Christmas shopping is hard. But shopping with your conscience can be even harder. Here is a list of green gifts for toddlers to make your holiday shopping a little easier.
Identifying Green Gifts
There are many questions to ask when buying toys for toddlers. When looking for green gifts, here are a few things to consider:
- What materials were used to make the product?
- How environmentally friendly is the manufacturing process?
- Who makes it and where was it made?
- How far has it travelled to make in onto your local toy shelf?
A good rule is to buy less, but buy better.
Toys
When buying toys, look for quality over quantity. A cheap plastic toy will likely break in a couple months while a well-made wooden one should last for years. Broken toys will quickly end up in the landfill.
Also look at the amount of packaging a toy has. Remember that all excess packaging goes straight into the garbage or recycling bin. Could you buy a secondhand version of the same toy and avoid the packaging waste? Some companies use minimal packaging or use recycled packaging materials.
Plan Toys is a great eco-friendly company. The wood products are made from natural rubberwood grown in Thailand and dyed with water based dyes. Toddler toys include pull toys, train sets, dollhouses, cars, and musical instruments. Their solid drum is a great toddler gift at about $20. Check out the Plan Toys' website for a full description of the company's green concept.
Be sure to avoid toys with lead, and remember that any battery-operated toy will mean more battery waste. Is it really necessary that the toy tractor makes a tractor sound?
Books
The majority of children's board books are currently printed in China, where production costs are considerably cheaper. This year, Canadian author Troy Townsin and Polyglot Publishing have created A Moose in a Maple Tree: The All-Canadian Twelve Days of Christmas [2008]. The book is printed in Canada and all proceeds will benefit the Make A Wish Foundation. Now that's a gift you can feel good about.
There are some great books to teach toddlers about the environment and the natural world. Check out the websites of conservation societies, such as Greenpeace, National Geographic or the Sierra Club for book ideas.
For a list of more than 380 environmental books for kids of all ages, check out the Childsake website.
Clothing
When buying toddler clothes, buy one size up. This will increase the length of use from the piece of clothing. Look for clothes that are locally made and that use natural fibers, such as cotton. Clothing made from bamboo is quickly becoming popular, as bamboo grows quickly and can be easily harvested.
Hatley Clothing makes beautiful clothes using natural fibers where possible, non-chlorinated bleach and azo-free dyes.
Also consider buying like-new clothes from a quality consignment store. Less production equals less waste and a reduced environmental impact.
Eating
If buying food dishes, try to avoid plastics. Consider ceramic, bamboo or stainless steel dishes. The new Canadian company Tickle Trunk offers a range of affordable stainless steel drink bottles and snack containers perfect for toddlers on the go.
Many parents like to feed their children organic foods, but eating organic food is expensive. Think about a gift certificate to a local health food store, or an organics delivery service. The toddler will thank you in the long run!
More Ideas for a Greener Holiday
- Create your own wrapping paper using brown paper bags and potato stamp designs.
- Reuse last year's wrapping paper and gift bags.
- Wrap gifts in reusable shopping bags or nice tea towels. They're an instant gift for the toddler's parents!
- Remember, less is more. Focus on the holiday and keep consumption to a minimum.
Eco-Friendly Shopping
Buying green is not always easy, but with all the wonderful earth-friendly products out there it's getting easier. Look for natural fibers and materials, products made close to home, and items with little packaging.
Your toddler - and the earth - will thank you.
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