I’m not sure whether this is a case of jumping on a trendy bandwagon, or a truly earth-conscious decision, but Swedish toymaker Playsam is debuting a new variation on its classic wooden toy cars that seeks to reassure parents of their environmental friendliness:
Swedish designers at Playsam are hoping that parents (adults are the biggest market for their sleek and irresistible wooden cars) will be concerned enough by the continuing reports of lead paint and other toxics in hastily built toys from China to look into alternatives such as their newly repackaged (100% recycled fiber), unpainted
Streamliner wooden cars. Though Playsam can’t say that the German beechwood used in the new Streamliner "miljöbil" is sustainably harvested, the car’s finished is a non-toxic lacquer, according to designer Carl Zedig."We did this because we thought people needed to see that underneath the paint is a very safe toy."
Playsam’s Green Line Organic will be available in an extremely plain brown paper box in April at upscale toy stores.
Yeah, "upscale." While I applaud their efforts, even more green (and more GeekDad-ish) would be patterns and instructions on how to make toys like this at home from recycled wood and safe materials. Anyone have any good links for such? Via Treehugger.
