Toy Trains, Logs and Blocks
Iconic toys – complete with toxic paint, splinters, and made in China
There are many fabulous wooden toys. We remember train sets, stackable blocks, wooden puzzles, construction sets, dolls, farm animals, and hundreds more. Environmentally, wood is a good material. It is relatively sustainable and has a good end-of-life story. Unfortunately, many of these products are made in China with dubious manufacturing processes. Frequently the paint and coatings contain lead, heavy metals, or BPA. All too frequently the paint comes off when wet. Moms never know if the wooden toys are safe to chew. Many toys break too easily. Wood is hard to form; requiring either hand-cutting (think sweatshops) or CNC milling (think mass production & simple shapes & expensive).
At Green Dot, we know how to simulate the look, feel, and even the smell of real wood in a biocomposite. Our wood-plastic composite products are real wood held together by a matrix of plastic which allows them to be formed by traditional plastic manufacturing techniques including molding, vacuum forming, or extrusion.
We think moms everywhere would welcome more safe products for their children’s toys. And, designers would like the idea of better form and function.
