2010 October | Inhabitots

Green Halloween Toys: Little Wooden Monsters from Goose Grease

by Beth Shea, 10/10/10

If you’d prefer to veer away from the tricks and treats this Halloween, with an offering that’s still festive and sure to delight special ghouls and goblins — opt for a set of eight of these little wooden monster toys, from Goose Grease. Hand them out individually to select trick-or-treaters, give them away as party favors at your Halloween party, or use them as toppers for cupcakes, and double the recipient’s pleasure. But beware… after dispensing such sweet and spooky fare, your house is sure to become a rumored favorite among revelers in your neighborhood!

+ Set of 8 little wooden monsters

via Growing up Green

Rain Cloud Mobiles from Little Green Frog

by Jennifer Chait, 10/09/10

Little Green Frog brings together dreamy bits of water-colored vintage floral fabrics, recycled wool blankets, vintage lace and more to create these one-of-a-kind Rain Cloud Mobiles. Mobiles also come with an adorable piece of vintage ricrac for the hanging loop. Each mobile is handmade, wonderfully unique and is sure to bring a grin from your baby when hung over his crib. Later, these mobiles are pretty enough to take up permanent residence in a sunny window.

+ Little Green Frog Rain Cloud Mobiles $20.00

+ Little Green Frog’s Etsy shop

+ Craftsbury Kids

Link Roundup: DIY Halloween Costume Ideas and Other Crafty Ventures

by Julie Seguss, 10/08/10

Who needs plastic threading beads when you can DIY using a fallen tree branch? Mini Eco shows us how to do it beautifully.

Have an old cardboard box? iVillage has eight was you can turn it into a Halloween costume.

And with a stash of old toilet paper tubes, you can make Babble‘s Rollhead Toilet Paper Wig.

Enjoy fall weather on a hike and then create one of Crafty Crow‘s 12 nature walk crafts for kids.

If you pulled out last year’s sweaters only to realize your kids outgrew them, turn them into something new with the help of Crafting a Green World.

Momtastic shares a fun idea for making felt faces, much like a flat Mr. Potato Head.

Inhabitots Tours the Healthy Home 2010

by Lea Bogdan, 10/08/10

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ADF Design Collection Customizable Cardboard Cot

The ADF Design Collection Customizable Cardboard Cot is indeed different looking from most traditional cots and baby bassinets, but if you’re willing to think outside the box; or well, inside the box, then this cardboard cot may be the answer to your little one’s eco-friendly dreams. The cot is safe and stable, resting on large wheels that make moving it …

Oshi Mat Non-Toxic, Recyclable Foam Mats Keep Baby Clean & Cozy in Mommy & Me Classes

How many times have you taken your precious bundle to a mommy & me class, only to find puddles of drool strewn across a dirty gym mat, or a dingy, hard carpet as the surface on which you’re supposed to poise her little tush? With the dawn of the new Oshi Mat, you can now take a clean, comfy, not to mention cute, pad for your child to chill upon. Designed specifically as a sanitary sidekick for taking your baby and toddler to classes and activities, the Oshi Mat is lightweight, water repellent and moisture-free to stave off bacteria. Oshi Mats are made of eco-friendly, non-toxic, recyclable foam, and they 100% PVC and latex free. Read on to learn more about this ingenious, mom-invented product!

Zubels Organic Cotton Teddy Bear Benefits Breast Cancer Research

This October marks the 25th anniversary of National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and 100% of the proceeds from sales of this Pink Ribbon Bear will be donated to fund breast cancer research. Zubels handmade knit toys has partnered with the Lynn Sage Foundation to donate profits from the cuddly toy, which is …

Paramount Farms Child Development Center: A Sustainable Pre-School

No child attending the Paramount Farms Child Development Center will be able to bring anything for show-and-tell that trumps their amazing, new US Green Building Council and LEED certified facility. The San Joaquin Valley, California pre-school provides education to eighty or so offspring of the almond and pistachio growing-employees of Paramount Agricultural Companies. This year, those lucky students will gain smarts in one of the country’s first environmentally friendly pre-schools. The pre-school, designed by Designers Architects MSP (McDonald, Soutar and Paz) and operated by Childrens’ Creative Learning Centers, will keep them warm and cool, and more — all the while providing excess power to give back to the grid.

Eco Felt Halloween Candy & Pumpkins from Felt Playground

Why make your kids wait until the end of October to go trick or treating? Felt Playground offers a sweet and gratifying alternative with an adorable and drool-worthy set of felt Halloween candy and play food, complete with a festive pumpkin bag. And if you think these timely treats will …

Lead-Based Health Threat from Inflatable Bounce Houses

While bouncy fun may sound like a great plan at a kid’s birthday or other child-minded event, bounce houses are anything but fun when it comes to your child’s health and safety. This summer an in-depth investigation by the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) prompted lawsuits to be filed by CEH and the California Attorney General against many leading makers, distributors and suppliers of bounce houses, also known as jump houses or inflatable jumpers. Lead limits were through the roof with many of these bounce houses. One major brand was tested as containing more than 70 times the federal limit for lead in kids’ products under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. More independent CHE testing showed that the massive amounts of lead from bounce houses expose children to lead at levels that violate California law.

Teddy ‘Polar’ Bears Made from Recycled Fabrics by Zid Zid Kids

Of all the animals in the wild kingdom, the polar bear would top the list of those who would beckon us to live an eco-lifestyle. These cuddly recycled teddy polar bears from Zid Zid Kids answer that call. The toy polar bear gets a chic outfit, as it is covered with vibrant recycled fabric prints, stitched on with Zid Zid embroidery. Like …

New PSA Likens Hamburgers to Heroin – What do you think?

This new controversial PSA by Precinct Studios (meant to bring awareness to the obesity concerns of many American families) likens the act of feeding junk food to your kids to the seemingly absurd idea of introducing them to recreational drugs. But there is some truth to the alarming visuals. According to a study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience “overconsumption of highly pleasurable food triggers addiction-like neuroadaptive responses in brain reward circuitries, driving the development of compulsive eating”. So will these sort of ads become the “This is your brain on drugs” PSAs (which oddly likened frying eggs to consuming smack) of our generation?
Check out the video above — hyperbolic, or spot-on? What do you think?

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bioserie Introduces the World’s First ‘Made of Plants’ iPhone 4 Cover

The iPhone is a helpful tool for many busy parents and teens love them, too. However, plastic protective cases, made with non-renewable oil are less than friendly for the planet. Protect your iPhone in eco-friendly style instead with bioserie. bioserie offers a cool line of iPhone 4 covers, along with others made special for the iPhone 3G/3GS, iPod touch and iPod nano, that give earth-conscious Apple device owners the protection they need while using only plant-based renewable resources for production. bioserie’s unique use of bioplastics technology results in fewer greenhouse gas emissions during manufacturing and helps prevent environmental toxic pollution once the cover is discarded.

Winning Halloween Activity: 2010 ChicoBag Reusable Bag Design Contest

Gather your little one, along with some eco-friendly soy crayons and non-toxic paint — it’s time to get Hallow-crafty! The 3rd annual ChicoBag & Green Halloween Bag Design Contest is in full swing and could bring eco-friendly fame to your child. The annual Halloween Bag Design Contest, co-sponsored by Green Halloween, was created to help inspire eco-kids (ages 1-13) to focus on the …

Fisher-Price Announces Huge Product Recall

Product safety recalls are par the course for parenting. And in recent months we’ve seen products being recalled by smaller manufacturers such as Sorelle, Land of Nod and Zooper. But Fisher-Price has shot to the top of the list with yesterday’s announcement of a safety recall concerning 7 million trikes, 2.9 million infant toys, 1 million high chairs, and close to 100,000 Little People Rampways. Check the product models below to see if your child’s toy is due for a turn in.

Scream Worthy Ice for Halloween

The always fun Fred & Friends is offering up two new scream-worthy ice cube tray designs, just in time for a bone chilling (literally) Halloween. The new Ice Scream Ice Cube Tray and Chillipedes Cennipede Ice Cube Tray will be arriving on store shelves very soon and are sure to add some spunk to the typical Halloween cider or punch – at both kid and adult minded Halloween parties. Fred & Friends uses food-safe, super-strong, non-toxic food-grade silicone or rubber for all their ice cube trays, and the company packages their trays in a clear recyclable gift box.