Eco-Friendly Beach Toys for Summer Fun in the Sun!
Estimated reading time: 12 minutes
When you’re stocking up on beach toys for your next holiday, don’t forget to consider eco-friendliness and sustainability! In order to enjoy eco-friendly recreation at the beach, you must carefully consider the impact of everything you bring with you. To help you achieve this, I’ve created a list of sustainable and eco-friendly beach toys to help keep plastics and chemicals out of our waterways.
key takeaways
- In one study, 419 chemicals were found in children’s plastic toys – learn more about this in the section Why Choose Eco-Friendly Beach Toys.
- These chemicals are not only harmful to our children, but the environment as well – leaching into the soil and waters when disposed of.
- Look for non-toxic toys that are phthalate-free, BPA-free, lead-free, and PVC-free or made of food-grade silicone.
- Avoid plastic entirely and opt for FSC-certified wood or biodegradable beach toys made from bamboo fiber.
- Remember that quality over quantity and using what you already have leads to the most sustainable lifestyle.
- Practicing sustainability while enjoying recreational outdoor water activities is easy!
Looking for other information about other eco-friendly products for the beach? Check out this article!
12 Best Eco-Friendly Toys for the Beach & Bath
There are many green beach play options out there, but you need not look any further than right here. From biodegradable beach toys to recyclable shore playthings, we’ve got you low-impact beach entertainment covered!
Ocean-Friendly Play Sets
Kids Beach Toy Set – The Beach People
The perfect choice for building sandcastles or to collect shells, this sand playset comes with a sand shovel, digging spade, rake, and bucket. Made with unbleached compostable bamboo and bio-plastic with a hemp rope handle, it also comes in a natural canvas bag!
Wheat Straw Boat Toy Set – Colored Organics
Plastic-free, kid-safe, durable, and made with sustainable wheat straw, this set comes with six stackable boats. A great option for toddlers at the beach or in the bath!
Beach Toy Set – The Saturday Baby
The perfect gift for someone with young ones that love sand play! The set is made from food-grade silicone and FDA-approved, BPA, PVC, and BPS-free for non-toxic living. It comes with a bucket, a large scoop, and four sand molds in fun shapes!
Classic Green summer play essentials
Save the Dugong Flying Disc – TerraCycle
We all know a fun way to get some exercise at the beach is to toss a frisbee around. This one from TerraCycle is made made from 100% recycled materials, including ones collected by the Foundation’s cleanup operations in Thailand. A dugong is an endangered marine animal that lives in coastal waters in Asia and Eastern Africa.
Dump Truck – Green Toys
There’s no doubt about it; kids love digging in the sand and hauling it around! This truck with a workable dumper is made in the USA from 100% recycled milk jugs. It is dishwasher safe, non-toxic, containing zero BPA, PVC, phthalates, or external coatings. It will arrive packaged with recycled and recyclable materials and printed with soy inks. Green Toys has other awesome water toys like a tug boat, submarine, sea copter, and seaplane!
Beach Toys for Kids – OLA Bamboo
Made of natural bamboo wood, cultivated without the use of pesticides or insecticides, this classic shovel and rake set beats plastic! When you purchase OLA Bamboo’s eco products, you are also helping Compensation CO2 Québec plant trees.
Sea Life Bath Set – Plan Toys
There’s no reason you can’t use this bath set of water toys at the beach too! This set includes a starfish, shell, turtle, and dolphin in fun colors and is sustainably made in Thailand with chemical-free rubberwood trees. Plan Toys uses formaldehyde-free glues, organic pigments, and water-based dyes.
Biodegradable and eco-friendly Beach & Bath Toys
Rattle and Bath Toys – tikiri toys
Have some fun in the water with these bath toys that come in an assortment of animal shapes! Made with pure organic, biodegradable rubber and certified plastic-free, Tikiri is the first ever natural rubber toy company to be awarded the Global Organic Latex Standard. These are BPA-free, phthalate-free, and PVC-free, with non-toxic water-based ink paint.
wooden toy SailBoat – Our Green House
Sailing and water toys are fun! Kids will love this durable, eco-friendly wooden sailboat with lead-free varnish. Our Greenhouse is women-owned, eco-conscious, and gives back to many global causes. With “Just Cause gifts,” they directly give back to charities with a portion of every gift basket purchased.
Certified Compostable Beach Toys – Rogue Wave
Rogue Wave is a Climate Neutral Certified business that makes products from certified compostable plastics derived from renewable feedstocks. The material is made in the U.S. and is completely free of BPAs. This beach set of sand toys comes with a pail, shovel, and sifter.
Other Eco-minded beach accessories & Ocean-Themed Toys
Ocean Activity Book – Tikiri toys
It may not fall under the specific category of beach toys, but this ocean-themed book is too cute not to mention! Completely free of plastics and made mostly from cotton and linen, this book is safe and non-toxic for your little ones. And who says you can’t do story time at the beach?!
Organic Cotton Play Tunnel – Lovevery
Now you can have play time and create shade for your little ones at the beach! This ocean-friendly play item is easy-to-collapse and transport item is designed to encourage the development of motor, strength, and coordination skills.
Create Your Own sustainable water Toy
Who says you can’t use the watering cans from your garden or some old milk jugs and wooden spoons from the kitchen to create your own eco-friendly beach toy set? Children and toddlers don’t care about price tags or name brands! Reduce your environmental impact by using what you already have rather than buying new toys. Repurposing, also known as upcycling, is one of my favourite of the “Rs” of sustainability!
Why Choose environmentally conscious Sand Toys
Your Children’s Health and Safety
Most plastic toys contain harmful chemicals that are dangerous to human health. According to a report commissioned by the U.N. Environment Programme, “of 419 chemicals found in hard, soft and foam plastic materials used in children’s toys, 126 can potentially harm children’s health, including 31 plasticizers, 18 flame retardants, and eight fragrances.”
Unfortunately, there is also a need for more regulation and disclosure regarding manufacturers’ use of these chemicals.
Your kid’s toys shouldn’t include toxic chemicals that could be causing health issues!
The Environmental Impact of Beach and Sand Toys
The harmful compounds in cheap plastic toys are not only a threat to our children but to the environment as well. The toxins in plastic water toys, including from glue or chemical adhesives, can be released into the ocean or lake, causing harm to aquatic ecosystems.
Not to mention that plastic is made from fossil fuels, which makes it awful for the planet from the outset. According to the EPA, “in 2018, landfills (in the U.S.) received 27 million tons of plastic,” which, as we know, is not biodegradable.
Rubber can pose other environmental concerns. According to the WWF, 90% of the world’s natural rubber comes from rubber trees grown in Asia. Vast deforestation is occurring in this area to make room for these plantations.
Therefore, in the name of sustainability, sustainable seaside playthings should be chemical, rubber, and plastic-free.
What To Look for in Non-Toxic Beach Toys for Kids
So, how do we ensure that the beach, sand, and bath toys are safe for our little ones? Since the toy industry is not mandated to include an ingredient list on its products, this can be tricky.
The first hint that the toys you’re considering are non-toxic beach toys is if they indicate that they are phthalate-free, BPA-free, lead-free, and PVC-free or made of food-grade silicone. FSC-certified wood is also always a good sustainable choice for children’s toys (be sure to look for ones with non-toxic paint or sealant.)
What About Eco-Friendly Beach Toys?
Mass produced beach toys are built from low quality materials that are designed to be lost, forgotten and blown away by the wind. For this reason, only purchasing long lasting, high quality and versatile products becomes even more important.
Remember that the most sustainable item is the one you already own. It doesn’t make sense to discard what already suits our needs to replace them with more eco-friendly beach toys. Another great (and affordable) option for sustainable beach toys would be to buy them second-hand if you can!
If it is time to buy new ones, once you’ve eliminated the harmful ingredients to human health, you should consider the environmental impact of your little one’s beach toys. If you can’t go plastic-free, choose ones made from recycled plastic, saving some emissions and creating less waste overall. You can find eco-friendly sand toys made from other recycled materials, like recycled rubber or recycled foam or fabrics.
If you want to avoid plastics entirely, many beach toys are made from eco-friendly materials like silicone and FSC-certified wood. Biodegradable beach toys made from bamboo fiber are also becoming more widely available.
Unfortunately, inflatables are not eco-friendly beach toys, as they require chemicals that allow the flexibility needed for their purpose. They are also typically made from PVC plastics, one of the worst plastic offenders. If you require floaties, the most environmentally friendly ones will be second-hand and durable, so they are long-lasting.
Final Thoughts About Eco-Friendly Beach Toys
Regarding children’s eco beach toys, there are many ways to be more sustainable and careful about our family’s health. Check for products made from all-natural materials without harmful toxins and chemicals. Use what you already own or opt for second-hand to protect the environment and marine ecosystems. When it is time to buy new ones, look for biodegradable, eco-friendly beach toys or those made from recovered recycled materials.
Now go and have some fun in the sand with your kids!
All products recommended to you on Successfully Sustainable are independently researched in depth. To avoid waste and lead a minimal lifestyle, we test products only when required. This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a small commission. Learn more about this here.
