Abigail is an environmental artist, writer, and regular contributor to Inhabitat.com as well as other eco art and DIY blogs. As a mother of twin baby boys, she is doubling her efforts to try to make the world a more sustainable and visually inspiring place for all. Abigail currently divides her time between an urban nest in NYC, an organic farm in rural Italy, and a vibrant, up-and-coming community in Sofia, Bulgaria. When not crocheting with tencel, hemp, or handspun, she can be found gardening and dreaming about her next green enterprise.
If you have been wondering how to dress your busy little elf for the holidays, look no further, as Upa Project has some super cute and colorful slip on booties for tiny scampering feet. Handcrafted from supple synthetic leather, these soft and pliable gUgU booties are a great way to lovingly protect soft soles while also allowing them to expand and develop naturally. Add to this the fact that gUgUs come in a rainbow of yummy colors, and you will not only have sugarplums dancing in their heads but on their adorable feet, too.
Every tot deserves to have a furry friend as a cuddly toy, but what to do when fluffy pals made of synthetic fibers begin to populate a playroom intended as a non-toxic, safe zone? Add to this, the fact that endangered species are on the verge of extinction every day, and it is no surprise that both the planet and kids’ imaginations are in peril. Xeko Pals plush toys are the safe alternative to the usual stuffed animal menagerie, as their eco-friendly materials and conservation-minded agenda provide a greener outlook on interactive and engaged play.
It’s one thing to have your little ones master new vocabulary with ABC’s and budding language skills, but what about encouraging the weirder (aka more fun) side of science mastery? Enter Young Mad Scientist’s First Alphabet Blocks by Xylocopa, featured at this year’s Maker Faire in Austin, TX. These laser-carved cubes of A-B-C alchemy, are just the sort of thing that will get your tot primed for creative storytelling, spelling bee championships, and mad science for engaged young minds.
Nothing makes your wee one’s world go round like a captivating and super sleek crib mobile. The Kikkerland Picture Mobile with Wee Gallery Art Cards allows you to curate the very first art exhibit that your baby gazes upon. Repeated animated shapes and bold black and white graphics are ideal for the first few months of baby’s visual stimulation. With these original designs floating overhead, you have an instant, easy-to-assemble way to animate baby’s new nest, as well as an appealing accent for your designer abode.
Want your tot to channel her inner engineer and learn about energy technologies of the future while playing cars? The Hydrocar by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies features a mini ‘fuel-cell’ car for kids and parents who are looking to up the ante on the green gadget toy options at home. Part science kit, part clean driving machine, eco-friendly play has never sported such power-packed promise.
Whether or not you consider your little one to be angelic is really beside the point when you get them dressed up in this eco-cute Angel Wing Sweater by Oeuf designs. Even with adorably devilish antics and mischievous behavior on tap for the Halloween season, how can one resist this super-soft knit get up for your sweet, pink-faced cherub? We love that your baby or winged tot can continue to wear this adorable costume once the holiday passes. It is a simple way to green your Halloween costume party celebrations while also supporting fair trade artisans and families in other parts of the globe.
Giggle is a great resource for insuring that you cultivate a ‘healthy, happy, baby’. Honestly, I am not sure what my husband and I would have done without their user-friendly online gift registry when we were expecting our twins last fall. With products and tips that are design savvy and eco-minded, their well-edited offerings make streamline shopping and nursery planning a breeze. With all of this goodness in store, it was great to discover that Giggle is currently offering a “Think Pink” recycled fleece blanket to highlight National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I could think of no better way to promote the importance of this October campaign while also keeping dear family members comforted in such stylish layering.
It’s not often that you come across an eco-luxe design that demonstrates true versatility in terms of its use for the entire family, regardless of age or playtime indulgences. The Pomeroy Faux Fur Throw by Loyale is a simply irresistible eco treat. This vegan luxury blanket offers a great way to combine eco-chic living with plush comfort. Tummy time and naptime for both parents and little ones never looked so eco-fashionable or felt so delightfully dreamy.
Chapped and sun-smacked lips need lots of TLC these days, regardless of climate or rugged outdoor pursuits. The sun feels stronger, and environmental stresses are increasingly a factor. We could think of no better way to nurture and soften one’s lips than with All The Better To Kiss You With eco lip balms. Created by a Mom for concerned Moms and their families, these certified organic lip treats are a great way to insure that everyone in your family will be coddled and lip swaddled, day in and day out – and all the better for it.
As a mother of twin baby boys, I am always looking to invest in toys that can be thoughtfully enjoyed and easily shared by my little ones. I also want my occasional purchases to contribute to something lasting, both in our home and in the world beyond. I was thrilled when a friend and her husband gave us Uncle Goose blocks as a gift for our twins. These gorgeously crafted, old-fashioned A-B-C letter blocks are a perfect example of classic, heirloom toy design paired with modern materials and sustainability. U.S. made and voted one of the “best 100 toys”, parents can be totally reassured that the basics for your green nursery or playroom are taken care of with ‘Uncle Goose’.
Sending your little one(s) off to playgroup or the first day of school can be quite the major milestone. Brand new surroundings and encounters surely hold lots of promise, but it is also good to know that you have a trusty friend at your side helping you navigate the unknown. Enter EcoZoo backpacks and their super-cute menagerie of toteable critters. Having an eco friendly pal like this perched on your back is a great way to carry your goods as well as feel snuggled up while setting off on life’s little adventures.
We have been devoted fans of Iglooplay’s super cute line of eco mod children’s furniture ever since we first spotted them a few years ago at our local Brooklyn Designs Show. We were both excited to see the latest additions to Iglooplay’s sustainably crafted kid’s collection during our Mother’s Day Green Design Walking Tour at Brooklyn Designs this past May. Design-savvy parents need look no further for an ideal table and seating combo for budding designers or crafters who are looking to set up work and play space. Iglooplay’s craftWork table+chair is an inspiring solution for creative families - as smartly considered furniture like this will leave you wishing that you had a scaled-up version for your own workspace or studio.
There is no doubt that the basic building blocks of your little one’s nutrition are of utmost importance to today’s busy parents and fast-paced households. With so many children in the U.S. afflicted with childhood obesity and debilitating weight problems, it is of critical importance that we find healthier (creative) solutions to revising the American diet as we know it. Enter celebrity product designer, Yves Béhar, and his new Y Water beverage. Conceived as a low-calorie, vitamin-packed alternative to sugary drinks for kids, Y Water is a truly innovative way to package a healthier drink via its reusable building-block bottles. The DNA-like, interlocking food-safe bottles can be used as a toy after the organic beverage is sipped down, providing a two-for-one punch for sweet snack and playtime creativity.
When one thinks of toy cars for little ones, one typically conjures up images of die-cast Matchbox race cars with broad white stripes and tail fins. But in this new era of innovative product design - where the battery-packed has been redefined, it is refreshing to find renewable energy alternatives to toy cars and trucks as we know them.
Enter the World’s Smallest Solar Racing Car – certainly too small to be a flashy Formula One kiddie vehicle or even drivable for that matter, but what this Lilliputian roadster lacks in size, it totally makes up for in power – real green zip power – not to mention full-throttle cuteness!
There is no doubt that kids are spending more and more time in front of home computers these days – surfing, gaming, and tuning in to the power of virtual connectivity. Couple this with more sedentary lifestyles, childhood obesity, and pressing environmental concerns, and there is a heck of a lot that we have to be engaged with as parents. One of our readers at Inhabitat tipped us off on a new game that is meant to teach (or rather visually demonstrate) the excesses of environmental and household consumption. ‘Eco Ego’ is a quirkily animated foray into the nature of ecology, but all in all, we were amused by the game’s cute graphics and well-intended message.
All new parents know first hand the trials and tribulations of trying to maintain a sense of order in a topsy-turvy household. Despite our best team efforts, stashes of baby gear, litterings of toys, and supplies of child-rearing essentials begin to dot the landscape formerly known as ‘adultville’. For some, this is as daunting as an unattended pile of laundry, for others it is just part of the territory. Thankfully, Q Collection Junior’s Stella Stackables provide a hip and stylish way for families to organize and artfully conceal the messiness of day-to-day living. Collect two or three modules or create a whole geometric wall assemblage. They are the perfect solution for parents who refuse to sacrifice style for comfort and storage ease.
Let’s face it folks, there is an ever-increasing demand for truly functional green gear for today’s busy families on the go. Couple that with deep concern over the planet that we are passing on to the next generation, and it’s enough to really keep you awake at night - besides the obvious parenting demands! Enter Fleurville’s eco-fabulous line of recycled plastic bottle fabric totes and packs that keep (on average) ten 600ml plastic water bottles out of the landfill! We love their Spring 2008 floral prints and clean graphic contours. These spacious and lightweight totes and shoulder bags function equally well as diaper bags or simple on-the-go carryalls. Fleurville makes parenting a breeze by sending the right message to little ones looking on from their strollers as inheritors of the planet.
Though creating a green nursery or playroom can typically be a real expenditure for families with growing needs, there are some rather cost-effective and stylish options for designer households that abide by form + function fabulousness. Kid-friendly tables and chairs by Knú are a great choice for parents who do not want to compromise their design tastes for practicality. Knú’s eco-mod tables and chairs will set you up in enviro-friendly, color-coordinated style via the knú-est standards for play that is meant to last and last - while looking great, too!
If you have been hunting high and low for some eco-chic threads for your little ones, look no further as Fauna graphic tees are perhaps the most unique and eco-friendly designs out there. These adorably rockin’ tees are printed here in NYC with water-based inks and dyes on organic cotton. Multi-talented designer Ross Menuez has created this rather ‘wild’ collection as part of the Fauna series for the designer collective, Areaware.
Inhabitots parents love any opportunity to repurpose great design materials, so we were totally excited to come across these super-stylish INKE wallpaper kits made from vintage stock. Recycling that migrates across your child’s bedroom or playroom walls as a herd of elephants, giraffes, crocodiles, ostriches, monkeys, rhinos and lions could not be cuter! Dutch designer Inke Heiland has created an ‘old-as-new’ way for families to cultivate their wild side. What a great way to let loose and go green at home!
It’s not always easy to get wee ones to eat their veggies and greens, but with Bambu’s line of kid-sized utensils, there now is an enticing way to make eating stylish, fun, and eco-friendly, too! Made from certified-organically grown bamboo, Bambu’s adorable kids line is the first-of-its-kind, providing a durable and natural alternative to the usual plastics. They’re lighter and stronger than wood, heat and stain resistant, and thankfully won’t absorb food flavors.
Imagine children’s furniture that is totally convertible as your little one grows and adapts to new eating routines and seating arrangements. Better yet, what if Mom or Dad could use the same chair to dine with little ones around the kitchen table? Too good to be true? Argington Modern Children’s Furniture has literally raised the bar for how to raise our little ones. The adjustable Argington Babylon Toddler High Chair defines sustainable design for future generations, as good solid investment pieces prove to have lasting value and multi-functional use for the whole family!
It’s a real comfort to know that some of the most innovative and versatile contemporary furniture pieces on the eco design front are for precious newborns and cute tots (and the parents who love and want the very best for them!) We’ve seen an explosion of green baby products from great design companies like Modern Seed, Speesees (highlighted in our Holiday Gift Guide for Kids,) and even the adult-favorite, Design Within Reach. A real stand-out as an eco modern nursery investment in this niche is Ooba and the gorgeous pieces in their Nest Collection. The Ooba bassinet looks as good as any other design piece in the rest of your home and sustainably compliments your lifestyle in the most modern and functional way.
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