Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Ecofriendly High Chairs

Pondering the essence of an avocado.

When I first started to research high chairs, I was looking for wood. I checked out vinyl chairs by the big brands, just to see some of the desirable features people seek. Some of the chairs looked like they were made by LaZboy, with children reclining, lots of padding, and massive stands that take up half the room. These beasts, usually composed of PVC, and other harmful petroleum-based products that off-gas, are either passed down (which is the best way to acquire them, as opposed to purchasing new) or end up in landfills for the next 16,000 years. Luckily, there are better options these days. Here are a few of the ones I have found.

Stokke
The Trip Trapp is attractive and simple to use. They are easy to assemble, from the folks I know who have them. They come in a bunch of fun colors and they are created from sustainably harvested wood in Europe. They become toddler chairs and can be used as the child grows up. One of my friends wishes that the Stokke had a tray, because the surrounding mess can be a bit laboursome.

The advantage of no tray is that your tot gets to be part of the festivities, joining the family for meals at the table. This can encourage better table manners and allows the babes to feel they are truly part of the scene. Children can easily climb up into it, once they are toddlers, which is a nice feature also. It is sleek and fits neatly with many different styles.

Svan
The Svan is a good chair made from sustainably harvested wood. It can last a lifetime because the chair adapts into the teen years (which is a nice marketing point, but as some of you know, once kids get big enough, they want to sit in an adult chair and want nothing to do with their former baby accoutrement.) From a design stand-point, this chair is modern and functional. There are many color choices of both wood and cushion and it takes up minimal space, however I would not bother getting the cushion. The kids don’t need it to be comfy and there is a huge gunge factor.

Some people get frustrated by the chair because the straps are hard to reach once a child is placed in the seat. You have to dig around to reach them. These chairs can also get really funky, from food. There are many nooks and crannies to clean and it can take some time but the chairs do come with a BPA-free tray that snaps onto the wooden tray. For cleaning we have hosed them down, brought them into the shower (not advised) and scrubbed them outside to get them clean. It is possible – it just takes some work. I have yet to see a high chair that doesn’t require some serious upkeep. One other note, the darker wood tends to chip and fade from the plastic tray. This can make the chair look kind of shoddy.

The Stokke is probably one of the easier to maintain, although the ensuing debris surrounding the chair (on the floor, table, family dog) and lack of tray might minimize the simplicity. The Stokke is a bit easier to incorporate as it truly fits at the dining table and brings the family together. The Svan can purportedly do the same, but the chairs are just a bit more awkward. On the plus side, they encourage good posture, since kids are sitting upright. The Stokke, from what others have told me, is much easier to assemble than the Svan. The Svan took hours and the instructions (and accompanying DVD) were not all that simple, even for a seasoned Ikea assembler.

Safety 1st Wood High Chair
Made from New Zealand pine that is sustainable and renewable, the Safety First chairs are the cheapest of the three environmentally conscious brand-name choices listed. On the design front it is simple and unassuming. The chair may not be sleek or modern, but it gets the job done for a reasonable price.

Restaurant Style Wood High Chair
These things are inexpensive and simple. You can just google restaurant high chair and find a ton of them. They do not have trays, which means it is table eating for your little one. They are usually inexpensive because they are not made from quality wood (I could not find one that stated it came from environmentally conscious production) but if you are getting one used, it is a great way to go.

If you prefer to just do a booster, and avoid having a big high chair to deal with, the HandySitt booster seems to be popular. It is sleek and simple and many people like to use them for traveling or heading out to a restaurant. There is not a ton of cleaning and kids are part of the family meal.

The best one can do, when acquiring any baby/kid gear is try for used first! There is such a vast array of resources such as Craigslist, Babyloot, Zwaggle, and eBay not to mention friends, family, TAG SALES! We found all of our outdoor toys at tag sales this year. It felt good to recycle and not have to purchase anything in a store. My feeling is, even if it is plastic and a bit of an eyesore, if you are keeping it from ending up in a landfill, that is a good thing. Virtually anything you need can be found if you look carefully. Often you can find quality items if you just invest a bit of time.

Quality, Not Quantity: Organic and Natural Toys

When we first started to register for baby gifts we knew that we wanted to avoid being inundated with primary colored hunks of plastic that scream encouraging jargon (”great job!!” said the machine…) whilst playing a neon light show that could stimulate anyone into a state of ADD. Now that my kids are playing more and starting to cruise around, I have been looking into more wholesome toys they can interact with; nibble, drag, pummel, hug and so on. There are a few toy sites that have good, quality toys. With today’s toxin scares, purchasing well-made, non-toxic toys takes a bit of research but is worth the effort. Here are a few toys and sites that we love. Sometimes it costs a bit more to buy something sustainably produced, but to us it is better to have a few good toys than hundreds of pieces of landfill fodder. Not all toys on these websites are organic or ‘natural,’ (depending on what that means for you) so, as with all things, read the fine print. There are a few sites that have mostly organic and natural items, such as Tiny Bird (see below.)
This dragon from Lana Organic is colorful and well-made.
Under the Nile makes quality toys and clothing that seems to last forever, surviving many washings. These stuffed grapes have been in our house since the babes were born and they still play with them. Under the Nile also makes fantastic organic swaddling blankets that really make the best baby burrito!
Tiny Birds Organics carries lots of environmentally conscious toys. Plan Toys, the company that makes this rolling snail, has won many awards for their eco-friendly toys that stimulate imaginations and promote development.
This organic ball, made by Sigikid looks soft and inviting. All of their products are made using traditional Bavarian craftsmanship and are machine washable.
Uncle Goose blocks use naturally derived inks and sustainable wood. These blocks are well made and have so much to look at: pictures, numbers, letters. We love them.

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