I remember going to Whole Foods once and seeing there a teddy bear–non-toxic, organic materials. It was lovely. Also, it was 30 dollars, for a relatively small bear. I did not buy it for my child and I could never get it out of my mind after that.Ever since, I have been looking for a more natural plush toy. My daughter loves stuffed animals, like any child. She does have a whole cohort of puppies. “All new materials, consisting of polyester fibers”–not my ideal thing, obviously.
Some of the plush toys out there I cannot even touch anymore, with their plasticky, unnatural feel. I kept looking all these years on labels, thinking maybe I’ll get lucky enough one day to find one which says “cotton fibers”. And yesterday it happened. In Target. Where I found a new line of stuffed toys called All-Natural, made by miYim. The biggest size is around 15 dollars, and the smallest is only 5. It is not organic, but it is untreated cotton, with natural (mineral and soy) coloring. And they are beautiful. Don’t you think?
My daughter chose the dog again. That’s fine with me. Because she put the plastic baby doll back in the shelf.
She actually wanted a baby doll. She had looked at all the babies and, as a very responsible child that she is, she picked up the smallest, two dollar one. “Can I take the baby home, mami?”.
But mami told her no. “It’s made of plastic. It gives off dangerous fumes. It’s not good for your health. Don’t you like this cute, natural teddy bear?”
“No, mami. I only like the baby.”
“But it is bad for your health and for the planet. It’s made of plastic. Pick up a nice, natural, soft, cotton toy.” And she did. My amazing child. She put the baby doll back and chose this cute dog. I knew I was doing the right thing, because I have to instill these values in her already, but it didn’t feel good, not letting her have the cheap toy she had her heart set on.
Later in the evening she would tell her father that the baby doll was made of plastic. “Bad!”
