How to Simplify Your Green Gift Giving

Tell me if a similar story is familiar to you?
If like so many of us you made the decision to use resources more wisely,
pay more attention to protecting our environment and generally opt for a green lifestyle,
then you might be wondering what are some of the actions you can take.
Fortunately, more people are finding it easier to satisfy their “green urges”
in simple, practical ways. Sometimes, though, it is not as easy as we would like.
During the last Holiday Season, I wanted to buy gifts for my grandchildren.
I thought I would be able to achieve two objectives at the same time.
I decided to look for attractive eco-friendly games and toys. It would satisfy my gift giving
and the same time start to raise the awareness of my grandchildren to green lifestyles.
After all, they will inherit the planet




Eastside, Westside All About The Town
I live in New York City. Believe me, if it exists you are likely to find it somewhere in New York.
I set out to find ‘green gifts’ for my grandchildren. I started at well known toy stores
on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan. To my surprise, the store owners, managers
and especially the sales clerks looked at me with skepticism. They were doing well enough
without having to think about this strange request for ‘green’ or ‘eco-friendly’ toys I felt challenged.
So next I visited the large midtown department stores.
To my surprise, one of our country’s largest department stores directed me
to a small corner where they had a collection of stuffed toys and toys made from wood.
That was the extent of their eco-friendly toy section. This was not satisfactory,
so I went to the Upper Westside of Manhattan, Greenwich Village, Soho, Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope.
To my surprise, ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘green’ toys did not seem to be a priority.
Next, I tried the internet only to find sketchy information on the subject.



Research, In Earnest! 
It occurred to me that many persons may be experiencing similar challenges.
I called around to some friends; parents, grandparents, teachers, busy executives.
They confirmed my hunch. A directory or guide to ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘green ‘ would delight many of them.
It would be most useful. They thought that I should present the challenge to toy manufacturers,
distributors and retailers. For me, that would be a daunting task.
I decided on a simpler and more practical course of action.
I decided to pull all available information together in one place to create a user friendly Green Toy Directory.
It took months of research by my team.
We discovered hundreds of good choices for you to make
in your gift giving to children – from toddlers to teenagers!
The result of our painstaking research is…
The GREEN TOYS DIRECTORY 2011