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Good Wood

Category: Sustainability

Written November 21, 2011

The inspiration behind Born At Home Toys was our desire for our little ones to have real toys - good quality toys that aren't made of cheap, toxic, environmentally-unsound plastic. So when we started making them ourselves, one of the things we realized is that we needed to find wood that was harvested in a way that is respectful to the planet. So we set up a few guidelines about our wood: the harvesting methods must be respectful to the forest and the trees cut down must be replaced. Or it could be recycled or reclaimed wood which would otherwise be left to rot or thrown into the landfill.

We use a lot of different woods, so this post won't cover them all. But you'll be able to see where we get our wood and different characteristics of each type.

Cherry

Our cherry wood is locally sourced from Arkansas. Cherry is a hard wood and is very durable. To top it off, it's got a beautiful grain that's enhanced by our homemade beeswax polish. We make the Cherry Kitty Push Toy and all the cars in the Cherry Tree Village family of toys from cherry.

Poplar

Our poplar is cut from sustainably managed forests. it's an easy wood to work with, which makes it ideal for the tight curves and corners with all the Happy On the Farm animals. It's also tough and durable. With our homemade beeswax polish it has a nice, non-toxic shine that won't harm your little one when the toys inevitably get a taste-test.

Happy On the Farm animals - Poplar kitty push toy

Maple

Our maple is harvested in Michigan. It is cut in very small batches. Young saplings regenerate the maple population naturally. Our teethers are made from maple and sanded smooth as can be.

Other woods

We also use some upcycled woods, but that's another post for another day. Any questions about our wood? Please ask in the comments below!