Comments on: Just Say No to Cheap Plastic Crap

By: birthday sayings for kids

birthday sayings for kids — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:57:01 +0000

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By: Jennifer Parker

Jennifer Parker — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:22:00 +0000

Does anyone know where you can go to get plastic toddler eating utensils that are not made in China? Everything in the stores seems to be from China and I really don’t like the idea of my son putting plastic from China in his mouth. We are trying to teach him to eat with a fork and spoon.

Why not skip the plastic and use regular stainless or even silver? That’s probably how you learned to eat! If you can’t find stainless at a baby shop, try a thrift store or consignment shop. Good luck! — Lynn

By: Just say NO to cheap plastic crap. Oh, and plant a tree with your kids. « Mommy Means Business

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:21:10 +0000

[...] too late to save Easter this year, but it’s never too late to curb our consumption of Cheap Plastic Crap. You know what I’m talking about: the Happy Meal toys, the rings, tops, balls and other [...]

By: Nancy mathew

Nancy mathew — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:16:11 +0000

I totally with you. On my son’s birthday I gave out these biodegradable gift bags, bought from http://www.thegreenaura.com They are cheap and I could write the kids name on the bags with a fabric marker. I filled those with choclate gronola bars..all the kids loved it. Thsy stil use is for candies etc.

Nancy, thanks for the comment and for the tip on greenaura - I hadn’t heard of them before but they have some great stuff. I actually have a post coming up on this topic and I’ll mention them in the post. — Lynn

By: Caroline

Caroline — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 04:17:16 +0000

CPC drives me nuts…….and so does LCPC (Large Cheap Plastic Crap) Do you have any advice on how to get friends and relatives to STOP buying LCPC for my 2 1/2 year-old?? I have tried to casually mention we prefer well made wooden toys (and ONE nice toy not five cheap toys). And I have sent email links for several eco-friendly toy companies. I feel like I should have some control on this subject and not just be “grateful” for the gifts. Any tips?? Caroline

Hi Caroline, thanks for visiting Organicmania and leaving a comment! I have been in your shoes (still am, in fact), so I feel your pain. This is a really tricky issue because it crosses into “giving.” It’s understandable that some people take offense at seemingly being told what to buy, whereas others understand and are happy to oblige! Unfortunately, most Americans can’t make the leap you propose…equating a smaller, higher quality item with say, five cheap toys. It’s in our culture…Bigger is Better. Do you have a small play area? Maybe you could mention that you’re running out of space for all the big toys….or simply start donating the toys you receive to hospitals, homeless shelters and the like. If friends and relatives notice that the gifts they give you are not being used, perhaps eventually they’ll pick up on all your hints. Alternately, have you framed the discussion in environmental terms? Maybe that would help. Good luck! — Lynn

By: Green Tacky, Tacky at OrganicmaniaOrganic Mania

Green Tacky, Tacky at OrganicmaniaOrganic Mania — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 04:45:55 +0000

[...] tonight we trudged out to Target, that fine purveyer of Cheap Plastic Crap, to get some energy-efficient LED Christmas lights. Regrettably, LEDs are seriously lacking in the [...]

By: The Not Quite Crunchy Parent

The Not Quite Crunchy Parent — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:30:15 +0000

Hi Lynn,

Great to see you speaking out on this issue. I am enraged by the plastic crap that ends up all over the house! For parties we start by giving REUSABLE goody bags- little metal buckets, cloth bags baskets. We then fill them with polished rocks, small wooden toys you can pick up for $1-2.00 dollars, tiny stuffed animals, pipe cleaners, playcords and other small natural prizes.

I have been recruiting my DS in my fight against plastic junk - his 5-year-old vocabulary not includes phthalates and BPA - LOL - kids can be great allies in this battle.

Hi there, thanks so much for your comment! I agree, but it’s funny to see the parents’ reaction to what our little environmentalists say. At a birthday party recently, my 5-year-old son told all the guests that it was a bad idea to release the balloons because they would end up in the ocean where they could hurt the fish. There were a lot of incredulous sighs and rolled eyes among the parents when he said that! — Lynn

By: I knew I liked her « Toddler Planet

I knew I liked her « Toddler Planet — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 02:09:29 +0000

[...] Know who else I like? Lynn of Organic Mania. She had an awesome post last month about Cheap Plastic Toys – a major concern in terms of safety AND environmental concerns. [...]

By: WhyMommy

WhyMommy — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:12:50 +0000

I love, love, love this post. I’m sorry I missed it when it was new! Thanks for the great ideas, Lynn. I’m thinking maybe a book exchange for us mamas might work too!

– Thanks so much for the compliment, WhyMommy, and for dropping by. Yours is the most well written Mommy blog around, and I think of you as the ultimate blogger, so your nice words are high praise to me. You’ve made my day! — Lynn

By: rejin

rejin — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 15:56:20 +0000

Last year I made little fabric bags rather than give cheap plastic bags for the goodie bags. This year I am going to put in leftover Halloween candy, and other things that are consumable. I was thinking about those temporary tattoos, and maybe crayons. And, how about recirculating all the cheap plastic crap? Instead of throwing it away after a few days, collect them for the next set of gift bags? It is still plastic, but not bought new, and the stuff could be kept out of the landfill for a while this way.

Rejin - Great idea. If you have a pic of the fabric bags, email it to me and I’ll post it! Thanks for sharing! — Lynn