy organic, I use fair-trade and earth-friendly products, I compost, I garden and I reuse as often as possible.  And I love to learn new ways to be even greener!

If so what is one “green” tip you would like to share:

My favorite part of being greener is definitely shopping at the farmer’s markets.  Buying free-range eggs, organic apples and basil directly from the organic farmer is not only fun, but it’s a great reminder of my role as a conscious consumer. Also, use organic shampoo and conditioner!  Without all of the parabens, SLS’s and other junk, your hair will feel clean and shine! Anything else you would like to add? I’d love to add that recycled can be couture! It is possible to merge style, quality and usability into one creation!

Simple Green update, Boo to Simple Green

I recently wrote about Simple Green, and how I had recently learned about it not being so green.  I have a wonderful friend, Ben, who is a chemist and was happy to take a look at the active ingredients in simple green.  What he said is that simple green is closer to formula 409 than a real non toxic cleaner.  409!!!  That’s the reason I was using simple green was because I didn’t want to use products like 409, Clorox, comet etc.  All this time I’ve been using a product that has claimed to be non toxic, when in fact it actually is toxic!  Now I know that at some level everything is toxic, thank you Ben.   I still don’t think it’s too much to ask to have the cleaner you use list on there all their ingredients so I can decide if I find it to be too toxic.

Needless to say Simple Green is no longer apart of my cleaning supplies and I have gone back to vinegar, water, baking soda & lemon.  I’m on the lookout for a new real non toxic products.  If you have a cleaner that you love and is non toxic I would love to hear about it.

Boo to Simple Green.

Ben did mention one good thing about Simple Green, he said it’s great to clean bike chains with because it really does biodegrade which makes it safer to use outside than other products out there.

Thanks to Ben for being happy to help!!

Simple Green Not so Simple, not so Green

It recently came to my attention via a very educated friend, that Simple Green might not be all it’s cracked up to be.  I have used this product for years and always found it to be less harsh on my lungs and hands than other “traditional” cleaners.  That paired with the fact that it was one of the first buy-able cleaners to carry the NON-TOXIC promise, I have to say I felt pretty comfortable with using it.  Of course  I looked at the ingredients on the bottle but never saw anything that put up a red flag as TOXIC, until today.  My friend sent me a link and just told me to check it out.  Apparently  Simple Green doesn’t display all their ingredients, in-fact you have to search for them on their website.  At which point you find that they use a chemical called 2-Butoxyethanol.

This chemical they say is in such low doses as to not be of concern, but really if your using chemicals that are known to cause health issues shouldn’t that take your NON TOXIC claim title?

I am going to ask another friend of mine who happens to be a bio-chemist and work in the cleaning development world, what this really means to personal safety and health.  Until I get my answer I wanted to retract my praise of simple green and until further notice I will be sticking with my vinegar, baking soda, hot water and lemon for my cleaning product use.

If anyone has any other info or input about Simple Green I would love to hear it, as I am currently livid.

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Thank you