Toys | greenUPGRADER

Low-Impact Board Games Deliver Big Time Fun!

by Beth Buczynski on February 26th, 2010

You might be surprised to learn that board games are becoming popular all over again.

Read the full story

Posted in DIY, Fun+Games 2 Comments

Making Teddy Bears (and Disposing of them) Just Got Greener

by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg on January 5th, 2010

If you’ve got young children, they may have received a number of stuffed animals over the holidays. And you may or may not have given any thought to the lifecycle of these toys yet, but, by and large, they tend to end up in a basement or closet… if not in a landfill. A team [...]

Read the full story

Posted in Concept+Design, Innovation 2 Comments

Reuse Old Socks: DIY Dog Toy

by Paula Mitchell Bentley on May 11th, 2009

This is a great way to use up those socks and fabric scraps without throwing them away. Animal shelters, dog foster families and rescue foundations are always looks for toys for the dogs to play with as well. If you don't have any dogs, consider making these chew toys up anyways and donating them. These toys save money and rescue items headed for the landfill into a new use. If they're going to eat your socks anyways, you might as well just give the socks to them!

Read the full story

Posted in DIY 11 Comments

Soopsori: Handmade, Eco-Friendly, Beautiful Toys

by Cristina Foung on May 2nd, 2009

As we know, kids put all sorts of stuff in their mouths. While you can’t always stop them from tasting their toys, you can choose eco-friendly and organic toys without nasty chemicals. I was lucky enough to receive some wooden toys from a Korean company called Soopsori. Soopsori’s toys are handmade from sustainably harvested wood [...]

Read the full story

Posted in Fun+Games 5 Comments

Green UpGrade Your Kid’s Toybox

by Paula Mitchell Bentley on March 6th, 2009

This toy recycling truck is made in the United States from recycled milk jugs. How’s that for an eco-friendly toy for all of our green kids out there? The company making this toy, the aptly named Green Toys Inc., produces a whole line of toys from these used milk jugs that contain no BPA, lead [...]

Read the full story

Posted in Fun+Games 3 Comments

Sustainable Yo-Yo a Metaphor for Sustainable Design

by Matt Embrey on November 7th, 2008

The Yo-Yo itself is a metaphor for sustainable design. When you release the Yo-Yo with skill and care, it comes back allowing you to continue to enjoy the benefits over and over again, expelling little energy. If you just throw the thing out there with reckless abandon it’ll get all tangled up into a big [...]

Read the full story

Posted in Fun+Games 5 Comments