Whole Foods to sell 'green' toys

Come this holiday season, Whole Foods shoppers may notice something new amid the bins of organic bananas and locally grown berries: toys.

From an African safari play set with hand-painted animals to a toddler's cutting board with wooden vegetables, toys dubbed as "Earth friendly" from ImagiPlay of Boulder, Colo., are heading to the Austin-based grocer's markets nationwide.

The new partnership is a departure for Whole Foods Market Inc., which has sold a smattering of toys before, but typically made those sales choices on a regional basis, said JustinMiloro, who finds potential products for the chain's Whole Body departments.

"This is one of the first times we've nationally said: 'We're going to work with this company,' " Miloro said. He said ImagiPlay and Whole Foods have shared values.

Those values are at the heart of a larger trend, as "green" toys promoted as extra safe and environmentally friendly grow in popularity.

Millions of toys were recalled in 2007 because of worries about lead and other hazards. This year, big toy sellers have embraced stricter safety standards.

Some have gone even further. Touting "good green fun," Toys "R" Us in March announced a line of "eco-friendly" toys, such as dolls made with organic cotton and an unpainted, battery-free wooden fire engine.

"When you see green toys at a place like Toys 'R' Us, you know it's mainstream," said Wendy Smolen, editorial director for Toy Wishes magazine.

Big toy firms are catching up with small outfits like ImagiPlay, which has seen its business surge in the wake of the lead paint scare.

"We've been making Earth-friendly toys for 10 years and really nobody cared until a year and a half, two years ago," ImagiPlay founder Barbera(cq) Aimes said. "There's a whole market now for products with values, particularly pertaining to the environment. Before, that was the kiss of death."

Aimes said her "little bitty" five-person company sells about 150 different items, from wooden puzzles and rolling yellow duckies to bookends and coat hooks.

ImagiPlay says its products are highly tested for safety, come from factories checked for good work conditions and use recycled or sustainable materials such compressed sawdust and rubberwood from Southeast Asia. The toys are also made close to the source of the raw materials to avoid shipping that burns fuel and emits carbon dioxide.

Whole Foods stores will carry 13 of the toys starting in October, Aimes said. Markets in different regions can also choose to carry up to 40 more items. Some are already in stores, she said.

The toys going to all stores include a wooden Christmas tree-shaped puzzle, a rain forest play set and several wheeled push toys that are animal-shaped — except for one called Hybrid Car. Prices range from $12 to $37.

The $24, 18-piece Veggie Cutting Set comes with segmented wood vegetables held together by Velcro for simulated chopping.

Working with ImagiPlay is a good match for Whole Foods, Smolen said.

"People who shop in Whole Foods really care about organics, the environment, what kinds of chemicals they are putting in their bodies and their children's bodies," she said. "They're going to be much more open to looking at toys that have this kind of sensibility."

David Ho is a correspondent for Cox Newspapers.