In July 2008, Natalie Southgate launched The Organic Toy Company specialising in the relatively new concept of organic soft toys.
Currently, many people in the UK haven’t heard of organic toys (toys made with organic cotton or organic wool) but these eco-responsible and ethical toys are growing in popularity, with more and more of the large toy manufacturers recognising this and starting to introduce organic toys alongside their mainstream ranges.
Inspired by all three of her children suffering eczema to varying degrees, Natalie had the idea of setting up The Organic Toy Company. In addition to the website promoting the benefits of organic toys, she is hoping it will also draw attention to the hugely environmentally detrimental effects of conventional cotton farming. She believes that parents in particular would want to know about the huge quantities of toxic chemicals used to produce cotton.
The Organic Toy Company is unique in many ways. It is the only company to sell only organic toys. It doesn't sell any toys which aren’t organic and it doesn't sell any other organic products.
Natalie says:
"This way, our focus and knowledge is not diluted with a diversity of genres of products. We are also the only company to provide honest and in-depth detail at an unprecedented level about every one of our toys and we only offer toys which have official organic certification to support their organic claims. A critical factor in the company’s ethos, is to not exploit legal loopholes relating to “organic” labelling/product descriptions and to ensure we provide complete transparency about how organic our toys really are.
Natalie confesses that, like the majority of the public, she was totally unaware of the massive use of pesticides and toxins used to grow non-organic cotton. In the days when she didn’t know better, she used to pride myself on only buying supposedly “pure” cotton for her children’s bedding and clothing, not realising what a misnomer this term was when describing conventional cotton, given that residues of harmful chemicals can remain in the fabric.
She says:
"Of course, this is just another example of how the public are so frequently misled by a "natural" tag being applied to a product to suggest it’s synonymous with “healthy”, in much the same way that “natural” is true of sugar but nevertheless, it’s a main culprit for rotting our teeth!"
Many people also don’t realise that there is a significant human cost to pay for conventional cotton agriculture. Cotton farmers, their workers and widespread surrounding areas and their inhabitants are affected by the poisoning and carcinogenic effects of having their air, water and soil contaminated with a saturation of these toxins. It is reported that about 20,000 cotton farmers/workers actually die every year from pesticide poisoning, directly linked to their exposure to these chemicals. There are many, many, more “casualties” whose health is also seriously affected but who don’t fall into the “fatalities” category.
With eczema and allergies at ever increasing levels, with more contaminants than ever invisibly seeping into our everyday lives, Natalie is absolutely certain that many parents would like to know that these organic toys exist. They are the purest alternative to synthetic soft toys or supposedly “natural” toys which simply aren’t as innocent and harmless as they seem.
This in turn leads down another path, to the issue of the slack legislation encompassing all non-food organic products which fall outside the strict regulations of the organic food industry. Whether it’s beauty products or toys, there is huge scope for the public to be misled and conned into paying a premium for something which may be labelled as organic, but which may quite legally have only a tiny organic element.
All of the toys The Organic Toy Company offers must meet their minimum criteria of having a 100% certified organic fabric as its outer fabric. Furthermore, unlike any other organic toy stockists, they have pressed all the manufacturers of the toys for detailed information about each toy’s origin and organic integrity. Every single toy on the website displays this information so that customers know exactly what they’re buying. If a toy has a polyester filling, they state this. They don’t just keep quiet about it and hope nobody asks them about the filling! In addition, there are also many opportunities within various manufacturing processes whereby the organic credentials of a fabric could be negated eg due to harsh dyes or finishing chemicals being used at some stage after the organic certification has been awarded. The Organic Toy Company's toys’ descriptions also include these factors.
Natalie says she has an unrivalled range of really beautiful soft toys which will appeal to children of all ages. Most of her manufacturers are bringing in some gorgeous new additions to their organic ranges for 2009.
She feels determined to increase public awareness of what she considers to be the scandal of cotton agriculture – particularly when it is likely to be such a significant contributor to the soaring allergy statistics and children are so particularly sensitive to irritant and harmful substances. To put things in perspective, conventional cotton farming makes up about 3% of global farming, but is responsible for about 25% of all commercial pesticide use. The fact that babies and young children spend their days and nights in such close contact with their cuddly toys, and are so notorious for exploring everything with their mouths, is even more cause for concern.
Natalie is passionate about her subject and you can find plenty of information on her website www.otoys.co.uk. Aside from the credential of the toys themselves, she is extremely particular about going the extra mile to provide the best level of customer care possible so there's a good chance you'll be more than satisfied. And believe it or not, we're not talking mega bucks here either.
January 2009 |
Me And My Thrupenny Bits
