We have a wonderful son Oscar that just turned 3 and this year he got mostly wooden toys from the Plan Toys toy company. Plan toys are made from renewable timbers and use non-toxic glues and paints. The quality and detail makes the adults want to play too. Each box comes with a little catalogue and I kid you not, the adults were fighting over it as they announced their wish-lists. There might be other toy shops that stock these but we have been getting ours from Crackerjack For Good Toys Balmoral, Shop 3/208- 216 Riding Rd 07 3399 4444.
We are keen to remove plastic toys from our lives and have been exploring things like Plan Toys. Oscar also has a fair bit of LEGO, but my research is have trouble concluding whether LEGO is toxic or not. If anyone can help me work this out that would be great. Thanks.
For plastic to be toxic free it needs to be free of lead and BPA’s (Bisphenol-A Phthalates). I’m not sure if there are any other nasties we should be avoiding.
A good source of info on other possible toxins may be grist.org.
Also the thinkbabybottles.com has info on BPA’s in plastic and the effects this can have on babies, worth a read!
I would contact Lego directly and ask about lead and BPA’s in their products.
Hi Morgs & Rach – what a great find. Another local option is to buy from the various Steiner toy stores – I usually get my stuff online. They have integrated environmental policies in their toy making. Try for starters: http://www.dragonflytoys.com.au
As for lego, my boys just love it and I can’t stop my family from giving it to them for every Christmas and Birthday. I’m keen to find out about its chemical composition. I guess as peak oil makes itself felt, lego will become prized collector items!
Thanks for that link. That is awesome stuff and Australian made gets my tick. It is kind of funny but are people just not considering a world without lego?