Two scenes from an out-of-touch industry fighting for its life.

The U.S. plastic bag industry is fighting plastic bag bans and taxes in California at the state and local level, as well as rolling out a major "grassroots" campaign to "save the plastic bag." From Plastics News:

A coalition of plastics industry organizations, including the California Film Extruders and Converters Association, the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., the American Chemistry Council and SaveThePlasticBag.com, are working to sway public opinion in a state where communities and the Legislature have proposed a variety of bag bans and taxes.

Kevin Kelly [vice president of Rolling Hills, Calif.-based CFECA, chairman of its legislative committee and, in his day job, CEO of Emerald Packaging Inc. of Union City, Calif.] drew a line between what he considers reasonable fees on plastics bags — 1-2 cents — and the 25 cent fee in certain pending California legislation. [Link]

Of course, the whole goal of such high taxes is to discourage the reliance on landfill-ready, petroleum-based plastic bags and encourage the use of reusable bags, which we've been using for years in our household without any hardship (even our four-year-old has gotten into the reusable bag scene). Luckily, U.S. plastics interests have friends across our northern border working on that one. They've turned in a downright misleading study claiming that reusable bags pose a public health hazard. Although, as Barf Blog points out, this would only be true if you (a) never washed them, and (b) drank water from them. Read all about it here. [Via BoingBoing]

As a parent your house is filled with them, you are constantly buying or receiving them as gifts and you are likely tripping over them on a daily basis. Toys are a huge part of you and your children’s lives, so it’s a great place to start thinking more green and benefit your families’ health as well as the health of the planet. Here are four quick questions you can ask yourself when considering bringing a toy into your home.

1. What is it made of? Avoid plastic toys when possible, since they are made from non-renewable fossil fuels. If you are choosing plastic, make sure it is PVC-free. PVC can contain phthalates and heavy metals which are toxic, something you especially don’t want in toys that are going to end up in your child’s mouth. Consider choosing wood or fabric toys. Make sure wood toys are painted in non-toxic paint and preferably from wood that was sustainable harvested. One of my favorite toy companies is Plan Toys. They manufacture their toys in Thailand and have a genuine commitment to the environment. All their toys are made from organic discarded rubber wood trees. They use non-toxic glue, water-based dyes and soy- and water-based ink. Under the Nile is one company that manufactures fabric toys from organic cotton.


2. Where did it travel from? Although 80-90% of toys in the US are imported from China, it has become much easier to find toys manufactured in the US due to the internet and the recent recalls of Made-in-China toys. Buying a toy made in the U.S. often means fewer carbon emissions, because the toy need not be brought over from a foreign country. (The relative costs of shipping versus the resource-intensive "last mile" of the trucking industry can make this a bit more complicated.) An guaranteed-to-be-greener option is to purchase secondhand toys from consignment stores, garage sales or websites like craigslist or eBay. Giving toys a second life keeps them out of the landfill and your child will have a new toy without any resources used.


3. How durable is it? Many people hesitate to buy wood toys because of the price tag. Instead of buying many cheap toys, I opt for buying fewer toys, but spending the extra money to buy well-made toys. In the end I find that it is worth it to spend the extra money to buy a toy that will last through multiple children, maybe even multiple generations, instead of landing in the trash after a month’s worth of play.


4. Does it require batteries? Avoiding toys that need batteries takes away your need to buy and dispose of batteries, which are toxic and need to be disposed of properly. It also takes away the worry that your child might end up handling the batteries.

As you take steps to green your children’s toys, use the opportunity to teach your child about issues about the environment and how even their choice of toys can make a difference for the planet.