Toys from KidBean: Funny Face Game and Honeysuckle Dreams Doll

While venting my frustration recently about all of the unethical companies wooing bloggers, I asked on twitter whether there were any ethical companies that were interested in working with bloggers. Melissa from KidBean got in touch and I’m so glad she did. Not only did reading about her company that day give me the peace of mind I needed by learning that there are indeed some decent business people out there, but it also gave me the opportunity to learn about her great company and for my kids to try out some of her great products (disclosure: I received the products described in this review for free for the purposes of testing and reviewing).

Company

Kidbean is an online boutique that offers earth-friendly, labour-friendly, vegan baby and children’s products. It is owned and operated by Melissa Zenz. As a self-described “vegan, passionate environmentalist, and conscientious mother of two“, Melissa carefully researches each and every company and product that she sells at KidBean.com.

The products that KidBean sells include:

• Bath and Body
• Bedding
• Clothing
• Diapers
• Footwear
• Furniture
• Gear (like baby carriers, diaper bags, etc.)
• Gift Supplies and Cards
• Gifts
• Maternity and Nursing
• Subscriptions
• Toys

What I liked

The variety of products listed above is impressive.They also have a really useful website that allows you to navigate by the categories listed above, as well as by size (for clothing), by season, and by age (for toys). What impressed me even more than the vast selection was the ethical standards of KidBean. From their Why we don’t carry…? page:

Our new product review process includes in-depth research into the product and its manufacturer to ensure a suitable match with our Standards, including those for fair labor, environmental sustainability, veganism, and safety.

Over the years, we’ve earned a reputation as being a bit…well, a bit strict in our review process. We’re quite proud of this reputation and will continue to be “strict” because it is in the best interest of our customers, their children, the planet we all share and all its inhabitants. (My mother always said I was difficult!)

If a product/company does not meet our Standards at first contact, we offer to assist them in implementing changes that will make the product/company more labor-friendly, earth-friendly, vegan-friendly, and/or safe. Sometimes our offer of assistance is accepted, sometimes it is not so welcome.

I admire greatly the research that she does, the high standards that she upholds, and her willingness to work with companies to help them meet higher standards.

What I didn’t like

I have only one tiny criticism. I admire everything KidBean doing to be environmentally friendly. One aspect of that is that they don’t ship outside of North America and it appears as though they don’t accept products that come from outside of North America either. A number of products that were refused were refused because of the country they are manufactured in. Initially I thought it was due to unfair labour practices in those countries, but then I noticed Portugal and Australia on the list and thought that cannot be the case.

One of the products that I received to review is from Canada. I also live in Canada. So this product was shipped from Canada, to the United States, and then back to Canada.  My package came quickly, so I assume it was sent by air. I guess I wonder if carrying a product from Portugal is really worse than shipping things back and forth by air within North America? I agree that it makes sense to buy local for things we buy all the time. But for something like bedding that I might order once every two years, if there is a great product from Portugal, I wouldn’t hesitate to order it.

This was the only thing that perplexed me a bit about the company. I know that Melissa does encourage people to shop locally whenever possible (which is great!), but at the same time KidBean obviously relies on shipping to do its business and it seemed strange to me that they would refuse otherwise wonderful products due to distance. I thought there must be a way to reduce impact and still be able to provide those products (e.g only order a few times per year, do surface mail instead of air mail).

Product: Family Pastimes Funny Face Cooperative Game

One of products that we tested was the Family Pastimes Funny Face Cooperative Game.  The game is made with recycled components and comes from Canada. It is for between 3 and 18 players ages 3 to 8 years old. We have played it several times with between 2 and 4 players, ages 2 years, 5 years and adult. Here is how it works: When you land on one of the clown faces, you pick a card that describes a thing or an action and you have to act it out until your next turn.

• What we liked about the game: The game was a great way for the kids to be creative and active while playing an indoor game. It is non-commercial (not Dora, Spider Man, or Car Movie), but the kids love it and beg to play it over and over again. The things that you act out range from every day activities (hanging clothes out to dry) to animals to plants (a mushroom). Although it is a kids game, it is fun and appropriate for the whole family and I think I had as much fun as the kids playing it.

• What we didn’t like about the game: The cards that describe the thing you need to act out are on simple paper. I would have preferred something a bit sturdier, like recycled cardboard. I worry that too many of them will get torn or too easily lost as we use the game a lot.We had to control a bit for bossiness in our 5 year old. He wanted to tell his sister how she should be acting things out and told her she was doing it wrong a few times. I think it was a good learning opportunity for him (learning to accept different ways of doing things), but it did require a bit of parental management of the situation to ensure that everyone had fun.

• Recommendation: This is a great game that is lots of fun and gives lots of room for creativity. I would highly recommend it as a great family game.

Product: Honeysuckle Dreams Doll

The other product that KidBean sent us to try was a HoneySuckle Dreams Doll. These organic cotton dolls are made from 100% (inside and outside) organic cotton and are hand-dyed using natural dyes. They are about 10″ tall and are made in the United States.

• What we liked about the doll: Melissa matched the doll to a picture of my daughter, so she has similar colouring. This can be great for kids that generally look at the dolls on the shelves in a store and don’t find any that look like them. You can choose the gender, skin tone (light, medium or dark), hair colour, and eye colour for the doll. The doll is nice and soft and my daughter just loves her. It feels great not having to worry about what toxic materials might be in the doll if she puts it in her mouth. While we haven’t cleaned it yet, the doll looks nice and easy to clean too.

• What we didn’t like about the doll: I would love a choice of clothing colour too. My daughter’s doll came with pink clothing, which she loves, but we are also trying to convince her that girls don’t always have to wear just pink and purple.

• Recommendation: These are great dolls, especially if you are looking for bottle-free, plastic-free, dolls.

Recommendation

I would highly recommend the products that we tried. My kids love them and it feels great to buy products made by ethical companies and sold by an ethical online boutique. If you’re looking for great Christmas, Birthday or other holiday gifts for your kids or other families, be sure to check out KidBean.

Giveaway

Melissa has kindly agreed to donate one Honeysuckle Doll and one Funny Faces game as part of a giveaway for my readers. Here are the rules:

1. You need to live in Canada or the United States to participate
2. Go to the KidBean.com website and browse around
3. Come back here and leave a comment indicating which product you liked best and why
4. While you’re at it consider becoming a fan of KidBean on facebook or following @kidbean on twitter (not required to win, but a great way to stay on top of what is happening with KidBean and also the other great informaiton and research that Melissa shares)

The contest closes on November 9, 2009 at 9:00pm EST. Good luck!