Eco and Parenting Blog

This fabulous and very pretty organic rag doll, named Natalie by Nature's Purest, is even lovelier "in the flesh", which we can now say with complete confidence as she's now in stock and is promising to be a best-seller!

If you would prefer your child to have a doll that's not plastic or made with any toxic chemicals, this hugely appealing doll, with her plaited hair and happy expression has to be the No. 1 choice for any little girl.  She has a velvety soft face and limbs and wears the prettiest polka-dot-embroidered organic cotton dress, with a little co-ordinating jacket (both of which are removable).  

All of the organic cotton used to make Natalie, and the processes the fabrics have undertaken, are certified by Organic Exchange, making her entire history fully traceable.

Beautiful, ethical and organic - making her a perfect friend and an especially appealing choice for parents and little ones alike as an ideal first doll.

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We're delighted to be able to report that, after being unavailable throughout the UK for many months, the very popular Under the Nile Scraptopus is now back in stock!  This lovely little organic octopus is such an eco-friendly because it's made with leftover organic cotton to minimise waste.  This bright and cheery Scraptopus is a firm favourite with little ones, as there are so many legs to grab and to chew on!

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We're delighted to welcome these fabulous little organic animals to our range!  There's Grey Paws the Puppy, White Ears the Bunny and Cubby the Bear, designed in Australia with considerable thought having been put into their organic, ethical and lovability credentials!  

They're velvety soft and they've been intentionally created to be ideally sized as ideal newborn baby gifts but which will still be loved for many years, as their owners grow from babies to toddlers and onwards.  

These velvety soft animals have such a luxurious feel and, being characters which have such universal appeal, we envisage these being just the kind of toys that become keepsakes to provoke happy childhood memories!

These have only just arrived in the UK, so if you're looking for an unusual baby gift for a newborn that isn't mass produced nor widely available, any of these little friends would be a highly recommended choice!

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We are so excited about this lovely Nature's Purest organic doll, named Nature's Natalie, expected to be available in early November!  She's made with cream organic cotton, is hand-washable and is suitable from birth.  Measuring a generous 34cm approximately, she's an ideal size for all ages and, if given as a baby gift, she won't be outgrown too quickly!  She has a removable organic cotton dress, patterned with embroidered-on green organic cotton polka dots and a little co-ordinating jacket and is presented in an eco-friendly recycled brown card gift box, tied with Nature's Purest ribbon.

We're anticipating Nature's Natalie will be a best-seller, especially in the run-up to Christmas so if you'd like to express an interest in ordering her, please drop us an email at info@otoys.co.uk to help us ensure we order enough to meet demand and we'll let you know when she's in stock.

As the summer holidays speed by, you might be running out of ideas of how to keep your children entertained during the break.  Of course, that's without breaking the bank either, given that so many family attractions are exorbitantly expensive.  This coming weekend (Saturday, 18th and Sunday, 19th August) heralds Kent Wildlife Trusts Festival of Wildlife at their Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve.  Admission is free (only a £2 charge to park your car or £2 per class entry to enter your pet in the Dog Show) and they have a host of activities to appeal to all the family.  See the above poster for details and don't forget your sun cream - this weekend is due to be a scorcher!

We just love the new "Skinny" range of baby toys from the Charlie Bears Little Organics range and we're confident that your baby or toddler will too!

All five friendly little Skinny characters are now in stock - choose from Jimmy Giraffe, Buffy Bunny, Milly Mouse, BoBo Bear and Pina Piglet.  Each of these toys are made with a thick short-pile, supersoft, organic cotton fleece, with the main seams edged with very soft tufted organic cotton fleece.  Whilst these little animals look rather rotund from the front, it's their slim (but still cuddly) side profile which gives these their "Skinny" name.  This clever consideration makes these toys a perfect size for babies and toddlers to cuddle, making it so much easier for little arms to reach comfortably round these sumptuously soft organic friends!

We are delighted to announce that following the fantastic success of the recent introduction of the new Charlie Bears Little Organics "Baby Safe" Collection, we have added some new characters and sizes to our range of these toys.

In addition to Larlie Bear, Poppa Dog, Fifi Bunny and Marley Mouse, we now also have sleepy Barley Lamb (shown above) and cheeky MeMe Monkey!  We also have an additional smaller size option (approximately 20cm) for these popular toys.  This baby version of each character is ideally sized as a little companion, in pushchairs or car seats.  With larger 30cm and the really cuddly, generously sized 40cm versions, there are ideal sizes for babies and children of all ages.  

All the toys, in every size, in this range are suitable from birth onwards, but the medium and large versions are great for toddlers or older children for whom it's sometimes a bit more challening to find larger organic toys.

If you're a fan of the Charlie Bears Little Organics range, do keep revisiting our site as Charlie Bears are planning to add more new characters to this collection for release later in the year.

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Many of us have been enjoying beautiful sunny days lately and with the school summer holidays now well underway, it really is the season for days out and picnics!  If, like me though, you hate all the waste that comes with wrapping a whole family's sandwiches, snacks and goodies for a day out, there are some fantastic solutions available.  They're safer, more environmentally-responsible and, in the long term, cheaper too than the throwaway materials we might typically use.

Public awareness is certainly growing regarding highly undesirable substances such as BPA, PVC and phthalates, to name a few, being commonly used in food coverings and food storage containers.  These are capable of leaching toxic and harmful chemicals into our food and parents in particular are increasingly looking for non-toxic alternatives for their children's lunchboxes and picnics. 

It's really quite a minefield though, trying to establish what does and what doesn't contain any of the wide range of nasties, but the founders of My Friendly Lunchbox and Ecoboodles, have eliminated all the guesswork for you.  We love both of these companies, which only sell non-toxic products which are free of BPA, PVC, phthalates and lead.  We found My Friendly Lunchbox first and have found many other uses for their non-toxic, easily washable and recycled sandwich wrappers which are also very handy for covering bowls of food or for wrapping leftovers before putting them in the fridge (we find that elastic bands work a treat in keeping the circular wraps in place over bowls of food).  They have a good range of plastic and cloth sandwich wrappers and even some matching non-toxic ice packs, in addition to many other eco-friendly goodies, such as BPA-free food storage containers and shaped sandwich or biscuit cutters.

More recently, we were absolutely delighted to stumble upon the wonderful Ecoboodle organic cotton sandwich wrappers.  These really are fabulous for wrapping your sandwiches and your children will probably feel as though they're opening a little present when they open your picnic sandwiches!  These wraps are soft and pliable and are capable of holding several small rolls each, with a food-grade non-toxic lining to keep messy sandwich fillings from leaking or staining the outer certified organic cotton fabric.  They're extremely easy to wash by hand but they can also go in the washing machine, up to 30°C - although they're not suitable for the tumble dryer because of the lining.  We never seem to have enough of these in our house, so do think about buying several at a time to get the multi-buy discounts which represent amazing value for money.  As far as we know, these are the only organic cotton sandwich wraps available in the UK and they're perfectly shaped to make the neatest, non-bulky, picnic parcels!  

Our youngest children are usually really hungry when they come out of school/nursery and on the days that our eldest needs picking up from school too, there's at least a half hour wait for her school day to end.  The little ones can't wait that long for something to eat if they're hungry, so the sandwich wrappers are great for quickly and conveniently transporting some healthy snacks in the car and they act as a mat too, saving the car's upholstery from at least some of the crumbs!

I've focused here mainly on these websites' sandwich wrappers because I'm such a huge fan of these, but My Friendly Lunchbox and Ecoboodles non-leaching ranges include stainless steel water bottles, attractive lunchbags, lunchbag sets and more!  The earlier you switch to these non-toxic and waste-free lunchbox products, the sooner they'll pay for themselves and, more importantly, your family won't be paying the price of toxic chemicals silently contaminating their food.  

On Thursday 30^th June, 2011, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) have voted for strike action to commence to protest about changes to their pensions. Is your child in a school where the strikes will be taking place? If so, you’ll no doubt be wondering how you can keep your children entertained while they’re out of school.

Moneysupermarket.com have been working hard to ensure that parents and children who are affected by the strike have plenty of options to keep themselves entertained, without breaking the bank. They’ve secured discounts with the best theme parks, zoos, safari parks and famous attractions to make your day a little cheaper.