What toys do you buy if you're anti-plastic?

[JoyNChrist]

I'll be honest - I always kind of thought the moms who were fanatic about the wood toys and stuff were kind of crazy. I figured I'd let DS play with whatever...as long as he had fun, who cares where it was made. But now I'm eating those words. Sure, I'll probably let him play with some of the cheaper stuff, but I think when we start really buying toys, I'm going to look for stuff that's made in the US or UK, and made of quality materials (as long as I can afford to do so, anyway). All the recalls and the new research are making me nervous, and if it's a risk I can feasibly avoid, I'll try to do so.

So what are some good brands? Where do I find this stuff? Do you do most of your shopping online, or are the B&M stores that sell higher-end toys?

[Tondi G]

Here are some good places to start!

http://www.oompa.com/

http://www.moolka.com/jzv/nav/main?o=adwords&gclid=CJLMmM2fio4CFSAuhgodvwLpNw

http://www.maukilo.com/index.html

http://www.oliebollen.com/default.aspx?menuLocation=t2

~Tondi

[elliput]

A few more sites to check out-
http://www.novanatural.com/
http://www.blueberryforest.com/
http://www.willowtreetoys.com/
http://www.atoygarden.com/
http://www.magiccabin.com/

[Jo..]

I love Plan Toys wood stuff. I bought a buttload (barn, dollhouse, dolls) for the future during Amazon's crazy sales of 75% off +++...I also dig Haba but I think their stuff is way pricey. I have started to make my own wool play food, but I am slow and pathetic. Considering giving it up and buying from Etsy.

[punkrockmama]

My vote's for all of the above too. The sites listed, plan toys, and wool food (some of that stuff is seriously cute).

Another place I order from is maplelandmark.com. Made in the USA and the stuff is solid, love them. Kidsurplus.com carries a lot of stuff found other places for less. We also have a good share of Melissa and Doug stuff.

I'm not full on "anti-plastic". It started because most plastic stuff smells funny to me. Then I have this thing where most children's toys that are plastic and require batteries kind of put me into convulsions with all the blinking and stuff.

And now, well I've learned that I've got good reason to keep it to a minimum.

[MarisaSF]

There are B&M stores that sell "higher-end" and/or "natural" toys. Think small toy shops, "educational" toy shops, even clothing, cloth diapering, or lactation-friendly shops.

In B&M shops, the one big brand I like to give as gifts is Manhattan Toy. It's the one brand that consistently says "Made in USA" when I check the label. Even Haba has some stuff made in China. M&D is all made in China, I believe.

[denna]

I know that IKEA sells some wooden toys (not sure how 'high quality' or 'high end' they are). We love the stuff we have by Mellisa & Doug as well (puzzles, games, etc).

[brittone2]

a lot of the Waldorf toy companies have nice stuff. You can go nuts w/ wooden toys, and they are pricey. I think the thing to try to keep in mind is less is more...get better quality, more open ended toys, but buy fewer of them. If you tried to buy as much wooden stuff as you would buy plastic, or try to replace things 1 for 1, then the price gets prohibitively expensive for some people. Not everything on all of these sites is made in the USA, but a lot is. THere is a thread here with a list of Euro/USA made toys. Some names on it are: Haba (fabric stuff, jewelry, and some of the blocks are made in China, pretty much everything else is made in Germany), Speil und Holz, Selecta, Vilac (at least some if not all of it is made in France), Holztiger, Ostheimer, etc. Some things will say "designed in Germany" but in small print say "made in China" so read labels carefully.

www.threesisterstoys.com
www.thewoodenwagon.com
http://roytoy.com/main.html
http://www.usmadetoys.com/
http://www.unclegoose.com/
http://www.atoygarden.com/
http://www.finewoodentoys.com/
www.blueberryforest.com

Those are just a few in addition to the sites posted above. We have some of the Maplelandmark trains and they are beautiful. Love them...great quality, great company. MIL got DS some dominos from that company though and the container they come in stinks to high heaven of some sort of stain or finish...very chemical-y. Not sure what it is. He doesn't mouth them and they stay out of reach of the baby, so I"m not too worried. They also sell a lot of stuff in a natural finish...no paint, etc.

[ett]

>In B&M shops, the one big brand I like to give as gifts is
>Manhattan Toy.

Really? We have several items from Manhattan Toys and none of them are made in the US. The whoozit and a crib toy were made in China and the skwish was made in Thailand.

[funda62]

Unfortunately most of Ikea's things are no longer made in Europe but are now being made in Asia as well.

[Melanie]

"I'm going to look for stuff that's made in the US or UK, and made of quality materials (as long as I can afford to do so, anyway). "

I think as far as costs go, saving up for one nicer wood toy is worth tons more than a box full of plastic crap. The less toys the more they get played with, I have found (she says as her son's room is due for a big pruning!).