Written by Raquel
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Just like the weather recently, this Green Guide has an eclectic mix of everything, from wall decals to bamboo trikes and magic balancing rocks – enjoy!
1. Turns out there’s a lot more you can do with bamboo other than eat off it: you can also ride it! Yep, these Babyface trikes and Skyrunners from Swiss eco brand, Xibambam, are probably about the best looking wheels you’ll tike will ever zip around on, and not only are they made from renewable bamboo, they also sport eco-friendly plastic tyres.
2. Sprig Toy co-founders, David Bowen and Chris Clemmer, are not resting on their eco laurels. Enjoying huge success with their green brand of child powered play, they’re doing it all again with a new plant based play concept: Begin Again. Their mission is simple: take oil out of toys. The result is the the very awesome “A Wish” collection designed around five play styles: Artist, Writer, Inventor, Sportster and Hero, featuring kid cool stuff like Safari building blocks and Panda Scooter, all made from sustainable wood, wheat based plastic and bamboo.
3. OK, so Jo Transformer doesn’t have his own movie but any timber toy that can morph into a Clown, bulldozer, person and a truck is totally deserving of a starring role in your kid’s playtime.
4. Ever looked back at old childhood photos and cringed at the all kinds of hideous your parents decked you out in? Well, thanks to lovely Norwegian label Jumina though, your little girl won’t be captured in the same un-fashionable fate. Made from fair trade organic cotton and pure wool, the adorable frocks pop with charm and warmth – go ahead and take some pics, chances are your little miss will love ‘em just as much when she views herself in high-res-digital hindsight.
5. Jimmy Cricket adds a wee bit of whimsy and wonder to kids’ rooms with their awesomely enchanting, interactive fabric wall decals. Featuring the delightfully quirky work of illustrator Karine Faou, the Wonderland series is a imaginative trip through the woods, where pigs and squirrels hold hands in dance and bears ride bikes! Printed with eco inks, the removable wall scapes are composed of separate elements (21 to 29 per set) leaving it up to children to decide how they’d like the scene to play out.
6. If you’re thinking about ditching that old kids’ table, here’s another idea: turn it into a creative hub with a quick slap of chalkboard paint! Via their experimental design studio, TMOD, artists Georgie Swift and Milenka Osen have just the thing to help you upcycle old children’s furniture or animate bedroom walls: a very handy – I can’t believe no one’s done it before! – chalkboard kit. In the box you’ll find a gorgeous colour paint (blue, aqua, red, yellow or classic black), along with a paint brush and chalk pieces. Awesome!
7. Self professed ‘big nerd’, Tiffany Ard, sure makes being a geek look pretty cool! The American mum of two’s label, Nerdy Baby, is a funky showcase of quirkiness, where flowers and ducks are ditched in favour of something far hipper and original in baby design: microscopes and the Pythagorean theorem! Made from lovely organic cotton, it’s earth smart ware for clever kiddos.
8. Lesson the possibility of lot’s of boo hoo’s when you’re away with these woonderful toddler travel pillows. Filled with organic wool, they’ll help guide littlies into a sound sleep, paving the way for some awesome family fun minus tired induced grizzlies.
9. Budding engineers will really dig these surprisingly clever Magical Beans from Taiwan toy makers, Playme. The gorgeously polished beans do the unbelievable by balancing in all kinds of vertical formations – thanks to weighted steel balls concealed within their colourful curves they’ll add a wee bit of magic to your kidlet’s day.
10. One can’t have a wooden railway breadboard without a tunnel cup. Um, yes, this is kitchenware but not quite as you know it! Made by German toy developers, Neue Freunde, the unique set adds a playful twist at snack time, and while no one’s guaranteeing the kiddos will eat their fruit it’ll certainly put a smile on their cheeky little dials.
