Toy Safety

At Design for Play, we are parents too – so safety is always top priority. All of our products are made entirely of unpainted, unstained, smooth, non-toxic wood with a linseed oil finish. All toys are CE Certified, which means they conform to the highest international standards of toy safety as required by the European Union. Design for Play applauds and conforms to the July 2008 US legislation which established higher standards for toy safety in the USA.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns parents to avoid the following features in toys:

Painted toys	The rich colors in our toys come from the natural wood. We use no paint and no stains. Toys are treated with all natural linseed oil for a safe finish.
Toys with toxic materials	No PVC plastic. No vinyl. No lead paint. No phthalates.
Sharp edges	Smooth edges on all toys.
Small toys	Toys are not small and have secure parts.
Breakable toys	Toys are made from durable solid wood and risk of breaking is minimal.
Toys with cords that pose a danger of strangulation	No long cords or cords with beads.
Toys with strong magnets	Some Design for Play toys come with weak magnets that hold parts together. The magnets are embedded in the wood within toys that are too large to be swallowed. The magnets in our toys have been tested in an independent lab and do not contain lead.
Toys with small parts or loosely secured parts	Toys are cleverly built of all wood with secure moving parts.
Other dangerous features	No nails, pins, wires, or pinching parts. No electric toys.

At Design for Play, we value safe toys and ethical production.

Safe Toys
Be careful! Many wood toys being sold in the USA are coated with harmful finishes and glazes which are not considered safe. Since 2007, more than 100 toy lines were recalled due to lead safety standard violations, adding up to millions of toys throughout the USA. These have included toys made in China and the USA.

Our toys are a solution to the problem of unsafe toys. Each Design for Play toy is hand crafted in China from safe woods and linseed oil. Our toys have no paint, no stains and no toxins.

While many of the toys recalled in 2007 were from China, our toys are the safest available in the USA. We do not use chemicals, pesticides, or any type of unnatural materials in our workshop production. Our toys are wood and linseed oil. That's it!

National Geographic’s “Green Guide” recommends buying all natural solid wood toys like the ones we provide. “In terms of children’s health, an unfinished solid wood toy is completely harmless! Natural oil finishes such as linseed and walnut oil are safest.” For the full toy product report, click here.

Design for Play is an eco-conscious and ethically run company
From the products to the supply chain to everthing in between, every aspect of the company is run with an environmentally responsible and highly ethical approach. Our toys, packaging, packing materials are 100% recyclable and even the remains from the production process (sawdust, woodchips, etc) are recycled. As a former human rights lawyer, Melissa insists on the highest standards of labor practices from Design for Play's supplier. Our supplier shares our ethical production values. The workshop conditions are maintained at the highest standards for the health and well-being of all employees.

Safe, eco-friendly, handcrafted toys like ours cost more than other toys, but our customer feedback indicates that people are willing to pay a little more for the peace of mind that their toys are 100% safe and ethically produced.

For more information about toy safety, please visit the following websites:

US Consumer Product Safety Commission - sign up for recall alerts here!
www.cpsc.gov

US Public Interest Research Groups
www.toysafety.net

Toy Safety Blogs: