How to Find Inexpensive but Earth-Friendly Gifts

Plastic-free or Recycled Plastic Toys for any Holiday

Dec 12, 2008

Finding plastic-free toys for Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza can be a challenge. Here are some gift giving suggestions that saves the planet and your budget.

While many soft plastic toys have been banned in the EU and US since 2005, phthalates –any combination of six chemicals that are toxic when sucked or chewed on – are still found in many imported toys, and are still sold in Canada.

Many toys still include leads in their paint, or have acrylics that may not be biodegradable, and can even be toxic. Check to see what the toy was made with and avoid BPA’s, and the six phthalates: DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP, DNOP. Easier still, look for toys made with recycled plastic, or look for environmentally safe toy companies.

Phthalates: Health Hazards in Soft Plastic Toys

Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), Diisononyl phthalate (DINP), Diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and Di(n-octyl) phthalate (DNOP) are banned in the US and EU, in any toy that exceeds 0.1 percent in mass for toys under the age of three. Those six chemicals are banned on account of their carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic effects.

Canada came close to banning phthalates with via Bill C-307 — The Phthalate Control Act. It did not make it to Parliament before the previous election, and Health Canada is still in the process of drafting new guidelines for the sale of plastic toys containing phthalates, though they are not yet in place.

Recycled Plastic Radio Flyer Earth Wagon

If a definition of environmentally safe means preventing diverting plastic from a landfill and recycling it into a toy, the iconic Radio Flyer wagon now makes a recycled plastic version. It’s the same size and dimensions as the famous red “Town and Country” model. The entire body of the wagon is made from 100% recycled post-consumer HDPE (plastic milk jugs). Over 230 milk jugs were diverted from landfills to make each Earth Wagon.

Recycled Tire Swinging Sculptures

These are not the old tire swings we had grown up with. Wildlife Creations makes swings our of recycled tires, but they look more like kinetic art. All swings made entirely from non-toxic shock-absorbing recycled tires and water based paint used on all swings to protect from nicks and scratches during shipping.

Designs include Reindeer/Moose, motorcycle (shown below), T-Rex, and elephant swings.

More companies are shipping free over the holidays; so buying safely on the Internet includes ensuring that the site is secure. A good tactic to finding inexpensive toys online that are still enviro-friendly is to use the web to search; Suggested key words can include “recycled plastic toys”, “phthalate-free” or “organic”.

There are many green toy companies out there these days to fit any taste and budget. Companies who cite environmentally friendly practices in their toy making practices can be found on the Internet. Among some of them you can find are the following:

Finding a gift is hard enough without guessing if it is painted with a lead-based paint, or includes harmful plastics.

The copyright of the article How to Find Inexpensive but Earth-Friendly Gifts in Natural Products is owned by Naomi Szeben. Permission to republish How to Find Inexpensive but Earth-Friendly Gifts in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.