Environmentally conscious parents can choose sustainable baby wipes and forego plastic toys for more eco-friendly alternatives, but there’s still the conundrum of what to do with the deluge of diapers their kids will go through. Reusable cloth diapers are labor intensive, and only a few cities have services to which parents can outsource all that washing.   Disposable diapers, though a blessing for convenience, have been a blight on the environment; in the United States alone, an average of 20 billion disposable diapers are tossed into the trash annually, and they take about 500 years to decompose. Now parents have another option: shipping their baby’s dirty diapers off to be composted—as long as they get them from diaper subscription company Dyper.       Dyper has teamed up with TerraCycle to launch its ReDyper program, through which subscribers can send back their soiled Dyper diapers in provided bags and specially designed boxes that meet United Nations Haz Mat shipping standards. When the box is full, parents can download a prepaid shipping label from the TerraCycle website, ship it away, and the diapers will end up at TerraCycle distribution centers, then industrial composting facilities that TerraCycle partners with, and ultimately, be turned into compost used for things like vegetation on highway medians.       The ReDyper program is a new addition to Dyper’s subscription model, which first launched in 2018 and offers at-home delivery of bamboo diapers without chlorine, latex, alcohol, perfumes, PVC, lotions, and the chemicals tributyltin, or phthalates. They’re also free of ink, as they don’t have any patterns printed on them. Disposable diapers often contain a few of those ingredients, whether in chlorine-bleached cores, infused lotions, or fasteners which have phthalates to add flexibility to the plastic—and though they’re generally seen as safe for babies, they have harmful environmental impacts. Other companies do offer bamboo diapers that are billed as more eco-friendly than disposables with all those added elements, but if those diapers still end up in landfills, they won’t decompose.   Since its start, Dyper has said its bamboo diapers can be composted at home—as long as they don’t contain any fecal matter, and you don’t use that compost for food gardens—but Taylor Shearer, content manager at Dyper, admits that’s not feasible for all parents. “We talked to many moms that wish that they had that opportunity to compost, because they’re living in New York City in an apartment on the 24th floor and they have no option to do that,” she says. This ReDyper program, which has been in the works for nine months, fills that gap—and now allows all soiled Dyper diapers to be composted—in a way that’s hopefully easy enough to get people on board.     “It’s got to be super convenient. It’s got to be, frankly, as close to convenient as possible relative to throwing it out,” says TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky. This is a brand-new venture for TerraCycle; the private recycling company has never had a national platform for handling diapers, though it does run a small recycling program in Amsterdam with Pampers. Still, U.S.-wide diaper waste is different: Here it totals 3.5 million tons each year, and Szaky says there’s no diaper recycling program available in the country. TerraCycle also hasn’t ever composted diapers before, but Szaky says he’s confident the current composting infrastructure can handle this demand, and that it will only compost Dyper diapers for nonfood supply areas.   In terms of how convenient it is to set aside dirty diapers until enough are ready to be shipped, Szaky says parents are already doing this. A parent himself, he’d simply fill a Diaper Genie until he was ready to take the trash out. “And, you know, I felt really bad when I was using disposable diapers, all the waste that’s produced,” he adds. “And then we also tried cotton diapers, and that’s a huge amount of work . . . This [ReDyper program] is sort of one that helps solve all those pieces.”     According to most experts and anecdotal accounts, a baby can go through 2,500 to 3,000 diapers in their first year. That’s a lot of waste, and if parents are using Dyper—whether to only get diapers sent to them or to additionally send them back to be composted—it’s also a lot of shipping. Shearer says the company addresses that environmental concern by working with carbon offset nonprofit Cool Effect; the amount offset is noted for each delivery, and subscribers receive offset certificates from Cool Effect after each delivery via email.   The ReDyper program costs $39, on top of the regular Dyper subscription, which is $68 for a four-week supply. The amount of diapers you receive in each supply depends on the size you’re ordering—newborn diapers come 260 at a time, extra-large diapers for children who weigh more than 28 pounds come 100 at a time—though subscribers can request an emergency delivery if they run out, which is free of charge but can only be done a limited number of times. This may be a bit more expensive than other options (a 136 pack of Pampers 16-28 pound diapers costs around $40 at Target), but Bruce Miller, president of Dyper, says the value is obvious for their customers.     “The value isn’t just calculated on the specific cost. We are not the least expensive and we’re not the most expensive, but we feel when we take this whole approach of using safe ingredients such as bamboo and nontoxic chemicals, and we don’t print on our diapers and our boxes, and offsetting, and trying to compost and getting people to compost, we feel the value is very real,” he says.   On average, Dyper currently sees about 15,000 subscribers ordering new subscriptions or refilling subscriptions every four weeks, and Miller says the company is growing about 10% month-over-month. “We feel that as long as we’re able to keep it simplified and explain our overall value proposition, which does include the environment and what we’re trying to do, we very rarely get price pushback.”   This is the first national diaper composting program in the U.S., but both Dyper and TerraCycle hope others in the industry follow their lead. “Diapers are an unavoidable thing . . . and they are a phenomenal waste stream, so I think it’s important for parents to acknowledge that there’s an issue,” Szaky says. “And then the best way to take responsibility is to vote for organizations, and you vote by supporting these organizations, by purchasing their products that are helping bring out solutions. And then the hope is that as the market sees that happened, that other companies in the space start reacting and bring out other solutions, and then effectively rise the tide so that hopefully 20 years from now, every diaper has some form of recyclability, compostability, or reusability.”

If we stop and think about the number of diapers that new parents go through, we can just imagine the toll that that amount of waste takes on the environment. According to experts, a baby can go through 2,500 to 3,000 diapers in their first year alone. In the United States, an estimated 20 billion disposable diapers are thrown away annually, and they take about 500 years to decompose.   Although reusable cloth diapers are an option, the amount of time and effort it takes to wash dirty diapers is incredible and few cities offer services that wash cloth diapers. Luckily, a new option is available for eco-conscious and time-strapped parents. Dyper, a diaper subscription company, composts dirty diapers.   Working with TerraCycle, Dyper had launched its ReDyper program, which allows subscribers to return their dirty Dyper diapers in special bags and boxes that adhere to United Nations HazMat shipping standards. After the box is full, parents can print a prepaid shipping label from the TerraCycle website and send their diapers to the TerraCycle distribution centers, which will deliver them to industrial composting facilities that turn the diapers into compost used for such things as vegetation on highway medians.     The ReDyper program has just been added to Dyper’s subscription model, which was first launched in 2018. The subscription delivers bamboo diapers that unlike plastic diapers use no ink and contain no chlorine, latex, alcohol, perfumes, PVC, lotions, tributyltin, or phthalates. Although other companies sell bamboo diapers, if they are not composted, they’ll simply end up in a landfill, where they won’t decompose.   The ReDyper program allows all soiled Dyper diapers to be composted. “It’s got to be super convenient. It’s got to be, frankly, as close to convenient as possible relative to throwing it out,” says TerraCycle CEO Tom Szaky.   TerraCycle, a private recycling company, used to run a small recycling program in Amsterdam with Pampers. Their new venture with Dyper gives them a national platform in the U.S., where diaper waste totals 3.5 million tons per year. Meanwhile, there are no other diaper recycling programs available anywhere in the country.       As for the carbon footprint of receiving and sending the diapers, Dyper works with carbon offset nonprofit Cool Effect, which offsets the amount of each delivery, giving subscribers offset certificates from Cool Effect after each delivery via email. The ReDyper program costs $39, along with the regular Dyper subscription, which is $68 for a four-week supply of diapers, yet Bruce Miller, president of Dyper, believes the expense is justified.   “The value isn’t just calculated on the specific cost. We are not the least expensive and we’re not the most expensive, but we feel when we take this whole approach of using safe ingredients such as bamboo and nontoxic chemicals, and we don’t print on our diapers and our boxes, and offsetting, and trying to compost and getting people to compost, we feel the value is very real,” he says.

Dyper wants you to send in your poop – or rather, your baby’s poop. For those who subscribe to the diaper service, Dyper will take back his compostable diapers once the baby has finished his work and arrange composting in his ReDyper program, a partnership with waste management company TerraCycle.   Subscribers receive ReDyper hazmat shipping boxes and labels that go to TerraCycle, which sends them to an industrial composting facility of a partner. Although it is not the only diaper service, Dyper says the product is the first compostable diaper ever made. But it is up to the user to ensure that the diapers are actually composted and not sent to a landfill (where they are not biodegraded) with other waste.   A subscription to Dyper – which delivers between 100 and 260 diapers per week, depending on the baby – costs $ 68 per month. ReDyper will costs $ 39 extra per month. The company says its diapers are made “with viscose fibers from responsibly produced bamboo” that subscribers can compost themselves at commercial facilities.   Dyper says that it purchases CO2 offsets on behalf of Cool Effect customers for every delivery. Dyper CEO Sergio Radovcic said in an email The edge that the company has expansion plans “to limit the further impact of shipping the diapers to and from our composting sites,” adding that “our main goal is to prevent diapers from being thrown to the landfill.”  

Did you know that the global cosmetics industry produces 120 billion units of packaging every year? These 120 billion units contribute to the loss of 18 million acres of forest every single year, according to research conducted by Zero Waste Week and published on the Stylist. Yep, I was devastated to learn this, too. As a beauty editor who tests and receives tons of products on a weekly basis, I’m often left feeling disheartened by how much plastic and waste is used in the packaging. That’s why whenever I hit pan on my favorite bronzer or finish my clarifying shampoo, I make it a point to recycle the leftovers in the appropriate bins — or at least what I thought were the appropriate bins. As it turns out, recycling cosmetic packaging correctly involves more research and information than I thought.

 

To find out how to recycle my beauty products the right way,  I reached out to Alex Payne, a publicist for TerraCycle —- a recycling program that offers a sustainable solution for those hard-to-recycle items. Read on for his top tips.

 

Tip #1: Get Informed

“In general, plastic pollution is a main driver of the negative environmental consequences that result from not recycling otherwise recyclable products,” says Payne. While it may be easier to throw away your empty lipstick bullet in any old trash bag, not disposing of it the right way can have a lasting, negative impact on the planet.

 

Tip #2: Learn About Your City’s Recycling Regulations

Did you know that recycling restrictions vary by city? Generally, items made from glass, aluminum and basic #1 and #2 plastic (things like single-use water bottles and milk jugs) are accepted by most local programs. Unfortunately, Payne explains that many modern forms of beauty packaging contain complex materials that cannot be separated or processed by most municipal recycling centers. “A simple way to check your beauty product’s recyclability is to look up your town’s accepted waste via the database offered by Call2Recycle,” he says.

 

Tip #3: Dispose of the Excess Product — but NOT Down the Sink

This is the *most* important tip when it comes to recycling your beauty products. “Even if a product is technically recyclable through your curbside program, any leftover product can make the original product unrecyclable due to contamination,” says Payne. What’s worse is that if any other recyclables encounter the leftover residue, they, too, can become contaminated and therefore non-recyclable as well. So before recycling any beauty products, be sure to throw away any residual product in the garbage. Emptying products in the sink can be problematic if they contain ingredients like microbeads that can contribute to the ocean’s plastic pollution crisis if they come in contact with waterways, explains Payne.

 

Tip #4: Find Programs That Recycle the “Unrecyclable” Products

If you find that your products can’t be recycled through your municipal program, try finding a cosmetic recycling program that will do the work for you. For example, TerraCycle and Garnier have partnered to create a free recycling program for all brands of skin care, hair care and cosmetic packaging. You can recycle your products by joining the program, downloading a free shipping label and sending in your products where they will be melted down, pelletized and shaped into hard plastic to be used in things like shipping pallets and park benches. If your product cannot be recycled through your municipal program and is not accepted by any of TerraCycle’s free programs, Payne says you can also purchase one of TerraCycle’s zero-waste boxes, specifically the Beauty Products and Packaging Box, which allows you to recycle almost every kind of waste. Everything that is collected from these boxes get sorted and processed into raw materials that can be reused instead of being sent to landfill or incinerated.

 

Tip #5: Be Mindful When Buying Beauty Products

Another easy tip is to simply buy products that already come in sustainable packaging. Thankfully, there are more and more brands offering eco-friendly options to choose from. One of our favorites is Seed Phytonutrients, which even uses shower-friendly paper bottles that result in 60% less plastic than a traditional bottle. Oh, and the pumps from those bottles can be recycled for free via TerraCycle.

You know that special feeling of emotional exhaustion you get after an hour at the toy store with an indecisive child? (Yes, I’m a sucker.) Imagine that but for 15 hours, and you will know the simultaneous overwhelming and wonderful nature of New York Toy Fair. I spent a day and a half watching grown men and women play with the newest (and also oldest) toys out this year, and now I kind of want all of them.   Since I know that toy choice overwhelm is a thing for grownups too, I will spare you and save much of the fun intel I gathered to roll out throughout the year. But to get you prepared for what your kids might be begging for soon, here’s a quick overview of the trends that toymakers are betting on for 2020.  

Baby Yoda is everywhere

  Sorry, “The Child,” as I was kindly corrected multiple times over the past few days. Thanks to the Mandalorian’s secrecy, we still won’t be able to own these toys for a bit longer, but they were adorable to behold, however briefly. In August, LEGO will release a BrickHeadz versions of the little guy, and in September there’s an impressive kit for the Mandalorian’s ship, the Razor Crest, which does also include the Child and his foster dad.   Hasbro’s animatronic version of The Child doesn’t come out until December, but he’s already sold out. (“It” doesn’t seem like the right pronoun for this, sorry!) I am ready to search out the black market. He is CUTE.     We’ll have a much shorter wait for Mattel’s plush version, which (who?) comes out in May. Pre-order him here.  

Toys that won’t fill the Earth with plastic

  Every time I have bought my kid one of his beloved L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls I have wanted to weep about the amount of wasteful packaging involved in creating that all-important “unboxing” experience. But now the surprise is for me, because MGA Entertainment, which makes L.O.L., announced last week that it’s taking steps toward being more sustainable. First, the company partnered with TerraCycle, so that now you can mail the packaging to be recycled for free.  By this summer, the company said all L.O.L. accessory bags will be made of paper and degradable resin, and by next year all of the dolls’ packaging will be degradable.     MGA’s Little Tikes brand is one of several looking for a more sustainable plastic option for little kids toys. Little Tikes’ new GoGreen line is all made of recycled plastic. Some of Mattel’s Mega Bloks are made of plant-based material now, with the goal of making the entire Bloks brand plant-based, recyclable, or made of 100 percent recycled material in the next 10 years. That’s already the case with Green Toys, the toddler brand made entirely of recycled plastic.  

The real world & digital world can live in harmony at last

  Toymakers are listening to all of that parental anxiety over our kids being too addicted to their screens — but not so much that they’re tossing their digital content entirely. Instead, in nearly every booth I visited, there were toys that integrated an app, online game, or electronic gadget to go with the real-world product. There are Hot Wheels cars with chips to measure their speed, virtual reality goggles to help kids conduct science experiments and learn magic tricks (see: Professor Maxwell’s VR Science Lab), and an app for future engineers to make meticulous plans for their GraviTrax marble run.

Surprises and slime are 4-ever!

  I know “blind” boxes (those toys hidden in clever packaging until you buy them) are meant to encourage kids to collect all the toys, but they might serve another purpose too. Skip all the hemming and hawing at the store and buy one of these, sight unseen. My favorite surprises of the moment are the Blume Dolls, colorfully coiffed, spritely girls that pop out of a flower pot when you water them. In 2020, they’ll be getting Blume Baby Pops and Petal Pets. There’s also Mattel’s deadly cute entry into the category, Cloudees, which invites kids to add water and create cloud fluff before they unveil their new tiny pets. My Little Pony is also in on the reveal “magic.”   For the kids who prefer slime and war to birth and flowers, this fall, Skyrocket toys will release Mutaters, “alien-created” bio-mechanical warrior figures housed in a containment unit that requires a decoder to unlock before you can play with the monstrous mutants inside.   Parental nostalgia will go on, too   How many kids do you know who are really excited about Scooby-Do, Back to the Future, or Ghostbusters? Not a lot. But their parents might want to share their childhood fandoms, which is the logic many toymakers are banking on.     I mean, I was very excited about the Playmobil Delorean and Mattel’s Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, anyway. And after all, we’re the ones paying for these guys, right?

You know that special feeling of emotional exhaustion you get after an hour at the toy store with an indecisive child? (Yes, I’m a sucker.) Imagine that but for 15 hours, and you will know the simultaneous overwhelming and wonderful nature of New York Toy Fair. I spent a day and a half watching grown men and women play with the newest (and also oldest) toys out this year, and now I kind of want all of them.   Since I know that toy choice overwhelm is a thing for grownups too, I will spare you and save much of the fun intel I gathered to roll out throughout the year. But to get you prepared for what your kids might be begging for soon, here’s a quick overview of the trends that toymakers are betting on for 2020.  

Baby Yoda is everywhere

  Sorry, “The Child,” as I was kindly corrected multiple times over the past few days. Thanks to the Mandalorian’s secrecy, we still won’t be able to own these toys for a bit longer, but they were adorable to behold, however briefly. In August, LEGO will release a BrickHeadz versions of the little guy, and in September there’s an impressive kit for the Mandalorian’s ship, the Razor Crest, which does also include the Child and his foster dad.   Hasbro’s animatronic version of The Child doesn’t come out until December, but he’s already sold out. (“It” doesn’t seem like the right pronoun for this, sorry!) I am ready to search out the black market. He is CUTE.     We’ll have a much shorter wait for Mattel’s plush version, which (who?) comes out in May. Pre-order him here.  

Toys that won’t fill the Earth with plastic

  Every time I have bought my kid one of his beloved L.O.L. Surprise! Dolls I have wanted to weep about the amount of wasteful packaging involved in creating that all-important “unboxing” experience. But now the surprise is for me, because MGA Entertainment, which makes L.O.L., announced last week that it’s taking steps toward being more sustainable. First, the company partnered with TerraCycle, so that now you can mail the packaging to be recycled for free.  By this summer, the company said all L.O.L. accessory bags will be made of paper and degradable resin, and by next year all of the dolls’ packaging will be degradable.     MGA’s Little Tikes brand is one of several looking for a more sustainable plastic option for little kids toys. Little Tikes’ new GoGreen line is all made of recycled plastic. Some of Mattel’s Mega Bloks are made of plant-based material now, with the goal of making the entire Bloks brand plant-based, recyclable, or made of 100 percent recycled material in the next 10 years. That’s already the case with Green Toys, the toddler brand made entirely of recycled plastic.  

The real world & digital world can live in harmony at last

  Toymakers are listening to all of that parental anxiety over our kids being too addicted to their screens — but not so much that they’re tossing their digital content entirely. Instead, in nearly every booth I visited, there were toys that integrated an app, online game, or electronic gadget to go with the real-world product. There are Hot Wheels cars with chips to measure their speed, virtual reality goggles to help kids conduct science experiments and learn magic tricks (see: Professor Maxwell’s VR Science Lab), and an app for future engineers to make meticulous plans for their GraviTrax marble run.

Surprises and slime are 4-ever!

  I know “blind” boxes (those toys hidden in clever packaging until you buy them) are meant to encourage kids to collect all the toys, but they might serve another purpose too. Skip all the hemming and hawing at the store and buy one of these, sight unseen. My favorite surprises of the moment are the Blume Dolls, colorfully coiffed, spritely girls that pop out of a flower pot when you water them. In 2020, they’ll be getting Blume Baby Pops and Petal Pets. There’s also Mattel’s deadly cute entry into the category, Cloudees, which invites kids to add water and create cloud fluff before they unveil their new tiny pets. My Little Pony is also in on the reveal “magic.”   For the kids who prefer slime and war to birth and flowers, this fall, Skyrocket toys will release Mutaters, “alien-created” bio-mechanical warrior figures housed in a containment unit that requires a decoder to unlock before you can play with the monstrous mutants inside.   Parental nostalgia will go on, too   How many kids do you know who are really excited about Scooby-Do, Back to the Future, or Ghostbusters? Not a lot. But their parents might want to share their childhood fandoms, which is the logic many toymakers are banking on.     I mean, I was very excited about the Playmobil Delorean and Mattel’s Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, anyway. And after all, we’re the ones paying for these guys, right?  

The 117th annual New York Toy Fair took place this weekend at the Javits Center in Manhattan. An opportunity for toy manufacturers to preview their latest and greatest products for the year ahead, this year’s show featured more than 1,000 vendors as well as a dizzying cocktail of costumed characters, glitter-coated signs, life-sized action figures, chirping electronics, and kidfluencers upon kidfluencers. There were stuffed animals. There were coding kits. There were augmented reality toys. There was a performance by a Trolls band. Shaq was there on behalf of Tonka Trucks but wandered over to the Care Bears booth because why not?   Despite the technicolor madness of Toy Fair, the show acts as a barometer for the toy industry — and showcases the larger trends within the wide world of play. Here, then, are 11 major takeaways from Toy Fair 2020.   Animatronics Everywhere   While Hasbro’s Baby Yoda, aka The Child, was the animatronic darling of the show, many toymakers debuted similar creations of their own. Hasbro released some more additions to their FurReal line, including FurReal Mama Josie the Kangaroo Pet, which has more than 70 sounds and interacts not only with your kid but also her own kids (she comes with three little joeys and responds to them in a very nurturing way). Skyrocket Toys debuted Moji, the Lovable Labradoodle, which features more than 150 sounds/motions and 10 tricks to learn including high-five and speak. There was even a robot “dog” named Squeakee that looks like a Jeff Koons-esque balloon animal and features more than 50 sounds and interactions. Even toddlers can get in on the action, with such releases as the V-Tech Explore & Crawl Elephant that, well, crawls, flaps its ears, lights up, and has more than 45 songs and sounds. The elephant encourages kids to walk and crawl after it and also teaches kids about colors and shapes. Toys are getting more intelligent.   Augmented Reality’s Strange Half-Life   Years after the debut of the first augmented reality toys, AR remains just short of ubiquitous at Toy Fair. This has a certain trying-to-make-fetch-happen quality. As many parents have found out, integrated toys tend to become digital or physical toys in relatively short order. Though tech-forward toys and, let’s be real, video games, aren’t going anywhere, the uncomfortable marriage of digital UX design with material toy design seems destined to end badly. The sooner the better.   Let’s Hear It For the World   To no surprise, sustainability was a big push for many toy companies. Mattel, which recently announced a promise to achieve full-environmental sustainability by 2030, showed off a new version of the classic Fisher-Price Rock-A-Stack toy made entirely of plant-based plastics and packaged in 100-percent recycled/sustainably sourced material. L.O.L Surprise!, which recently announced a partnership with waste-management company TerraCycle, dropped the news that, by 2021, all of their packaging will be degradable. The always eco-friendly Green Toys released three new toys — a Fire Plan, Shape Sorter Truck, and Cargo Plane —  each of which are not only made of 100-percent recycled materials as well as BPA-, phthalates-, and PVC-free. Here’s the truth: Some companies made big strides; others announced initiatives that only served to make it seem like they were moving towards sustainability. Still, a focus on environmental initiatives was seen at nearly all booths.   Blind Bags, Blind Bags Everywhere   Call it the LOL Surprise! effect: Despite the show-wide sustainability focus, many, many toymakers are releasing or have released blind bag-style toys — those that come in plastic containers and have plastic bags full of plastic accessories and paper stuffing and plastic plastic plastic. While, yes, kids certainly have a fondness for receiving a surprise toy inside of which might be any number of cool items, these toys are, for the most part, an exercise in waste.   The Gendering of Everything and Nothing   The evolution of gendered play saw two competing trajectories. While many brands continued with or innovated gender-neutral approaches to toys (Plan Toys’ Fire House is essentially a dollhouse that is nonbinary; Brio’s Builder Motor Set encourages building without gender signals; the Playmobil large hospital is the non-gendered pretend play toy of our dreams), the march to genderize play by a slew of other brands continued and got more extreme. Several ride-on tractors and play trucks, scary costumes, and STEAM toys were clearly directed at boys, but it was the girlie stuff that got even girlier. Ballet costumes were so froufy and lacy, they looked like bizarre lingerie, play heads had interchangeable wigs and makeup went beyond the most over-the-top pageant look, while purses for makeup were marketed to younger and younger girls — all while 6-year-old girls walked a nearby catwalk with a little more model technique than was comfortable. The better brands are moving very much in the right direction, understanding that kids need to explore their interests, be they nurturing or problem-solving; the other brands, not so much.   A Move to Inclusivity   Inclusivity in toys has improved on several fronts over the past few years. This year was no different. Multiple vendors showed off toys of varying ethnic diversity, physical capability, and appearance. Mattel, for instance, continued to diversify Barbie by including a number of new, diverse dolls in its Fashionista line. They debuted a doll with the skin-disease vitiligo. There was a Ken with long hair, an African-American Barbie with natural hair, and another Barbie with no hair at all. The play people of Playmobil, Magformers, and Manhattan Toys, for instance, showed off dolls and characters with a diversity of skin tones. This is good news for kids who haven’t seen themselves reflected in play.   The IP Backlash   Marvel, DC Comics, Star Wars, and Minions are so overwhelmingly present at Toy Fair that it’s easy to miss the fact that many brands are going the other way. Maybe not by choice — licensing is crazy expensive — smaller brands are stripping their toys down to core functionality, some even going so far as to eliminate color. This is happening because there has been a hollowing out of middle-class IP. If it’s not part of the Rebel Alliance or the Avengers Initiative, the branding likely isn’t worth much. The good news for parents and kids is that this means there are more toys standing on their own, sold on functionality rather than ancillary content or characters.   Animal Deep Cuts   The big-name animals are always going to be there. The toy market is bullish on bears, ponies, dinosaurs, and cats. But there’s the lesser known members of Kingdom Animalia are starting to make the scene. There were echidna and axolotl toys. There were alligators, satiated hippos, and a praying mantis from Breyer. The metazoic revolution hasn’t arrived just yet, but it’s coming.   The Return of the Best Toy   Every year, the actual best toy at Toy Fair is the tired looking lab working security out front. This year, he seemed particularly put off by a bizarre runway show featuring the strained smiles of heavily coached six-year-old girls. He looked at these young models with some deep understanding in his eyes. They don’t need bedazzled clothes, he seemed to think, they need to take me for a walk. Not wrong.

Every new parent wants to give their baby the nutrition they need. With all of the different formulas on the market, it can be difficult to decide which is best for your child. The good news is that all formulas must meet federal nutrient requirements, and infant formula manufacturers must notify the FDA prior to marketing a new formula. But as concerns grow regarding food sources and potential for chemicals and pesticides, choosing organic is a helpful option for parents who are looking to minimize their baby’s exposure to preservatives and additives. Organic baby formulas go a step further than conventional ones and have to meet additional federal guidelines to get the USDA Organic Stamp.   Regardless of whether you are purchasing organic or non-organic formula, it’s imperative that you pay attention to ingredients. Some formulas utilize glucose and corn syrup for their carbohydrates as opposed to lactose that is the main carbohydrate source in breast milk. Choosing a formula that is as close to breastmilk as possible or modeled after breastmilk is key, which is why we did the work for you and rounded up the best organic baby formula brands available in the United States.

When legalization came into fruition, Canadians soon realized that the cannabis industry was far from green. The cause—excessive packaging. Canada has some of the strictest packaging regulations in the world. The Federal Cannabis Act mandates packaging to be opaque, child-resistant, tamper-evident, waterproof, and contaminate proof. Add Health Canada’s requirements for health warnings, a standardized cannabis symbol, and specific product information and you now have a lot of packaging accompanying even small amounts of cannabis. The Price of Packaging Public outcry for more sustainable solutions followed, and retailers were just as concerned. However, there were hurdles to overcome. Efforts by licensed producers (LPs) to meet regulations have led to the use of several diverse materials, which made recycling through conventional means difficult. Refilling containers was also not an option due to packaging requirements. Courtesy of Garden Variety Cameron Brown, communications officer for The Hunny Pot Cannabis, in Toronto, shares retailers’ frustration. “When we entered the industry, sustainability was top of mind for our team. We opened on April 1, 2019, and from the beginning, we wanted to recycle our packaging properly as well as work on other initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint.” The store receives on average 250 to 500 shipping boxes per week. Brown says their first step was to ensure staff members were separating products properly. Then they needed a program to dispose of the actual containers. Thankfully, Canopy Growth had recognized the problem early on and partnered with TerraCycle, a global leader specializing in hard-to-recycle materials. Their stores Tweed and Tokyo Smoke accept any packaging purchased from licensed retailers, including outer and inner packaging, tins, joint tubes, plastic bottles, caps, and flexible plastic bags. This recycling solution is also available to other retailers. “The program is Canada’s first and largest cannabis packaging recycling program,” states Alex Payne, public relations for TerraCycle North America. “Since its launch in October 2018, the program has signed up 412 cannabis retailers across the country and collected 2,372,634 units of packaging or 47,000 lbs. as of November 2019. These numbers continue to grow as new retailers get involved every month.” “The Hunny Pot reached out to Canopy Growth and TerraCycle to become a part of their program. As of November 2019, we have shipped 25,000 containers to TerraCycle. Our customers are making a real effort to bring the packaging back.” Brown adds that is thanks in part to their one-on-one service that provides education for the consumer. Jason Richeson, store manager for Garden Variety in Manitoba, shares how their popular recycling program, done in partnership with LP, Zenabis, is a little different. “We wanted to stand apart and increase customer incentive. Therefore, we offer clients a 50-cent credit per returned container. Customers can bring in up to 10 items ($5.00 credit) to be redeemed off their purchase daily.” LPs Standing Out with Sustainable Products Co-founder and Executive Director of Freedom Cannabis, Troy Dezwart, states that they are one of the few federally licensed growers committed to not using plastic containers for the recreational market. The privately-owned producer located in Acheson, Alberta, will be the first in Canada to use Nitrotins, which are fully recyclable. As part of the packaging process, a drop of liquid nitrogen is used to purge air from the Nitrotin. This process has the added benefit of increasing the product’s shelf life and maintaining quality. Freedom Cannabis products began distribution in late 2019, early 2020 and retailers are excited about the new packaging. Industry Tight-lipped Regarding Vape Products As the marketplace prepares for the introduction of cannabis vape pens and cartridges, a whole new set of recycling woes await. Vape products are more complex to recycle as they contain several different materials, batteries, and electronics in small quantities that need to be separated. A viable recycling program will require scale and time to develop. Most producers and retailers are without a solid recycling plan. Dezwart says Freedom Cannabis is still working on finding high-quality vape products with recyclable parts. Courtesy of The Hunny Pot Cannabis The Hunny Pot shares that they are in open discussions with LPs regarding their plans for new products and how to recycle them. “We will continue to keep on our producers to ensure we have a solution,” adds Brown. “We are not even sure if there will be an opportunity to recycle them yet,” says Richeson. “Garden Variety’s management company, Native Roots in Colorado, is experiencing this now. It’s a real concern because the sector blew up for them, overtaking flower sales.” This is predicted to happen in Canada as well. “Unfortunately, cannabis vape cartridges are not currently accepted through the Cannabis Packaging Recycling Program,” says TerraCycle’s Payne. It seems the consensus remains to wait and see. Social Responsibility Beyond Recycling Throughout all the highs and lows that the industry has faced, it is reassuring to see retailers and producers showing their commitment to social responsibility. Beyond its recycling efforts, The Hunny Pot now offers 100% biodegradable plastic bags. Bags can be kept to use them again; however, once exposed to the elements, they will break down completely within 18 months. This spring, the company is also looking forward to having beehives installed on its roof, furthering their environmental commitment. On the production end, as LPs begin to increase their scale and expand their product focus, cost savings have allowed them to start exploring more advanced sustainable packaging. And, eco-friendly packaging could be just the marketing tool they need to make their green products stand out. Author: Tania Moffat