Toys with Integrity

I love these toys (I'm getting the nativity puzzle before Christmas this year!) Here's more information about them, from the Imagiplay website:

Kids are the future! If we’re to create a brighter future for our world, we need to instill environmental awareness in our children. Green toys teach kids to think about where things come from and where they’ll go—an early lesson in environmental responsibility and responsible buying.

ImagiPLAY is committed to the development and distribution of open-ended educational toys and children’s accessories that inspire their imaginations, introduce them to the wonders of the natural world around them, and nurture their sense of discovery. We are equally committed to producing only high-quality products using materials and processes that show respect for our planet and all the people and creatures upon it.

Every toy we produce is earth friendly, child safe and people kind. That is our commitment to our children and their planet.

Child Safety
Child safety is our highest priority. We test every material and paint in our products to insure it meets or exceeds US and European standards.

Our Toys are Made from What?
Everything we produce is made from renewable, sustainable materials.
Rubberwood
Our solid wood toys are made from plantation-grown, chemical-free rubberwood. Rubber tree plantations have existed for hundreds of years in tropical countries. Rubber trees produce a sap that is used to make latex products. At the end of their latex-producing years (generally 25-30 years) the trees are harvested and new ones planted. The wood used to be burned, until people realized these wonderful trees had one more gift to give, that of their beautiful hardwood, which we use to make our hardwood toys.
MDF (medium density fibreboard)
Some of our toys utilize MDF, which is an engineered wood product formed by breaking down softwood particles (sawdust) into wood fibres combining it with wax and resin, and forming panels by applying high temperature and pressure. In other words, compressed sawdust. Again we are utilizing the byproducts of another industry. MDF is similar to but denser than particleboard and we use it in some of our playsets to create play structures that are thin (lightweight), yet rigid. The MDF we use is formaldehyde free and tested for child safety.
Bamboo
Bamboo is a fast growing wood-like grass that is fast becoming popular in products ranging from cutting boards, bowls and plates to wood flooring. The beautiful natural look of bamboo is ideal for creating lovely keepsake storage boxes for some of our toys and our designers are busy developing it for use in children’s toys, for which it is ideal because it is lightweight, flexible and strong. Best of all, it shows our children that there are creative alternatives to ravaging our forests.
Other materials
We are constantly on the lookout for other environmentally friendly materials to develop into high quality toys. If you have any suggestions, please contact us at info@ImagiPLAY.com

Minimal carbon footprint
Every step of our toy production from seed to shelf is carefully thought out to minimize impact on the earth. Most wooden toys distributed in this country are made from Pine and made in China. The raw Pine is primarily produced in Canada, shipped to China where the toy is produced then shipped back to North America as a finished product! We see this excessive shipping as a senseless waste of natural resources. We select factories that are close to our raw materials to avoid this needless expenditure of gas, oil and greenhouse gases.

Our Toys are Made Where and by Whom?
We are proud to contribute to the growth of many developing nations by crafting our toys in small, mostly family run factories around Asia.

The rubberwood used to make our toys is grown in Southeast Asia, so our rubberwood toys are crafted in Sri Lanka, Viet Nam and some carefully selected factories in China. We have several factories in and around Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. Our factories are placed close to the neighborhoods where our workers live. The majority of our factory workers walk or ride their bikes to work each day.

Bamboo is primarily grown in China, which is where we craft our bamboo boxes and toys and some of our Rubberwood toys.

We visit every factory to insure:
There is no child labor
Workers are paid a fair, living wage
Workers are provided with a clean, safe environment to work
Workers are treated with respect and dignity
Only local workers are utilized

Get Thirstie

I love Thirsties diaper covers. They fit well, contain my baby's newborn-poop explosions and look adorable. I need to buy him some more t-shirts because the onesies hide the cute covers.

Where do I start?

There are many options when it comes to cloth diapering. Cloth diapering can be much less expensive than using disposables or it can be as expensive as you want to make it. Well start off with the simplest (and least expensive) cloth diapering system. This is what I use on my own baby.

Prefolds and Covers

Unless you are expecting a very small baby (my 8lb baby only wore the newborn sized diapers for two weeks, and he could have worn the infant size right away), start with 2-3 dozen infant sized Indian Prefolds, and 6 covers. You can get by on fewer covers, but with six you should be able to go 2-3 days between washes. Prefolds can be folded in a variety of ways, and then secured with pins or a snappi, or they can be folded in thirds and laid flat in a cover (although I have found this method does not adequately contain my baby's explosions).

Fitteds

Fitteds also require a cover, but do not need to be folded, since they are already diaper-shaped and generally have snaps or velcro to hold them onto your baby. Fitteds diapers are sometimes preferred on newborns, since it is easier to fit them on such tiny babies. If you are using solely fitted diapers, you will want 2-3 dozen. Keep in mind that newborns need to be changed much more often than older babies, so they will go through more diapers (luckily, their diapers are so easy to wash!).

AIO's and Pockets

All in one's (AIO's) are the most expensive, but simplest to use. They do not require any covers, it's all built in. The downside is that they take longer to dry. One solution for drying time is the pocket diaper. These AIO's have a pocket in them where you can insert a special pad, or a folded prefold for extra absorbency, and then they are removed prior to washing and drying. You'll want enough to last between washing, so figure out how many changes a day times the number of days you want to go between washing 24 diapers will require washing about every other day, 36, every 3rd day. Younger babies will go through more than older babies, so as the baby gets older, you won't need as many.

Accessories

You'll also want a diaper pail (I use a garbage can with a lid that can be opened with a foot pedal) and two diaper pail liners.

It's useful to have at least two small wet bags for stowing dirty diapers when you are away from home.

The easiest and cheapest way to do wipes is to buy inexpensive baby wash cloths. I keep mine dry, but have a water bottle (the peri bottle from the hospital works great) nearby to wet them. Some people keep their wipes in a wipe warmer with some water.

Snappis are much easier to use than pins since there is no risk of poking the baby (or your fingers). I have one, but two would be nice.

Flushable Liners are great once babies start eating solid foods, they catch the poop and can be flushed down the toilet (they can be used in disposable diapers too, since theoretically poop in disposables is supposed to get flushed..)

Cloth diapering can seem overwhelming at first, but take the leap, and you will see how fun and easy it is. The most important thing about cloth diapering is to do what works for you. If you are comfortable using only cloth, good for you! If you use disposables while traveling, that's okay too. I've found that for short trips away from home, cloth diapers are a breeze as long as I bring my wet bag to carry the used diapers home in. For camping trips, I've found disposables easier.

You can do it!