Natural Fibres

A green alternative to plastics are toys made from all-natural, untreated fibres such as cotton, hemp, and wool. Natural fibres seem like an attractive alternative to plastic toys, but we need to be selective. Cotton production involves a very high use of chemicals including insecticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilisers. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens. Wool production involves sheep dipping. Our children will be handling these toys daily and often putting them in their mouth. If we buy cotton we need to make sure it is organically produced. Similarly wool from organic sheep farms is preferable.

Many natural fibre stuffed and soft toys are treated with stain- and moth-proofing chemicals. Harmful chemicals are also used in their colouring and treatment. Dyes such as azo dyes can be carcinogenic. We need to make sure the stuffing is non-toxic as well as the outer layers.

If purchasing natural fibre toys for your children, make sure they are organically produced, not treated with harmful chemicals to deter stains and moths, and that the dyes are natural and non-toxic. Choose organic, untreated hemp, wool or cotton with non-toxic colourfast dyes.