Celebrating Earth Day with Eco-Friendly Toys
Happy Earth Day! Today's the big day for celebrating the Earth and all the wonderful things it has to offer. The theme for Earth Day 2022 is Invest In Our Planet.
Eco-friendly toys are a great way to start teaching your child about sustainability and caring for the planet from an early age. What's more, investing in sustainable toys ensures that the toys have a longer lifespan (thanks to their durability) and their materials have been ethically sourced.
What Is Earth Day?
Every year on April 22nd, people from around the world come together to celebrate Earth Day. The first-ever Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 and it only became a globalised celebration in 1990. Today, Earth Day is celebrated by more than 1 billion people.
Our Favourite Eco-Friendly Toys
1. Coastal Clean-Up Train Set
Who knew that train sets could also contain a fun recycling lesson? Our new Coastal Clean-Up train set features 70 play pieces and teaches children about recycling as they play. Direct the train past a giant sandcastle tunnel, beach huts, sections of beach, beach-goers, cars and recycling bins.
Once the train has completed its journey, little hands can pick up the magnetic pieces and place them into the correct recycling sorting bins (cardboard, metal, plastic). The magnetic items can also be mixed and matched in the included recycling book, packed full of interesting child-friendly recycling facts.
This wooden train set is made from responsibly sourced rubberwood, a byproduct of latex production. Rubberwood is light medium-density wood sourced from plantation trees that have already served a function, so it is much more eco-friendly than using regular wood.
2. FSC Certified Toys
Our FSC® Certified range of wooden toys uses sustainably harvested FSC® wood.
FSC® stands for the Forest Stewardship Council, a global non-profit organisation dedicated to championing responsible forestry. This means that for every tree that's cut down to make one of our wooden FSC® toys, a new one is planted in its place or allowed to naturally regenerate.
Bigjigs Toys are proud to be certified with FSC® C147826. Our new FSC® range features the Rocking Rabbit, Sensory Blocks, Forest Stacker, Woodland Shape Puzzle, Hide & Seek Puzzle, and Rolling Activity Sorter. Each sustainable wooden toy has a soft colour palette that is suitable for both little boys and little girls.
3. Green Toys
Made from 100% recycled plastic milk jugs in the USA, Green Toys are green by both name and nature. Milk jug plastic is food-safe and contains no BPA, PVC or Phthalates. It's also a single material, which means that it's easier for parents to recycle toys their children have outgrown and it also prevents them from going to landfill.
Some of our favourite Green Toys products are the Red Airplane, Scooper, Light Blue Tug Boat and the Tide Pool Bath Set. Because Green Toys plastic is food-safe, it's safe for curious little tots and kids to touch, suck or chew when playing. There are zero batteries, screws or glue for added peace of mind.
4. ZooBooKoo Magnet Book
Teach little learners all about recycling with ZooBooKoo's What Can We Recycle magnet book. This education book is packed with sorting games, information about recycling and two sheets of magnets to help aid the learning process. This magnetic book is an exciting, engaging way for children to understand how recycling works and helps the environment.
5. Silicone Bucket
A sustainable alternative to regular chunky plastic buckets, our Silicone Buckets can be squished, squashed and bounced back without losing their original shape. Silicone comes from quartz sand and is a safer alternative to traditional plastic. The play possibilities are endless, too; this silicone toy bucket can be used to make sandcastles, carry water, help with gardening and even wash cars!
6. Eco Spade
The ideal companion to the silicone bucket, our Eco Spade is made from wheat fibre, the waste of cultivated wheat. It has a similar texture to plastic but is much kinder to the Earth. You'll even spot the lovely light wheat flecks amongst the colours. It is extremely lightweight and is perfect for use at the beach or in the garden.
Earth Day Activities
Have some Earth Day fun by downloading our Earth Day colouring sheet.