Looking to provide safe toys this holiday season? Shopping for an environmentally conscious friend or relative? Before you buy a toy, check out Good Guide, a consumer rating web site still in its beta phase. While you can investigate the safety of your food, how green a product is, and even where a garment was made, I am most impressed with the toy contaminate section that outlines the levels of dangerous chemicals that are frequently found in unsafe toys. As an added feature, you can select only toys that are 100% contaminate or lead free.
Take the Press ‘N Go Inchworm by iPlay. Good Guide indicates that it is completely free from contaminates and lead, identifies that the toy was made in China by a factory with good environmental policies. This toy gets lower, but decent, marks for the social policies of the manufacturer, which I’m far less concerned with than the safety of the toy itself. It can be very difficult to research the contaminants in a toy, and this handy guide really makes life easier. Each rating is explained in detail, including individual contaminates.
So if you’re a safety enthusiast, environmentalist, social advocate or all of the above (or shopping for one), check out Good Guide and help make it a better way to shop for consumers and manufacturers alike. There are a lot of products yet to be rated and added to the site, but with time I think it can become a great resource for all of us.
[Featured in this post: Press N' Go Inchworm; $10.99 at Arsa Toys]
