Toys for Elementary Math Education in the Developing World

Project H Design is an Ecolect partner and a global design nonprofit who believes design can change the world. Their team has assembled a group of industrial designers, social entrepreneurs, and manufacturers to conceive and produce a toy for elementary math education with applications in the developing world and the US retail markets. Their case study is the Kutamba School for AIDS orphans, located in Uganda. Project H’s team will develop a locally-made version of the toy for Kutamba and broader distribution in the developing world, along with a sister US retail version based on the same system.

In addition to taking donations on their site, Project H is submitting their proposal on Ideablob “the living, breathing community of ideas”. Their team is striving to delve more deeply into the design development, prototyping, user testing and distribution. According to Emily Pilloton, Founder of Project H Design, “We will be able to fund the initial production of the math toys for both the Kutamba case study school as well as the US retail production and associated legal/intellectual property protection.”

If you like what Project H is up to, sign-into Ideablob and give them a vote!

Toys “R” Us To Adopt Higher Health Standards

In recent years Toys “R” Us, Target, Sears and Wal-Mart have all been forming plans to discontinue the sale of toys containing PVC. Toys “R” Us is taking their initiative to the next level, announcing that they will be phasing out any toys containing phthalates in their juvenile product lines. Phthalates are the chemical compounds that soften PVC, turning it from a hard and rigid material to a soft and flexible material. Aside from being used in toys, phthalates are commonly used in the production of paints, nail polish and adhesives. Added phthalates in PVC is being discovered to cause unusual hormonal activity, birth defects and other health risks, especially to children as their bodies are still in the process of growing. In 2009, the state of California will begin acting on serious plans to heavily restrict the use of phthalates in toys for children. For the toy industry as a whole, the added chemical compound has made PVC prominent for good reason in the past. Its ability to be made in many different durometers while passing shatter tests has kept children from swallowing small parts that could break off and restricts them from being exposed to sharp edges.

Green Toys Inc is a newer company based in San Francisco geared towards making simple, environmentally friendly products for children. Robert von Goeben is Co-founder and his take on the current consumer mentality is that people are “looking at toys the way they looked at food 10 years ago. They’re starting to think about the specific ingredients in toys.” After the scares with lead paint last year, many companies are under analysis by the public, feeling pressure to improve their products and highlight active steps they are taking to make safer toys. Green Toys uses a bio-based plastic produced by Cereplast for some products and their new line of greener more eco-friendly toys will be made from plastic, post-consumer recycled milk bottles.