Tag: eco-friendly

Pushalong Duck by ImagiPlay

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Right now, wheels and animals are a big deal in our house.  So when we spotted this Pushalong Duck by ImagiPlay, you can only imagine how much excitement it brought the kid.  Made from Rubberwood, the Pushalong Duck is a classic and eco-friendly toy that encourages the development of motor skills and balance.  It’s amazing how something like a duck with wheels can be so entertaining!

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ImagiPlay is a green company that produces sustainable and safe toys.  The company employs fair trade craftspeople, and reinforces their social responsibility by planting more than 5,000 trees a year.  The Pushalong Duck retails for about $15 and can be found at toy shops and online.

Global Green Pals

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Perhaps one of my favorite toy concepts I’ve seen in a long time is Global Green Pals.  I came across the Global Green Pals while at the Go Green Expo and was immediately intrigued.  What first caught my eye about these dolls was the fact that they’re multicultural and very unique.  Growing up with not many multicultural dolls, it’s nice to see that toy companies are mirroring the diversity of the kids that love their toys.

Global Green Pals
What’s great about the Global Green Pals is that each one has a story.  All unique, their stories involve environmentalism and a fervor to save the Earth.  Though not available until this summer, check out the Global Green Pals’ site and get to know Offset Chet, Clean Air Kate, Pani Rani, Pink Coral Laurel and Recycle Kyle!  Just as the dolls are poised to Save the Earth, with every Pal purchased, a portion of the sales will go to 1% for the Planet.

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I love the concept behind these dolls and can see them becoming a huge hit!  It’s toys like Global Green Pals that epitomize The Next Kid Thing!

I’ll be sure to share more information about them once they’re available!

Young Scientists Club

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

That Summer weather has simmered and now we’re back to the fun Spring weather that we all love.  What better way to welcome Spring “back” and get outside with a few nature-inspired kits.  Because Earth Day should be celebrated every day, I think these new eco-themed kits from The Young Scientists Club put a cool spin on the 3 Rs—Reduce, Reuse and Recycle—as well as embrace fun with good ol’ nature, making them a perfect environmentally-friendly gift idea or a great green addition to science classrooms.

Science on a Gardening Adventure
Through hands-on science experiments, kids can learn the ins and outs about gardening, underground habitats, explore plants, grow seeds and study bugs.  The kit for kids ages 4+ includes a handy dandy carry-all kit and kids can also create a terrarium and much more.

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Magic School Bus Going Green
Through experiments kids ages 5+ can go for a “ride” and learn even more about how to go green, specifically on how to recreate the water cycle, build a compost tube, shrink plastic, magically make packing peanuts disappear, decompose food with fungus, form pulp, create new paper, design recycled paper shapes, and much more.  The Going Green is a part of the award winning Magic School Bus series.

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Go Green Mini-Kit
With this kit, curious scientists can better understand what it really means to be green by learning more about acids and bases, use pH paper to test rain water, make Styrofoam magically disappear, create pulp from old newspapers, recycle paper, make new paper and recycle leaves in a peat pellet.  To better care for our ailing environment, it’s never too early to foster green-living for the next generation with a cool Save the Earth kit like this.

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The Young Scientists award-winning science kits were created by a Harvard-trained mom and can be found at various toy and parent/teacher shops.

BornFree unveils Eco-Friendly recyclable bottles

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

BornFree products just got a little greener:  the company now offers a new line of Eco-Friendly Recyclable bottles.  Back in December, I had the opportunity to participate in a panel of moms to weigh in on one of the brands that I consider synonymous with eco-friendliness and BPA-free baby products.

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BornFree gained popularity in the mom community just a few short years ago as the research and BPA findings in baby bottles picture-1became more rampant.  As with any tried and true product, I saw moms in my circle of friends and family spread the word about BornFree and soon, many families replaced their existing bottles with BornFree products.

So, what exactly is the Eco-Friendly bottle?  Essentially, the Eco-Friendly Recyclable bottle is the same as the original bottle, but in addition to being Pthalate, PVC and BPA-free, the bottles can be recycled when you no longer have use for them.  When you’re done with the bottles, you can just send them back to BornFree for recycling into their other products lines. Ingenious!

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Huggies introduces Pure & Natural Diapers

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Huggies is joining the ranks of natural choices for disposable diapers with the launch of Huggies Pure & Natural diapers.  The new diapers are described as a super premium diaper that includes natural, organic materials and ingredients that also take initial steps toward environmental improvements.

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The new Huggies Pure & Natural diaper is hypoallergenic, latex and fragrance free and features a breathable outer cover that includes organic cotton. The liner includes natural Aloe & Vitamin E and materials from renewable sources, and the product’s outer packaging is sourced from 20 percent post-consumer recycled materials. The new diaper will be offered in 6 sizes, from newborn through size 5.
Huggies Pure & Natural diapers will be available later in April.

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Check out Huggies Pure and Natural and don’t forget to get a free sample.

If you try and/or use Huggies Pure and Natural, be sure to come back to let us know how you liked them!

Happy Earth Week!

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

loveyourearthAs Earth Day approaches this Wednesday, The Next Kid Thing will be focusing on green kid topics all week. When Earth Day began 39 years ago, times were much different, but the environmental movement as we know just started to gain momentum. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts. Today, Earth Day is celebrated worldwide.
As the Earth Day celebrations continue to grow, as does the environmental awareness. It might be easy being green one day a year, but 365 days of green-living make much more of an impact. What’s even more important is fostering our kids at an early age to be more socially responsible. Stay tuned for lots of ideas on how kids can help protect Mother Earth and ways to go green too!

(photo via mlumograph17)