Sustainable Toys
What was one of the first lessons we learned as new parents? Well, maybe not the first, but a pretty important lesson: Whatever your baby can get their hands on - for whatever reason - they'll taste it.
Brand new xylophone? Let's see how this note tastes.
Wiping their mouth with a napkin? Ah, a single origin ethical tissue to sample.
Feed them actual food with a spoon? This metal spoon is a spectacular gastronomic experience.
We quickly grew weary about the toys our little one was sampling - not so much about the smaller bits she might swallow as we had age appropriate toys - but more so how the toys got their colours, the material that they were made out of and ultimately the question of whether or not these were safe, if they were free from harmful chemicals or substances.
Whatever harmful paints, micro plastics, inorganic materials that might be in these toys, we were sure of one thing.
Baby would taste it.
One key reason we chose to have all of our fabrics certified safe by a third-party was to give ourselves and other parents the confidence that when our baby wear ultimately ended up in the mouths of their little ones, it would be safe.
As for toys, we wanted to share a few of our favourites.
Disclaimer: we are not affiliated with any of these brands mentioned and we don't earn anything from them.
PlanToys
PlanToys are one of our favorite toy-makers for younger kids. They make sustainable, chemical free toys using sustainably sourced wood. We love how they identified rubber trees as the perfect source of wood for them, and you can read more about why on their website, here.
Sustainability is great, but the way that their raw materials are sourced also ensures that they are free from any harmful substances. The paint used is a certified safe water-based paint, and all their toys have a long list of certifications that give parents the confidence we so desperately want when buying for our little ones.
Beyond the materials and safe nature of these toys, they're also incredibly thoughtfully designed to foster development and motor skills in younger kids.
As a half-Thai family, we're so excited to see a Thai homegrown business doing such amazing things.
Head over to their website to find out more.
Bajo
Bajo is a Polish based toymaker focusing on wooden toys that are sustainable and eco-friendly. Beyond that, they actively support and employ those that find it challenging to find employment including the elderly and the disabled. Read more about their values here.
Their toys are all thoughtfully designed to be appropriate for our young ones. We've always felt confident to let our child handle their toys without fear of hard edges or flaky paint. Our little girl love their Riding Around set.
You can find them at bajo.eu.
Aspen and Maple
What's better than toys that are safe to be chewed on? Toys that are made to be chewed on! Either you're very aware of - or soon to be aware of - the lovely period of teething.
We had a similar issue to the founder of Aspen and Maple in that we could only find plastic or gel-filled teethers. There was always that nagging thought in the back of our minds, whether or not it was a safe option. We love businesses and products created from these frustrations because we end up with these amazing alternatives!
Check out their safe, wooden teethers at aspenandmaple.com.
Wiwiurka
This is where it gets interesting. These toys might be slightly hard to be gnawed at (although... where there's a will, there's a way), they're amazing for building a kid that's confident with their movement.
Of course, many of these will require a significantly larger space, but if you have the room then we would highly recommend you to check out the wide variety of climbers, steps, bars and more that Wiwiurka offers. Don't you wish you had these when you were younger?
Of course, their toys are all certified safe by third-parties. What more could you ask for?
Check out Wiwiurka here.
What is Certified Safe?
We've mentioned this a few times as our gold standard, so we wanted to take the opportunity to briefly explain what it means to us.
We emphasize being certified by a third-party because in today's world, large corporations and brands create their own definition of "organic", "safe" and "ethical".
Third-party certification means that we aren't using our own definition of safe, but instead we meet the standards of a licensed and experienced organisation.
BAO Baby Wear is certified by OEKO-TEX Standard 100. Click through to read more about how this guarantees a safe product for your little ones.
If you're looking to pick up some certified safe baby wear, click on this link for a cheeky discount, as a congratulations on getting to the end of this post!
