Healthy Holiday Gift Guide
The holidays should bring fun and good cheer, not worries about whether toxic ingredients in toys or other products may harm our loved ones. While there are some definite "grinch-like" toys to avoid, great gifts abound. This gift guide can ease worries by helping parents, grandparents, and friends find the healthiest gifts for children and others this holiday season.
Growing Up Green
December 2008
The holidays should bring fun and good cheer, not worries about whether toxic ingredients in toys or other products may harm our loved ones. While there are some definite “grinch-like” toys to avoid, great gifts abound. This gift guide can ease worries by helping parents, grandparents, and friends find the healthiest gifts for children and others this holiday season.
General Guidelines For Choosing Safer Toys:
Avoid toys that list vinyl/PVC as ingredients.
Soft plastic toys such as bath toys, squeeze toys, and dolls are commonly made of vinyl, which can contain lead, phthalates, or other harmful chemicals. If you’re not sure if a toy contains vinyl/PVC, try looking it up on www.HealthyToys.org. If you don’t see it there, contact the manufacturer or consider an alternative.
Choose plastic-free toys made of wood, cloth, wool, or paper.
You can find plush toys, games or puzzles made of paper, dolls made of cloth, wool or paper, and wooden vehicles, rattles, and figurines.
Avoid children's metal jewelry and toys with small pieces, particularly magnetic pieces.
Check out the online database at HealthyToys.org, which contains the results of chemicals tests on over 1400 toys.
Buy from companies that specialize in safer toys.
Safer toys abound at stores such as Planet Happy Toys, www.planethappytoys.com.
