Everyone loves legos. Those little plastic blocks have a lot of juice right now, between the original toy, the movies, and all those video games. I know lots of young parents who are pretty psyched to get out their old legos and play with their kids.

This blog also loves legos, because they are currently working on finding an eco-friendly substitute for their toys, leading toy manufacturers everywhere to consider a more responsible material. Hopefully they follow suit, and the nasty plastic toy will be the thing of the past in no time. I kid, it will take over 400 years to decompose. so if no one made another plastic toy again, our descendants will still be seeing them for a long, long time- toy of the past, problem of the future.

So, if we have 400 more years of plastic legos, what can we do with them? Luckily, because this toy is so beloved and so simple, it creates a lot of opportunity for re-use. You would think because of that, there would already be enough legos to go around, but people are still buying new sets.

Is there such a thing as too many legos? This shark certainly thinks so:


Makes me laugh every time. So, if you have finally decided to retire that collection OR (more likely) you just want to thin it to a non-ridiculous size, you have plenty of options to do GOOD with those tiny plastic bricks.

Never just throw away your legos. So many places can use them.

Give them as a Christmas Gift- You could turn your spare old legos into a kit for someone you love. I think this would be a ridiculously cool and thoughtful gift for the right small person. Do an architecture one, but for their grandmas house. Or do a silly kit that they will definitely never see in the store. If making a kit seems like too much, what about making them into ornaments to gift like they do at Ornaments4Charity (one of my favorite Etsy stores)?

Check your Buy Nothing- A neighborhood kid (or their school, church, or afterschool program) may really need those legos, and passing them on to them costs no money (and barely any fossil fuels) in shipping. This is your simplest option, so if you haven't joined a Buy Nothing Group yet, check it out! Or start one, if you are particularly awesome.

Check your local YMCA, Libraries, Religious Spaces, or Day Cares- Legos are easy to clean and so popular with kids, so there is a good chance a kids' space in your own neighborhood needs them and can really use them. If the goal is for the plastic blocks to get 400 years of use, putting them in a space like this is a great idea.

Mail them to Brick Recycler, Brick Dreams, or The Giving Brick- A number of different small groups realized that legos cannot be recycled and that the mixed part bags are not accepted by many Goodwills (we buy our duplos from them, but I can't honestly say I have ever noticed the smaller bricks), so you have some good options to donate.

Brick Recycler is based out of San Jose and has donated them to Boy and Girl Scouts, childrens hospitals, and orphanages in Zimbabwe (now come on, that's a cool place for your legos to end up).

The Giving Brick is based in Kansas City, and they seem to focus their projects on charities and volunteer groups nearby. They also have good lego humor and put their kits in spiffy red cardboard boxes. All important factors, I think.

Brickset also makes lego packs out of donated legos and they donate them to kids in the foster system. Pretty cool!

Donate them to a Nearby Goodwill or Salvation Army- Some neighborhood Goodwills will accept legos outside of kits. Just ask, and they can tell you.

Sell them on Brick Link- I am going to be honest with you; I don't totally get how this website Brick Link works, but you can sell legos here, so if you want to make a little money, you figure it out.

Sell them to Toy Brick Brigade- There is an online store for used legos. They will buy your legos by the pound to turn back into sets. I am honestly surprised more of these don't exist, because there must be so many spare pieces out in the world. They even pay for the shipping. Get a little money, thin down your lego hoard, and even check the store for something used next time you are hankering for more legos. A big step up from just throwing them away or letting them collect dust.

You don't have to be that shark anymore. You will never. ever need all those legos, Mama Shark, send them to a new home.

Now, doesn't this just make you want to go box up some legos and give them to kids in need? Really, do you need all those spares? Plus, I know so many people who have 2,000 legos to give away, and then you have finished the whole goal!



The Great Donate 2018 is on! Can you donate, gift, or recycle 2,018 items out of your house this year? The average American household has 300,000 items in it- who needs that much? No one, but there are lots of people who could use what you have sitting collecting dust.

Check out the Great Donate main page for more suggestions on what to donate and where. You will save money (by knowing what you actually have), free up space, and save so much from going into a landfill.

People expect me to like Melissa and Doug. They feel more environmentally-friendly, because they are made of wood and just have a homey feel. They seem like a way greener option than anything else you can find in a mainstream toy section.

Not so much.

Maybe they used to have some redeeming qualities, but when you look closely now, things are pretty sketchy. This company "based out of Conneticut" peddles off Made in Poverty, not always well-made junk as just the opposite- healthy, earthy, even good. They want you to think their toys are better than the run of the mill junky toys, therefore worth more money. They market themselves off as Made in America (even somehow being littered through the Made in America toy section on Amazon) and that perception is pervasive enough that people often think I would like them.

But I just so don't.

 In some ways, I prefer Fisher Price over this company, because at least they are being honest about who they are (check out their attempt at "wood toys"- they are so bad at not using plastic, it is almost cute). It just makes me mad when you feel like you are finally doing something good, and really you have just been deceived. Melissa and Doug are a perfect example of this. 

I can totally see why people would love the brand and have plenty of Melissa and Doug toys at their house (I think we have one ourselves), but it makes me angry that the image of this brand is essentially a deception. We are all trying our best, and it is hard enough to do right by our kids and the environment as it is. 

Melissa and Doug used to have a good reputation (in the late 80's and early 90's) and coast on that positive association.

This toy company has already run into a bit of trouble for their lack of standards, and I am willing to bet they have more lawsuits in their future, because deceptive and cheap doesn't make for a great long game. In 2012, they got in trouble with immigration for not documenting their employees (so taking advantage of people). There are documented problems with the paint on them, and I bet the news will get worse on that with time. Every Melissa and Doug toy I have seen or researched is Made in China, so I am not sure what happened to the American employees they suggest comprise the majority of the company.

What makes me even madder? I feel like they love to live right on the line of plagarizing other more ethical, less mainstream toy designs. It's interesting just how often their design ideas seem to creep on other wood toy makers, almost all of whom have better labor and ethical standards.

This is the kind of ugly nonsense that drives good companies off the market, because they take their idea and lower the price.You know how you take a good idea and make it cheaper?
You steal an idea someone else worked hard on.
You ship your labor to China or somewhere where you can treat people badly.
You use cheap and unethical materials.
You waste fossil fuels schlepping it back here.
You jack up the price as if it isn't cheap junk.

I am not kidding about Melissa and Doug's strange talent for lifting other company's designs. Check out these two eerily similar clock toys:


You see this kind of thing again and again.

The good news attached to this is that you can find pretty direct switches away from many of the Melissa and Doug products. They make about a million products (never a good sign- if you want to do something well, you usually aren't doing that many different things), so I can't point to a replacement for every thing, but here is a place to start. If you want to buy a child in your life something special, you still can! Just not from Melissa and Doug.

This blog does have affiliate links for Amazon and Etsy (though the M&D toys are not, because a well-reasoned reader pointed out that isn't cool). That said, smaller toy stores all over the country are fighting to survive. Shop there! 

1. Buy Used Toys

 YES. So many of the toys Melissa and Doug sells- puzzles, toy animals like snakes, play food can be found in lots of consignment stores. We didn't buy the Melissa and Doug bead maze; we got the Plan Toys bead maze for less than five dollars at Goodwill. Probably 4 out of every 5 toys that we bring into the house was bought used or gifted on Buy Nothing. They grow out of things so fast, and they mostly don't care, so why not save a toy from the landfill and get used toys instead? If you are shopping for a kid, start secondhand, ALWAYS. 

This is particularly true for used toys- lots of the Grimm's and other Montessori wood toys are available secondhand on eBay. It's the perfect way to get high quality and lasting toys without spending as much money. 

Green Toys on Amazon

2. Green Toys

 I wouldn't have expected a day when I recommend plastic over wood, but Green Toys is a national treasure. Made in the USA with green energy, these toys are made of recycled plastic (milk jugs mostly).Don't buy the Melissa and Doug versions- you can get Green Toys cars, play food, and all kinds of planes, boats, and vehicles (this airplane is The Bub's favorite). Melissa and Doug make lots of play food that is cute with really fun details. Again, so do lots of people. You can get fair trade vegetables from Under the Nile or more ethical (but still made abroad) wooden food from Plan Toys.

from Amazon

3. Maple Landmark

 This company, based out of Vermont, sells some of the favorite toys in the whole house. Instead of getting the Melissa and Doug shape sorter, we have this Maple Landmark sorter and it is awesome. Absolutely beloved by our kid, because it combines sorting shapes with putting things in and taking things out (one of his favorite pass times. Yeah, the design is a little dorky, but he doesn't mind, and Maple Landmark consistently makes great toys right here.

Maple Landmark is an American gem, so if you want wood toys, I say start there. Another great toy from them? This shape stacker. I love that it is even colored with an eco-friendly (and kid-friendly) water-based dye. Need even more? They sell better wooden cars than Melissa and Doug as well.

Mondo Bloxx from Amazon

4. Mondo Bloxx

 Large cardboard blocks. Melissa and Doug recently put out a nearly identical set (with fewer blocks), but Mondo Bloxx is the way to go. Extremely popular in our house right now, and anything that is both made of cardboard and can survive my son is pretty impressive in my book.

Uncle Goose from Amazon

5. Uncle Goose Blocks

 Melissa and Doug have their own alphabet blocks, but none come close to Uncle Goose blocks. These are what all the other blocks wish they could be. I love the alphabet blocks, but we got the nursery rhyme blocks, which really help to remember those nursery rhymes you inevitably forgot. You can also get them in different languages if you kid is fancy and bilingual. One of my favorite Made in America toy companies out there.  For a fair trade block option, try out Tegu Magnetic Blocks.

6. Etsy

I want to keep highlighting amazing makers in the US, and I feel like my Etsy links can get caught in the more mainstream shuffle. So starting a series to focus on the greatest stuff we have found. 

from moonlightbindery

Legos have taken over everything, and when I was doing research about where to recycle them, I also came upon some awesome Etsy stuff. So I thought I should share the coolness!


DaRosa (Canada) makes drawer knobs out of recycled duplos. I love this. What a cool way to decorate a playroom or lego-lover's bedroom, and you are reusing plastic.


Remnants by RJ (Kansas) makes these spectacular toys (some known as "Toy Bots" out of recycled vintage toys and legos. These are so neat. What a strange and wonderful world. It might be cool to design a nursery around one of these.


Head Manufacturing sells one item on Etsy- these lego-posted bunk beds. So cool, and though I am not sure I would buy from a shop like this that is barely a shop, I couldn't let the chance to share it with you pass by.

moonlightbindery (Virginia) sells these awesome notebooks with upcycled covers that you can decorate yourself with legos! I think these could make a fun gift for a kid with an active imagination or an adult with a serious case of toy nostalgia. Either way, so fun.



BareSockcrafts (California) makes one of the weirdest things I have ever seen on Etsy- lego rosaries. You wouldn't think of such a sacred prayer tool being made of toys, but when you think of a first communion or getting a child started on a personal spiritual journey, I guess it could make sense? Start with something familiar and not so lofty it feels inaccessible. A unique idea, and the more I think about it, the more I like it. Plus, you just can't fight with recycled legos.

Want even more eco-friendly and local shopping inspiration? Check out my Giant List of Ethical and Eco-Friendly Shopping Lists. 

This blog series "Don't Buy... Instead Try..." intends to point out some of the most egregiously unethical, wasteful, and environmentally ridiculous companies out there. Instead of dwelling on their considerable awfulness, the series will focus on the other options you have for purchasing.

Every purchase we make is a vote for the kind of world we want. 
Every single purchase is political.
 Every single purchase has ethical ramifications, and 
every single purchase should be approached with a spirit of stewardship. 

We can change the world by refusing to fund extreme greed, the mistreatment of other human beings, and the trashing of the environment. We need to stay aware of the many choices available to us. Will we get it right every time? No. But if we all make little changes, we can send companies a new message, that consumers will show up if they do the right thing, are transparent, and focus on more ethical manufacturing. 

from The Odyssey Online

Every girl in America in the 90's got the American Girl catalogs as regular mail to flip through. I think I read the vast majority of the historical fiction books that went with each doll. They covered an amazing spread of American history, from slavery to immigration to the effect of war on families. Pretty impressive when you think about it, and the dolls actually won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award multiple times for their educational value as well as play.

I don't remember being impressed deeply by the historical accuracy, but I loved the outfits. You could buy the dolls pajamas, dress up clothes, all the good stuff. I think Samantha was my favorite because she had the best stuff, though eventually Molly won me over. I mean, who can fight mid-century with glasses. I also went through an Addy phase and a Kiersten phase.

Remember, I never owned one of these dolls, though I did have tons of their books. That's how great I thought they were. I had a favorite without ever owning one.

So, it cuts me deep to do this to you, Molly.

Now, the company looks very different. Many of these historical dolls have been phased out and they have mega American Girl Doll Stores, not just the catalog. Go ahead, accuse me of just being bitter that they have discontinued all of my childhood dolls. It might be a little true, but it is only part of the story...

American Girls are all made in China. They aren't all that American at all.

American Girl dolls are also very expensive- 115 dollars a doll without any accessories. When a product made with cheap labor is this pricey, it's worth it to us to ask where the rest of that money goes to. Maybe before this was because the Pleasant Company still manufactured stateside, and they were only available by mail order. In 1998, the company became a subsidiary of Mattel.

Did you know Mattel (of Barbie fame) also owns American Girl dolls? Mattel is another company that started out "All-American" but have since moved all of their labor overseas to reduce costs. So it is hard to feel too excited about Barbie's more "inclusive" line up when Mattel just got busted (yet again) for unsafe conditions for their workers.

 In 2015, both Mattel and Hasbro (the two most mainstream toy brands) failed inspections for the safety and treatment of their workers. They did so badly that they failed most of the Chinese labor laws for hiring and breaks. They began to be under scrutiny after a string of suicides by a sister company's workers. I hate this. I hate thinking that a child's toy, a desperate grab for a teeny bit of money, could be that destructive.

Equally disturbing is Mattel's history of very unsafe toys being made in these places. In 2007, the company recalled Barbies, Cars toys, and more because they had lead paint and unsafe magnets in them. 19 million toys had to be recalled for these reasons. Don't fool yourself, companies like these, with incredibly lax and irresponsible regard for their workers don't care more about you. If they can get away with poisoning your kids to make money, they probably will. Not exactly the American Dream, and a far cry from the really thoughtful designs that the American Girls began with.

Want to read more about how Mattel and Hasbro try to cheat their audits and refuse to comply with labor standards? Ethical Consumer has written multiple reviews on this exact topic.

Perhaps because of Barbie's clearer association with this nastiness, the company chooses not to connect the two brands, but they are both made by the same people. Yuck.

So, don't buy American Girl Dolls, Instead Try... 

1. Get them Used- Eh, this one is way tougher than most of what we have talked about, because they do still have a perceived value. On Ebay "American Girl" brings up 42,000 hits, but the dolls are actually a little more expensive. When I was a kid, the dolls were in a glass case in the library- serious business. So you can find old Molly's or Addy's, but they may be pretty expensive. You could also ask around on your local Buy Nothing, but again, perceived or emotional value might make these hard to part with.

from Roving One

3. Roving One- These rag dolls are in a similar spirit, but I think they are a little more affordable. You may have to keep an eye out for one that speaks to you. I just think they are so adorable- those legs are ridiculously sweet and lanky. Plus, they are a whopping 75 dollars cheaper than an American Girl doll.

Today, the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights released a labor report on the conditions of a factory in Zhenyang Wangyu, China. This factory makes MANY of the toys children play with- Disney, Mattel, and Hasbro to name a few, and the report is so horrifying it is hard to actually read. It's basically a sweatshop. A few bulletpoints:

- Workers shifts are 12-13 hours long, and they are forced to work mandatory overtime
- Dorms at the factory are freezing cold and overcrowded
- The workers sleep on plywood beds.

Reports like these break my heart, because we as American consumers have basically encouraged companies to treat people this badly. We vote with our money, and who hasn't bought something from one of these companies (or Fisher Price who I expect is just as bad if not worse, based on their generally irresponsible approach. Or Melissa and Doug, because that company is a bunch of shisters)? I know I have. Think of all the Frozen toys people (including me) have bought over the past few years. Someone was working like a slave to make them.

Every time we buy something with "Made in China" on the tag, we know we are supporting a country where laborers have no rights and are treated deplorably. These companies made the choice to move their factories there and to contract with sweat shops like these, but we as consumers told them that was ok. It's not.

So much of the money we spend tells these companies "I don't care how you do it, just give me what I want now!" Our economy system encourages this approach- we have thousands of choices of what toy to buy, and they hope our focus is on getting the exact thing a child wants instead of focusing on the ethics of where it came from. Toys are certainly not the only place this is a problem, but when you think of a child playing with one of these toys, it can be incredibly difficult to face that someone else's parent was treated so badly so they could have it. Is it worth it?

We are stewards of this Earth, and even if we don't make the right decision every time we shop, we can all put our money (and votes) toward companies who respect their laborers and the environment. Companies will do what will make them the most money; if they lose money for things like this, maybe they would change their approach.

We also are given the impression that there is literally no choice. People have told me multiple times since I started writing about this that "everything is made in China." It's just not true. I know you can be worried you won't be able to get your kid something they are interested in without buying from Disney or Mattel- but you can. If you put Disney Princess into Etsy's toy section, you get 4,600 options! You can still find things they will love without contributing to this problem.

 Here are a bunch of other companies you might look into instead:

1. Consignment Stores/ Buy Nothing- You want one of those plastic tricycles or a Barbie or an exersaucer? Time to go to your neighborhood consignment store! You can find a lot of things for cheap (or free on Buy Nothing), and those companies won't get a cent of your money.

from Green Toys

2. Green Toys- My faves. They make cars, tea sets, and all sorts of plastic toys out of recycled jugs here in the United States.

3. Little Tikes- Little Tikes don't make all of their toys in the US, so always check the origin, but showing this company specific support for their American products encourages them to keep it up and move more of their products here.

4. Uncle Goose- The best block company out there, in my opinion. You can get blocks in many languages and with the elements on them! Great learning tool and who doesn't love knocking over a tower?

5. Legos- Yes, legos are built and packaged at plants all over the world, but only in places with good labor policies. Plus, they recycle all the plastic left over in the manufacturing process! This might be the perfect way to buy something with the movie theme your kids love without putting money into a company with abusive labor practices (which is way less Christmasy).

from Lovable Puppet Pals

6. Glitz no More Dolls- It's slightly crushing that Barbie is involved in all of this, because I loved her so much. I had so many barbies (in fact, I still do- does anyone want them?) Want to stick it to Barbie or the Bratz? I love these Glitz no More dolls, which are used Bratz dolls repainted to not have make up on. It looks like it is a project between a mother and her daughter, and some of them look way cuter. Really steps up the whole used doll thing!

This is only a TINY fraction of the toys you can buy instead of buying from these companies. If you want to see more of my toy recommendations (there are many!), check out my Big List of Lists! Changing our shopping priorities even a fraction of the time can make the world a better place, so it is worth considering and at the very least, cutting out companies who disregard human value so fully.

Really steamed that companies are doing this? You can also write them to demand they change their labor policies (or even move labor back to the US since they are after your US money).