Eco-Friendly Gifts for Babies

When it comes to eco-friendly gifts for babies, the holidays are a great chance to gift items your little one needs since they don’t have too many wants at this age.

After 12 years of putting together our annual green gift guides, we know how to find the brands that make high quality, sustainable, and safe toys. The same goes for practical and baby care items.

Your baby’s body and brain are constantly developing. And because they are smaller, toxins and chemicals have a stronger effect on their little bodies. You want to be cautious to surround them with safe, natural items.

Every time we recommend a baby gift or gear item, we try to make sure it meets as many of these criteria as possible:

• non-toxic so it’s a safe choice for your little one
• eco-friendly so there’s minimal impact on the planet
• ethically made so the people who produced it are treated well and paid fairly
• long lasting or high quality so it doesn’t break an end up in a landfill anytime soon AND so you get the most out of your money
• low tech toys so your child’s attention span can stay in tact for as long as possible
• and fun – because that’s what toys are all about

If you need help selecting the right gifts for the right age, check out this guide on how to choose age-appropriate toys.

With that in mind, here are our top picks for safe toys and eco friendly gifts for babies.

This post includes affiliate links. See our full disclosure.

Eco Friendly Gifts for Babies

Baby’s first Christmas is an excellent time to opt for some practical gifts like grooming essentials, a crib or toddler bed mattress, or clothes. They’re not really old enough to grasp the excitement of opening toys, and the bag or paper might be more fun than the gift. Why not use your budget here (or the wish list for family members) to get a few things baby needs?

While the “baby” classification is generally just the first 12 months, you’ll find a little overlap with toddler in a few of these items. If your baby has already celebrated their first birthday, be sure to check our toddler gift guide too.

Silicone Bear Teether

Just about everything at Kumu Baby is safe, non-toxic, and absolutely darling. Their bear teething ring is made from food-grade silicone and is BPA and phthalate free. It comes in seven earth tone colors.

Non-Toxic Baby Care Bundle

Give your baby the cleanest start with organic, vegan, and completely fragrance-free care items. They meet EWG VERIFIED™ criteria for ingredient safety and transparency while upholding all-natural claims with certification from Cert Clean and EcoCert.

These rich, moisturizing products are dermatologist-tested and enriched with aloe vera, calendula, and oat oil to hydrate, soothe, and protect baby’s sensitive skin. I love that they really have no fragrance but still work incredibly well.

And you know how we love a gift that gives back! A percentage of all Birch Baby sales go to the David Suzuki Foundation to help protect nature’s diversity and the well-being of all life, now and for the future. The company also has an amazing line for adults.

Five Zone Play Gym

Lovevery’s Parent’s Choice award-winning play gym includes everything your baby needs in an activity gym and play mat—from batting to teething to learning to focus—for playtime and tummy time with purpose. 

With 24 baby-tested, Montessori activities and 7 accessories, this baby-safe play gym is made from non-toxic materials including organic cotton and sustainable wood.

Linen Ruffle Bonnet

You won’t be able to choose just one thing from Minnie and Co. They have the sweetest, natural baby and toddler clothing and accessories. This bonnet is linen, so it is breathable in summer and still warm enough to protect those little ears in spring and fall.

Age-Appropriate Play Kits

Child development specialists created Lovevery’s play kits specifically for children from birth to age 5. This curated toy kit ships every three months and each set is specifically designed for your child’s developmental stage. You can start or stop the subscription at any time.

All of the toys included are made from sustainable and nontoxic materials, recycled materials, soy based inks, and safe silicones.

Organic Crib Mattress

Another amazing practical baby gift idea! Perhaps you’ve learned about the dangers of conventional mattresses and are interested in the essential benefits of a nontoxic organic crib mattress.

I have hands-on experience with two Naturepedic mattresses and with their crib mattresses. They lead our mattress recommendations in every category because they’ve been creating safe, nontoxic bedding for the last 20 years.

I trust Naturepedic because they exceed all baby sleep safety standards. They also attained GOTS, GOLS, Non-GMO, Greenguard Gold, and Green America certifications. These certificates are issued to Naturepedic themselves – they don’t just pass along their supplier credentials as their own.

You can use code GREENCHILD15 to get 15% off the purchase of Naturepedic top-rated, Greenguard gold certified organic mattresses and accessories. 

Your Favorite Fandom Inspired Onesie

The Green Child babies have worn onesies celebrating everything from the White Sox World Series win to the “how you gonna have a dream come true” lyrics from South Pacific’s Happy Talk. We’ve also had the Lord of the Rings inspired baby wraps and a variety of baseball and soccer team baby accessories.

So, if you were waiting for permission to share your favorite fandom with your baby, you don’t need it but here it is! Etsy is filled with creative baby gear like Warning: I Break Into Show Tunes and How Do You Measure a Year?

Sunshine Baby Activity Walker

A great sitting or walking toy, this baby walker has a sun that flips to a mirror, a windmill that turns, a rainbow wire toy with beads, a clacking crescent moon on a cloud, a small snow sound maker, a flipping polar bear face and snowflake, and a window that opens to a snow bunny. There’s also a great storage space in the back.

Tiger Tunes Wooden Activity Toy

The tiger-themed musical activity board features 5 musical toys in one: 8-key xylophone, drum, cymbal, mushroom clacker, and washboard sound maker.

Musical exploration encourages cause-and-effect learning and motor skill development. Mounting hardware is included so your child can enjoy this busy board on the floor or mounted to the wall.

Wooden Baby Hair Brush Set

Another practical gift for baby! Fephas’ set of three baby grooming tools includes a soft brush made with natural goat hair bristles and a massaging wooden bristle brush of natural wooden bristles. Both have beech wood handles. It also includes a maple wood comb.

This classic Montessori toy is perfect for babies 7 months and up because this is about the time when babies are naturally interested in fitting things together.

Each individual piece is about 2 inches tall and finished with a homemade natural beeswax and olive oil blend.

Classic Oball

We rarely recommend plastic toys (this one is BPA free) but the Oball is a classic toy for babies and toddlers. It is lightweight and super easy for little hands to grip. It also encourages development of motor skills.

A great ball for learning how to toss and catch, it’s also light and soft enough not to hurt if it hits baby (or you) in the head or face.

You can learn more about how to choose safe plastic toys here.