Play time goes green and back to basics

Environmental concerns and a desire to simplify lead to a rise in environmentally friendly toys and 'old-fashioned' entertainment.

Growing consumer awareness of issues facing the environment has influenced purchasing decisions.  Manufacturers keen to promote themselves as green and win over ecologically concerned consumers have begun producing a variety of environmentally responsible products, including children's toys. Simultaneously, this trend has sparked a simplification of children's toys, and manufacturers are returning to the basics, producing items such as jigsaw puzzles, board games or wooden toys.  

A spokesperson for one of the UK's largest household retail events Autumn Fair,September 5-8, stated that this year's trade show has seen an increase in the number of exhibitors identifying themselves as environmentally friendly and that traditional wooden children's toys made from sustainable resources were a very popular item. It is also expected that the Nuremberg Toy Show, one of the biggest toy shows in the world, held February 3-8, 2011, will focus on environmentally friendly toys.

Traditional and environmentally friendly toys will be exhibited at the Autumn Fair by suppliers such as Asobi, Ever Earth, Crafty Kids, Alphabet Jigsaws, Mellissa & Doug and Shared Earth amongst others.

Environmentally friendly or traditional toys are also available internationally from online retailer Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Eco-Friendly-Toys-Green/b?ie=UTF8&node=562229011

http://www.asobi.co.uk/

http://www.everearth.co.uk/

http://www.craftykids.co.uk/

http://www.alphabetjigsaws.com

http://www.melissaanddoug.com/

http://www.sharedearth.co.uk