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Fresh Look: Oompa Toys
September 11, 2007

Last week, Mattel announced yet another recall on lead-contaminated toys. Industry experts estimate that over 80% * of toys are either made or source materials from China, so more recalls are likely to come. With the quality of mass-produced toys in question, there’s been plenty of talk about not buying toys, making your own toys, buying only organic cotton toys and so forth. I agree with all these reflections and really try to live by the less-is-more motto. However, I don’t think it’s practical to not ever buy another toy, especially since not all parents share the same philosophy. Rather than joining the Not-Made-In-China hysteria, I decided to go back to some basics of toy selection: safe, age-appropriate, non-violent toys that stimulate imagination and motor development.

So for an upcoming birthday party, I decided to try out Oompa Toys,

an online retailer that believes “toys should be natural, non-violent and from manufacturers who provide safe and nurturing environments for their employees.” Beware that you will NOT find character-based, dirt-cheap plastic, almost disposable toys here. For the most part, Oompa Toys carries a large variety of wooden toys (mostly manufactured in Europe), even though a smaller selection of art supplies, stuff dolls and ride-on toys is available as well. Examples of the well-known brands include Brio, Haba and Selecta. The site is well organized and searchable by categories, brands or age. For each item, there’s a detailed description, age appropriateness and learning skills guide. The really nice addition is that Oompa details where the toy is made and the safety standards met by the manufacturer. There’s a special “Made in Europe” category for toys where the source has been specifically confirmed by the manufacturer. The prices are competitive with many of larger retailer sites that carry some of the same brands. It appears that Oompa has gone to great lengths in manufacturer selection and communication, as I read through their blog. I was surprised by the willingness of the vendors to share their manufacturing details. For example, Haba (small compared to Mattel but well-known in their niche) provided a list of manufacturing origins for all of its products. Oompa has also added a “Where Our Products Are Made” page that summarizes the product source and safety certifications earned by each of its vendors.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the Oompa’s online store efficiency. Their shopping cart is fairly standard but does offer an address book option to help return shoppers speed up the checkout process..

Also, if you write reviews on the products, you can accumulate discount points towards your future purchase. I ended up purchasing the Haba Fantasy Blocks. Even with regular ground shipping, the blocks arrived in 4 business days. Although the toy was still encased in protective packaging, there was definitely less of it, just enough to keep the blocks together and unscratched. Overall, I was very happy with my purchase and Oompa and I am glad to have found this little online treasure.

CindyC atOrganicpicks

Other related Fresh Looks:
Crazy Crayons
Great Children’s Books
Organic Children’s T-shirts

* As initially reported by MSNBC

Copyright 2007 Organicpicks