Announcing the Top 10 Green Toys Test: Nominate Your Favorite Eco Friendly Toy

The search is on for the Top 10 Eco Friendly Toys of 2009, and we need your help!

Goddard Child Development Centers and EcoChildsPlay are proud to sponsor the Second Annual Eco-Friendly Toy Test, which will evaluate the best green toys for preschool and early elementary-aged children based on the creative, child-engaging qualities, the interactive qualities, the price, and the eco friendliness of the product.

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As green parents, we want to know just how environmentally friendly our kids’ toys are, and we want to know which ones are safe toys, because we care about the health of both our children and the planet. We also want to know which natural toys are engaging to children, and which ones have the most potential for creative and social play.

With this in mind, the Goddard Schools and EcoChildsPlay Eco Friendly Toy Test is accepting submissions from toy makers which meet the following criteria:

• the toy is eco friendly
• the toy is affordable (under $25)
• the toy encourages creative, social, and engaging play activities
• the toy is interactive and lends itself to child-initiated play
• the toy is appropriate for preschool to early elementary school-aged children

The green toy submissions will be tested by Goddard preschoolers (for play value) and also by Green Options’ own and one of the founding members of the Greenmoms Carnival (@greenmoms) Maryanne Conlin. Maryanne will evaluate entries to ensure they meet the standards we green parents champion.

The top green toys will be awarded the Eco Friendly Toy seal and listed in the Top Ten Eco Friendly Toys of 2009. In addition, preschoolers at participating Goddard Schools will get to play with the Top Ten and then name the “Local Preschoolers Picks” for the top kid’s choices.

The contest is open to environmentally safe toy submissions until October 1, 2009, and the winners announced at the end of October. To enter, download the Eco Friendly Toy Test entry form and read the guidelines.

And now we need your help:

What’s your favorite eco friendly toy under $25? Please leave your nominations in the comments. (I nominate _____ toy company because _____.)

If you’re on Twitter, please complete and Tweet this using the hashtag #bestgreentoys:

@EcoChildsPlay, I nominate ______ for the #bestgreentoys contest.

If you know a green toy company, please reach out to them to enter the contest by sending them a link to this post.

There is a Flickr Stream set up (bestgreentoys) for you to upload a picture of your child with their favorite green toy (tagged with #bestgreentoys) to suggest that the company should enter the contest, and we have a Best Green Toys Facebook Page (please become a fan and upload pictures and leave comments). We will bring you updates when submissions are received, so you can weigh in with your comments.

About Goddard: Goddard Schools was named the number one child care franchise by Entrepreneur for the eighth year in a row, and is founded on the curriculum of the creation of a safe and nurturing environment for young children based upon learning through play. Many Goddard Schools offer eco-friendly features such as Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), recycled flooring products and environmental learning packages. Goddard also joined World Wildlife Fund’s 2009 Earth Hour for the Stepping Up for the Environment event, a nationwide effort in which more than 40,000 children helped to spread the message that by working together, each one of them can make a positive impact in working toward a sustainable future.

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