Finding toys NOT made in china

[purpleeyes]

Am I crazy to be trying to find toys NOT made in china?
It is virtually impossible, as far as I can tell. Even our 'specialty' toy stores around here carry mostly MIC toys, instead of made in usa or european toys.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Sillygirl]

Branded characters and plastic toys are going to be hard to find. And I have had no luck whatsoever with books. If you specify wood and then rule out most of the Melissa and Doug stuff you might have better luck. I got some Haba toys at KidsSurplus this week that were made in Germany. Plan toys are made in Thailand - we love their larger vehicles. These things are more expensive but if you focus on quality rather than quantity I think you also get a valuable message with that.

Also - there's a link to a nice set of wooden blocks by M&D, on sale at amazon right now. Made in Thailand. Usually $60, on sale for $30. That covered gifts for the nieces/ nephews this year.

[ett]

Around here, the specialty toy stores like Learning Express don't have much non-MIC toys. The non-MIC stuff I generally see them carry include the following:
Ravensburger puzzles and games - mostly made in Europe
Playmobil - mostly Germany
Legos - mostly Europe
Lauri - USA
Vikings chubby trucks - Thailand

The children boutiques here generally carry more non-MIC toys. The brands I see them carry include Haba, Selecta, and Plan Toys.

Perhaps we can give you better suggestions if you specify the kind of toys you are looking for?

[brittone2]

Have you seen this blog?
http://www.chinafreechristmas.info/

I"m bummed about so many threads getting lost, especially this time of the year. We had some great lists of non-MIC toys going on the old boards.

Are you okay with made in places like Thailand? Would you prefer made in the USA? Is made in Europe okay? Do you prefer wood or no preference between plastic/wood?

Here's some ideas: (all made in the US)
www.maplelandmark.com
www.holgatetoy.com
www.woodentrain.com
www.northstartoys.com
http://www.novanatural.com/s.nl/sc.2/category.4857/.f? (elves and angels play kitchens)
http://www.willowtoys.com/ (kitchens, barns, dollhouses, etc.)

Euro toys:
Selecta
Haba (fabric toys, jewelry, and at least one of the block sets are MIC, but the rest is mostly made in Germany)
Vilac (some made in France stuff)
Holztiger (made in Germany)
Kinderkram (made in Poland I think?)
Ostheimer (made in Germany)
Spiel und Holz (made in Germany)

for plastic, some Legos, as mentioned above (Denmark I think?)

this site lets you search based on made in the USA:
http://www.atoygarden.com/

There's also sites like etsy for fabric/felt playfood, puzzles, dolls, etc.

www.hyenacart.com for felted stuff, dolls, etc.

I'm not sure if you've seen this site yet, but it is working better now in the past few days. This was a consumer group that went in and investigated lead, PVC, etc. in toys using XRF. THe manufacturers are saying the XRF tests don't show "available" lead (meaning can it come to the surface and can the child access that lead), but personally, I'd prefer that it not be in there in the first place ;) I've looked up a few of our toys on there.

www.healthytoys.org

[american_mama]

This question came up on a local listserv and there were the following suggestions that I recall:

www.etsy.com (all handmade items sold by the makers themselves)
www.thewoodenwagon.com
www.ebay.com, try doing a search for "wooden toys handmade." If you get something you don't want (like trains or trucks or chess sets, just add -chess to the search.)
http://dandmewoodtoys.com/toys/Scripts/default.asp (all made in Montana by a hobby craftsman)

I personally love the idea of buying something made in the US by someone in their own garage or basement. What kind of paint did they use? What kind of wood? Where did they source the wood? Ask the maker! Ask him or her to go look at the paint can and read you what you want to know! You could never get that kind of detail in a store.

Also, if you have any natural living stores in your area, they may carry non-China brands, especially for smaller items like rattles, teethers, maybe simple trucks.