Nova Naturals Toys and Crafts--Christmas, anyone?

My babies are growing so fast--at three and one-years-old, they are no longer infants. And since my husband and I are done having children, that means I don't get to buy any more baby stuff for my own babies. Luckily, I'm going to be an aunt in February, so I can buy vicariously for my sister. I bring this up because in the last three years, I've looked for truly nontoxic toys, and have found few good outlets for them. An "all-wood" walker might contain a piece of particleboard or plywood. A bath toy is likely made of vinyl. The word "green" means nothing. If there's anything you walk away from this blog with, it should be the utter meaningless of this word. It is unregulated, it can be used to describe just about anything, and it can fool even the savviest shopper (see my Dura Supreme saga).

As a proud member of Catalog Choice, I opt-out of just about every unsolicited catalog I receive. But yesterday I received a catalog from Nova Natural Toys and Crafts. I read it the way I read good books. Add to that the drool factor. This company out of Vermont sells products for babies, parents, and kids that are truly nontoxic. They don't crow about it; they let the pictures do the talking. An all-wood rattle that looks like a fish (no eyes, no shiny scales, no useless lights) has a handful of rice built into it. A maple teething ring is made of hard maple and finished with beeswax and jojoba oil. Their cloth dolls, made by a women's collective in Peru, come in all different skin shades. Their quiet craftsmanship speaks for itself. Check out Nova Natural for yourself.

And please note, as always, I do not accept "free samples" or "giveaway" samples from any company, at any time. This allows me to remain 100% objective in my reviews of companies and their products. I only review if I feel moved to do so. I have absolutely no connection to Nova Natural, besides the fact that their catalog landed in my mailbox yesterday!