Feature Articles: The Green Scene

With more and more families becoming ecologically aware and moving toward sustainable living, wooden toys are experiencing a renaissance. Karl Oppen, founder of Tree Blocks, is a business owner who has put responsible forestry practices to work in his company. After overseeing factories in Europe and Vietnam, and becoming familiar with the high demands those locations place on the forestry industry, Oppen opened his first U.S. factory in Wisconsin. The off-the-grid operation uses sustainable forestry, reclaimed wood, and off-cut wood to create a fun and unique line of toys.

A simple, yet meaningful message written on a napkin and placed in the lunchbox can help a child get through those tough days at school. Canadian mom Margerete Volpe happily got on board with the lunch box note habit, but the practice had a down side. While her daughter loved the notes, Margarete did not love the waste made from throwing away so many napkins every week. As an environmentally conscious person, Margarete was hit with inspiration: Why not make reusable cloth message napkins? And that’s how PICKmeUP Napkins was born.

NapiNol Nursery Therapies creates all-natural skin care products with only the most necessary ingredients. They vow to use as few ingredients as possible, and each with a vital purpose for the skin. Their products contain no synthetics, no chemicals and nothing that isn’t on the label. Their products meet the strictest standards set by the Environmental Working Group, scoring a zero toxicity rating. NapiNol values this honesty and clarity because they have a working knowledge of both natural maternal needs and pharmaceutical formulation, allowing them to find natural solutions to product development where others resort to synthetics for help.

Like all things whimsical and important, Eggkids started with a dream. A dream to create a character that would make people feel happy; someone who would warm hearts. Someone who smiles at everyone and makes them smile back. First on the scene was Erik the Elephant, strong and loyal. He spreads his love generously and shares wisdom and happiness. He’s now part of a 25-character family living and smiling on clothes and accessories designed for children up to 6 years old. Erik, Albin the Monkey, Anton the Anteater and Maja the Cat are just some of the animal friends that come from the big wild world, where designer Hans-Jörgen Hansson finds his inspiration.