Green Toys pops up

By Tina Benitez -- Gifts and Dec, July 25, 2007

NEW YORK—Recycled wood, bamboo, organic cotton, natural color dyes and other non-toxic materials are some of the more earth-friendly approaches to manufacturing toys these days. So, where does corn come into the picture? The answer is bioplastic, a material created from corn and other natural materials by new toy manufacturer Green Toys, San Francisco. 

The technology—which is mostly used in the food services industry for producing cutlery—has never, according to Green Toys, been used in the toy industry, something it hopes to change.
Bioplastic helps reduce emissions of fossil fuel and Co2 emissions by processing biotic (organic) materials into plastic, as opposed to the petroleum that most plastics are created from; it takes the earth up to 77 million years to renew these fossil fuels. Meanwhile, Green Toys uses primarily corn and other starches to make its plastic toys, which are just as durable as any other plastic toys on the market. The company also makes sure its packaging is just as eco-friendly by using 100 percent paper board instead of plastic and clam shells.

“There’s an application for technology in other more durable consumer products,” Robert von Goeben, a partner at Green Toys, tells Playthings. “And the benefits map really well to toys. Here’s plastic, with corn and other sustainable products, and it uses less petroleum. We look at that in toys and people concerned about environmental issues, particularly parents with kids.”

The manufacturing is not different, says Goeben, who has worked for toy companies like Mattel, Radica and Wild Planet, but it requires experience in working with new materials. “People buy toys because want kids to have fun,” he says.

“We’re definitely a toy company first and a bio-plastic company second. It’s really in the expertise of using new materials and making products that fit consumer needs."

Eco-play
In a world where parents are continuously more eco-conscious when it comes to the food their children eat, choosing toys that are non-toxic—and ultimately do something to alleviate excess waste in the environment—are being sought out more often these days.

Some manufacturers have already taken their earth-friendly ways to production. Blue Orange, San Francisco, has begun planting trees on a yearly basis in partnership with the Chinese Forest Office to help replenish the pine, birch, beech and other trees it uses to produce its wooden games. Plan Toys, Palo Alto, Calif., and Imagiplay, Boulder, Colo., both use rubberwood trees, a byproduct in the rubber industry, to make their wooden toys and puzzles, and support the replanting of rubberwood forests to replenish their supplies. And Kids Preferred has been using more organic cotton and other non-toxic materials for its plush in recent years.

Gradually, the toy industry is accepting the fact that it can contribute to making the world a little more environmentally friendly, one toy at a time. While Von Goeben admits that Green Toys is not perfect when it comes to being 100 percent earth-friendly, he notes that the company is definitely working on it. One approach is has used is doing business locally. Instead of using unnecessary fuels to transport materials to China, everything for Green Toys is located in the U.S., including its manufacturing facility, vendors, coloring and dye operations.

“We chose to manufacture in the U.S. and chose to use it as much for its environmental impact as for the business,” says Goeben. “It doesn’t make sense to make bioplastic and ship across the world. People don’t really think about the environmental concerns over transportation.”

This fall, Green Toys’ initial launch of product will include a 17-piece Tea Set (tea pot, creamer, cups, saucers, teaspoons); a 27-piece Cookware and Dining Set (skillet, plates, bowls, cups, place settings, stock pot, lid); a 4-piece Sand Play Set (bucket, shovel, rake, sand castle mold); and an Indoor Gardening Set (a peapod-shaped planter, pots, trowel, soil disks, organic seeds).

Von Goeben says that the response from retailers has been thrilling, and has even caught some of Green Toy’s reps off guard. “Reps think they have their finger on the pulse of the industry, and said that we really came out of left field, so they’re excited about it because it was not on their radar.”

Laurie Hyman, partner for Green Toys, adds that the company really wants to “hit the market running,” this fall. Long term, the “the sky’s the limit” when it comes to making more toys as, long as it’s working with environmentally-friendly materials, including organic cottons, she says. “The goal is not to change play behavior,” she says. “There are certain toys that work with children and work with toys—classic toys that all kids love. It’s not just about people currently aware of environmental concerns, but educating way beyond that.”