More folks are shopping close to home as this article tells. They’re going for quality toys which will last for generations. Buying fewer things, but better things is a smart strategy. We’ve all had the experience of buying the latest toy only to have it break in two weeks or not perform as expected. One of my kids’ favorite things is our huge wooden train set. There are lots of alternatives to train sets and blocks made in China. Here are a few..
Holgate Toys from Zebulon USA
Wooden train sets and more
Maple Landmark Woodcraft
Trains, blocks, games and other wooden items.
My Unique Wooden Toys
Like it says . . .
Old Fashioned Blocks
Maple blocks, games and riding toys.
Roy Toy
Wooden building toys.
Whittle Shortline Railroad
Wood toys, trains, vehicles.
Wood That’s Fun
All sorts of wooden items.
I got an email today from a Web site that has done a lot of research into the toy recalls. It said that many toys that are listed as American-made in newspaper articles are actually made overseas. The site has created its own store of toys that it recommends and has confirmed are made in the USA, or in a few cases in Europe. Here is the email I got:
findingDulcinea published an article this week that every parent should read, about toy recalls. Some foreign-made toys are positively frightening. And the NY Times says the Consumer Product Safety Commission has ONE employee to test the safety of toys imported into America. A former official of the CPSC was quoted as saying “buyer beware – that is all I have to say.”
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/health/Health-Risks-with-Imported-Toys-Trouble-Parents-.html
Because of all this, many parents are eager to “Buy American” until stores can get a better handle on the issue. And with the plunging dollar making foreign goods more expensive anyway, American-made may be the way to go this year. So we did some research to find toys made in America. Most online stores do not have “U.S.A. only” sections. We found several newspaper articles about American-made toys, but when we verified their accuracy, we found that 25% of the toys listed are in fact made overseas, in whole or in part. So we created our own toy store on Amazon and popluated it only with toys that we are all but certain are made in the USA (or in a few cases, Western Europe) and that we recommend from our own parenting experience.
Here’s a link to the store:
http://www.dulcineamedia.com/store/?aznode=287
T. C. Timber has been out of business since 2002. You can still find a few of their leftover train sets online, usually tagged with “discontinued”. They were bought out by Haba who makes some things in Germany and others in China.
http://www.tacny.org/technologist/2002/issue0902.html
(page down halfway)
“Toy Story Ends
High costs force T.C. Timber to close Skaneateles manufacturing plant
~ ~ “For many years Marshal Larrabee was treasurer of the Technology Club and publisher of its newsletter and his contributions were remarkable. His wooden toy factory in Skaneatles was a landmark in the area and his association with the technology teachers was exceptional. Like many manufacturing plants in Ccntral New York, the toy factory is closing. Elizabeth Doran from the Post Standard wrote the following article about this situation”.
T.C. Timber/Habermaass Corp., which makes high-quality wooden trains, blocks and other toys, will close its manufacturing plant in Skaneateles this summer. The company will continue operating a sales office at its Jordan Road site and will move its shipping/distribution center into the factory.
Shutting down production in Skaneateles is necessary to keep the company competitive when the cost of maple hardwood is increasing, company officials said. The T.C. Timber brand will continue to be sold, but the products will be manufactured exclusively at the parent company in Germany. “This is the end of an era,” said Andrea Cramer, retail sales manager. “We’ve been in this town for 70 years in one form or another, and T.C. Timber has been around for 23 years. So people are very sad here. Most of our employees have worked here for a very long time.” T.C. Timber/Habermaass Corp. will continue to employ about 10 people in Skaneateles. Workers were told in mid-April about the decision to shut down local production, and about half the staff have found jobs since, Cramer said. About 15 workers will lose their jobs when the factory closes, she said.
The closing date will be announced in August (2002), when the board of directors from Germany arrives, she said. “The mood is very sad here,” Cramer said. “The toys we make are well-known and well-liked, but it order to stay competitive we would have to raise our prices. In Germany, the cost of materials and production is less. “T.C. Timber hasn’t raised its prices in three years, although the cost of local maple hardwood has been rising, she said. That’s made it increasingly difficult for the company to compete.
Since 1980, the company has been importing some of its product made by HABA, in addition to play balls, sand and water play and plastic dinnerware from two other German companies. The company, known for its toy trains and natural toy blocks, got its start in 1936, when Marshall Larrabee founded Skaneateles Handicrafters. Larrabee, who invented wooden trains on wooden tracks, first sold his toy trains to Marshall Field’s department. store. By 1940, he was in production in Mottville.
Thanks for the correction!
What a wonderful site. Would you consdier posting our product on your website? Thank you, Jessica