Today, April 22, is World Earth Day! It’s a day for us to examine our own lifestyle habits and see if there are ways for us to live a more sustainable, eco-friendly life. If you have small children at home then you’re probably all too familiar with the amount of toys being wasted each year.
According to the latest research curated by Clever Tots Toy Club, a staggering 80% of our children’s toys in the developed world are ending up in landfills, incinerators, or the sea. Toys are only being actively played with for an average of 6-months, while one-third of parents admit to binning toys that are still in good working order.
That’s why we were only too delighted to hear about Clever Tots Toy Club, which models an affordable toy rental service with monthly toy delivery and collection. Each month, four age-appropriate toys are delivered to the delight of a child, while the old ones are collected for sanitisation and redistribution.
This way children don’t have time to get bored of their toys, and since each one has been chosen by a child development expert, they will advance a little with each new delivery.
Amongst the environmentally sound toys that have been chosen by Clever Tots Toy Club are a selection from the recycled plastic brand - Green Toys. An incredible 90% of toys on the market are made of new plastic. For each kilogram of new plastic that is produced, we emit six kilograms of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. However, not all plastic toys are bad.
It can be quite hard to avoid plastic when it comes to choosing your children’s toys, but you can be more careful about the type of plastic used in their manufacture. The last thing any parent wants is for the choices they make, to harm the planet they leave to their children. Already, plastic toys play a big part in the amount of plastic ending up in landfill and oceans.
Green Toys create quality, eco-friendly toys made from 100% recycled plastic milk jugs. Ideal really, as it’s food-safe and doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals. This means it’s safe for tots and kids to play with, suck, and chew.
Green Toys don’t use batteries, screws, or glue in their products either, which makes the toys both safer to play with and easier to recycle when little ones have outgrown them. The Green Toys range is just one of the eco-friendly brands included in the Clever Tots Toy Club membership.
This year’s theme for World Earth Day is to find new ways to invest in the planet. Certainly, one easy way for parents to do this is to consider renting their toys through a membership club and play their part in Reducing the quantity of toys bought, Reusing the toys within the club, and choosing those made from sustainable or Recycled materials.
Priced from €39.99 a month with discounts for purchases of 3, 6 and 12-month memberships, parents save an average of €60 a month, compared to if they had bought the toys.
To find out more, visit www.clevertots.ie
