From snakes and lizards to lions and elephants, there are plenty of stuffed animals available for your children to keep and enjoy. Very young children often learn about animals from other countries by playing with their replica toys and building on what they have already read in books and seen on television. The sounds they make, what foods they eat and the lifestyle they have are explored and can be expanded upon by parents and caregivers. This can provide not only the child’s comfort with the toy, but also an educational resource, with which children can learn about the country of origin of the animal, its cultures and lifestyles.
There is a bewildering selection of stuffed animals available around the world. While some are mass-produced by various well-known companies in factories in established countries, or are cheaply made and mass-sold around the world, there is often much that is not known about the source materials, the hand of work, production and the area where the toys are produced.
There are now a few independent companies based on years of tradition now offering stuffed animals as well as other traditional craft products. The crafts are made and based in the same area where the business is located using a variety of traditional skills.
One such traditional organization is Barefoot, based in Sri Lanka. This organization is 30 years old. Once run by Barbara Sansoni, who passed on her traditional craft skills to many generations of people, this organization is fair trade and has recruited many local people who handcraft a wide variety of toys and gifts. Workers are fairly remunerated for their efforts and the local environment is conserved by those who work there. One of their most popular item groups is the cute stuffed animal, of which they produce a variety. Each of the toys is handmade from natural cotton and filled with locally produced kapok fiber seeds, ensuring the sustainability of the local environment.
This is just one example of many small plush toy manufacturers found throughout the world. For example, in Germany, the city of Seiffen in the Erzgebirgskreis district, located within a national park on the border with the Czech Republic, is famous for its locally made toys. From traditional wooden toys to soft toys, many traditional crafts have been passed down and traditional toys are still made there today. There is also a toy museum open to the public that showcases the years of stuffed toys and wooden crafts.
When buying stuffed animals for your children, always check the source. It is always recommended that you buy toys that are fairly traded, carefully made with traditional crafts to support local communities and environments. The internet has made it much easier to find companies as they have their own websites with information on the sources, availability and production of the toys. Remember that by buying these toys you will be supporting local communities and people.