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How Green is Your Toy Box?

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After working as a toy inventor for several years, Robert von Goeben knew what parents and children wanted. He also knew what was available on the market. The strange thing was, what parents wanted didn't seem to be available, so he decided to create it himself.

"I really saw a need in the market for products that have the three key ingredients we put into our products," says von Goeben, who launched the first line of Green Toys with business partner Laurie Hyman in March 2008. Those three key ingredients? Safety, environmental responsibility, and products that are made in the USA.

What Makes Green Toys Green?
Toy safety is a major concern for today's parents, especially those with infants and toddlers whose toys often spend more time in their mouths than in their hands. Green Toys contain no traceable amounts of phthalates or BPAs potentially toxic chemicals often found in plastic toys and because they're designed without any external coating, there's no potential for contamination from lead paint.

The material used in the current line of Green Toys -- which includes a Sand Play Set, Tea Set, Indoor Gardening Kit, and Cookware and Dining Set -- is generated from 100 percent post consumer recycled milk jugs. According to calculations by the Environmental Protection Agency, every pound of recycled milk jugs used in the making of Green Toys saves enough electricity, on average, to power a TV set for 3 weeks or keep a laptop computer running for a month when compared to the energy required to create the same toys from non-recycled plastic. Green Toys are manufactured and packaged in California with materials sourced and recycled in California, adding the final "key ingredient" (made in the USA) to the mix.

"One thing people don't consider when it comes to greenness of toys," adds von Goeben, "is the supply chain and the way they're manufactured from a transportation standpoint. You can have a very green manufactured product but if it's being shipped halfway across the world, how green is that?" The recycled milk jugs used in Green Toys are shipped from Los Angeles to San Francisco, California, and that's the longest trip involved in the toys' production. After that, they're manufactured, assembled and packaged within a thirty-mile radius.

Green Toys are packaged in 100 percent recyclable cardboard with no twist ties, film or cellophane to throw away, they're 100 percent recyclable, and any scraps left over from manufacturing can be reused in future production runs.

"More than ever," says von Goeben, "parents are looking deeply into what's in consumer products. They want to know what's in a toy just like they want to know what's in food. We strive for 100 percent disclosure of what's in our product and where it's made."

First Priority is Fun
While environmental responsibility is important to von Goeben and Hyman, their highest priority is creating durable, classic toys kids will enjoy for years.

"I always say the greenest toy is the one that doesn't get thrown away a week after you bought it," says von Goeben. "We try to make what we call heirloom toys because we want them to stick around. These aren't toys people are just going to get bored with and throw away."

The initial line of Green Toys -- the Sand Play Set, Tea Set, Indoor Gardening Kit, and Cookware and Dining Set -- attract many parents because they promote wholesome, back-to-basics play. They're non-violent, encourage imaginative play, and give kids an opportunity to dig in the dirt and explore the natural world. Was that part of the Green Toys mission?

"Not consciously," says von Goeben. "We remember a simpler time when we were kids and we remember what we enjoyed. It isn't so much the social value we thought of; it was more the time honored play patterns. It's classic fun."

With three children under the age of 6, Hyman's house has become the Green Toys "testing facility," proving time and again those classic toys continue to delight modern kids.

Checking All the Boxes
After less than a year on the market, the response for Green Toys has been overwhelming. "The demand for the products and the interest from retailers has been well beyond anything we could have expected," says von Goeben. "It's been unbelievable."

To what does he attribute the company's instant success?

"We've been told by our customers that our toys are very unique," he says, "and also that our product is one of the few that 'checks all the boxes.' It's green. It's safe. It's good toys. And it's made in the United States."

At BabyClassroom.com, we're thrilled to offer the full line of Green Toys for you and your little ones. They're great fun, safe, exceptionally well made and socially responsible. That's good for your children, good for you, and good for the planet!

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