Your Guide to Nontoxic Toys

Stuffed animals and dolls are the perfect toys for creative young children. Toddlers and preschoolers enjoy animating them through imaginative play, and babies like to explore the textures and shapes with their hands and mouths. But stain- and moth-proofed cotton, synthetics, and wool used in stuffed and soft fabric toys can contain azo dyes, which can be carcinogenic. And cotton crops account for one quarter of the insecticide use worldwide. Be sure that the cotton toys you buy are made from certified organic and/or untreated cotton and wool colored with nontoxic colorfast dyes. Here are some good options.

Organic Gift Shop sells Froggy Friend, an easily-animated, green cotton amphibian whose hands and feet can be dipped in water and frozen—a welcome remedy for the sore gums of a teething baby!
For infants through preschoolers.
www.organicgiftshop.com; 800-895-6045

Mama's Earth features soft, cuddly, and Earth-friendly cotton stuffed toys hand-sewn in Vermont. The menagerie includes something for every animal lover: big and small bunnies, a Teddy bear, a whale, a turtle, and an elephant.
For infants through preschoolers.
www.mamasearth.com; 800-620-7388