Last year when the lead toys fiasco all came to light, I briefly blogged about a new company called Green Toys. They take recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials and turn them into stylish and practical toys. They are made in the USA so you don’t have to worry about weak safety standards like you would if they were imported from China. They comply with all safety standards prohibiting phthalates and BPA.
My family recently got to test drive these great toys made from recycled milk jugs and they got a BIG thumbs up here. They are perhaps a bit more expensive than toys you could buy at Wal-Mart but you really do get what you pay for. Green Toys are sturdy and attractive…not cheap and flimsy looking. I love the darker pastel and earthy colors and to me they just shout out QUALITY. I think they are a much more appealing than anything you could find at a big box store, they are tough and will stand up to some serious play, and they are turning garbage into treasure.
Green Toys covered the basics with the following toy sets:
Green Toys Tea Set (17 pieces) - What little girls don’t love tea sets? I know my daughter does. She
has several and unfortunately some of them are the cheap, low quality ones, so we are phasing them out. Her favorite tea set is a Strawberry Shortcake set made with real ceramic but since she is 4, I prefer she play with something less breakable for a while and earth friendly, green toys are perfect. The colors are beautiful with blues, greens, purples, and mauve.
Green Toys Cookware and Dining Set- If you have a play kitchen in the house then you need this cookware set. It has 27 pieces including a stock pot with lid, skillet, plates, bowls, cups, and 4 utensil place settings. It uses the same color scheme as the tea set so this makes a great pair for kids who like to make believe they are cooking and throwing diner parties. My kids could spend all day slaving over their hot imaginary stove. 
Green Toys Indoor Gardening Set- My kids get plenty of exposure to gardening outside but other than cut flowers we sometimes forget to bring nature indoors so this is a fun set for kids. It is adorable. It comes with 3 pots, a pea-pod shaped planter tray for the pots to sit in, a trowel, soil, and 3 packets of organic seeds. The seed packets (Teddy Bear Sunflower, Zinnia, and Basil). It is pretty easy to use too. Just drop in the peat, soak with water, wait 30 minutes and you are ready to 
plant. Unfortunately the pots do not have drainage holes so if your kids will be watering they need to be careful not to get things too wet. We will see I guess, if this presents a problem.
Green Toys Sand Set- We have a nice sandbox outside so these are a hit of course. If you are familiar with sand toys then you will likely know how cheap and breakable they usually are but these are sturdy and sure to last for several summers. The set comes with a bucket, a sand castle mold, a shovel, and a rake. These are perfect for your personal sandbox at home or for trips to the beach. They stay true to the gorgeous blues, greens, and oranges that the other set use too.
Overall I was very impressed with these toys. They will last, the kids like them, they are attractive, and they make use of landfill waste…turning it from trash to treasure. This green mom likes Green Toys.
译文:
亲近自然玩“绿色玩具”
去年在发生了众所周知的“铅玩具事件”（参见注1）后，我很就看到了一篇有关一家叫“绿色玩具”的公司的博客。这家公司利用可再生塑料和其它对环境无害的材料，将它们转换为时尚而又实用的玩具。这些玩具是在美国本土制造的，所以你不必担心他们是否会像从其他国家进口的玩具那样有着不可靠的安全标准。它们完全符合安全标准，绝对不含有邻苯二甲酸盐和双酚A。
注1：Mattel(美泰)玩具公司有967000件玩具因为涂有含铅的涂料而被招回。据报道，这些玩具是由一家与美泰公司有合约的中国境内的制造厂商生产的。
最近我们全家就去体验了这些非常棒的玩具，它们是用可反覆使用的牛奶壶制成的，在这儿我要“赞”一下它们。这些玩具或许比那些可以在沃尔玛超市买到的玩具要稍贵一些，但绝对是物有所值。绿色玩具亮丽可爱而且材质坚固，绝非那些看上去质粗料差的便宜货。我喜爱那些偏暗的柔和质朴的颜色，对我来说这就叫做“高品质”。在“大盒子店”（注2）里，我觉得他们会比其他东西更吸引人们的眼球。绿色玩具有能力并将会用于许多“严肃游戏”（注3）中，化废为宝。
注2：“大盒子店”（由于这种商店都有巨型的店面，平均十二万余平方英尺以上的单层面积与高于四十英尺的屋顶，一般人俗称其为大盒子店-Big box stores）
注3：目前西方较为流行的一种概念，就是注重“玩的力量”，让成人透过玩具，在玩中获得创新，创意，从而提高企业的利润率及竞争力。
绿色玩具包含有以下基础套系：
绿色玩具之喝茶游戏套装（17件组件）—有哪个小女孩会不喜欢玩喝茶游戏的套装呢？我女儿也不例外。很不幸，她只有一些廉价劣质的小茶具，我们正打算把它们淘汰了。她有一套很喜欢的喝茶套装是“草莓甜饼茶具”，它是真正的陶瓷做的。然而我的女儿只有4岁，我宁可让她玩别的东西也不要她碰易碎的玩具一秒钟。所以，这套亲近自然的绿色玩具简直太理想不过了。它有鲜艳漂亮的颜色：蓝的，绿的，紫的，紫红的。 |  |
绿色玩具之锅具餐具套装—当你在玩“办家家酒”的游戏时候，你就会需要这套锅具餐具套装玩具了。它是由27个组件构成的：一个有盖子的锅子，长柄浅锅，盘子，碗，杯子，4套刀叉勺等餐具。它们用的是和喝茶游戏套装一样的色系，对于喜欢想像烹调美味或是举办宴会的孩子来说，这两个套装绝对完美组合。我的小乖乖们就可以拿着它们，在假想的炉灶边玩上一整天。
 | 绿色玩具之室内小花园套装—我的孩子们经常喜欢在阳光暴晒的室外种花弄草，但除了切插花外，我们常常会忘记把自然植物搬到室内来。所以，“室内小花园”套装对孩子们来说非常有趣。套装由三个花盆、一个豌豆形的花盆底盘，一把小泥铲、泥土和3小包有机种子（千瓣葵、百日草、罗勒草）组成。套装使用起来也很简单。先放入泥，浸上水，等上30分钟，你就可以开始种植物了。遗憾的是，套装中的花盆没有漏水孔，所以当你的孩子们给植物浇水时，需要留意不要让泥土太湿了。我猜想，目前这是一个难题。 |
绿色玩具之玩沙套装—如果你想拥有一套精美的室外沙盒玩具的话，这套玩沙套装当然是热门的首选。如果熟悉玩沙玩具，你可能知道，它们通常是非常的便宜和易碎的，然而这套玩沙套装却十分地牢固并可以玩上好几个夏天。这个套装由一个小水桶，一个沙堡模子，一个小铲子和一个小耙子组成。套装非常适合作为私人沙盒在家中玩或是带去沙滩度假时使用。它们有着纯正颜色：宝蓝色，绿色，橙色等和其它套装所使用的一样的颜色。
总体来说，我对这些玩具印象十分深刻。它们坚固耐用，引人注目并且很好地利用了垃圾……化废为宝。“绿色”妈妈们一定会喜欢绿色玩具的。