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Safe, Sustainable Toys from Luke’s Toy Factory

As more informed consumers, we’re always on the lookout for more natural products for both ourselves and our children to eat and to put on our bodies. But what about the toys we give to our children? Thanks to the efforts of a new company – Luke’s Toy Factory – there will soon be toys that are made with organic materials, made 100 percent from materials from the United States. In addition to being safe for our children, these materials are also sustainable.

Luke’s Toy Factory is a Connecticut-based business founded by father and son team, Jim and Luke Barber. The company is currently in the midst of a KickStarter project aimed at raising funds to prove the viability of manufacturing eco-friendly, sustainable and safe children’s toys in the United States. The “Eco-Truck” – a toy fire truck designed with five interlocking parts – represents the culmination of over two years of research and development conducted by the Barbers into the incorporation of organic materials such as sawdust and wheat straw in injection molded plastics.

Using a Connecticut manufacturer with over 40 years of experience in the injection molding field, Luke’s Toy Factory will be able to oversee all aspects of production and material sourcing. This direct oversight ensures that only the highest quality products reach children’s toy boxes.

These materials are the by-products of industrial farming and manufacturing operations here in the United States. In the past they would have been discarded, but their use as fillers not only gives them a second life, it enables the production of toys that are sturdier than plastic products. The organic material allows the toys to be injection molded like plastic, while retaining the look and feel of traditional wooden toys.

As a matter of additional safety and protection, toys from Luke’s Toy factory made with this new composite material will not contain any surface paint, glue or chemical additives such as phthalates or BPA, significantly increasing the safety of the products. Instead, the toys will get their color from, FDA-approved pigments mixed into the composite material before molding, eliminating safety issues such as tainted paint, flaking and splintering that have long plagued the toy industry.

By supporting the KickStarter project you will be among the first to pre-order the Eco-Truck, which should be available for delivery to you by this fall.