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TOYS FROM MILK JUGS: MEET COMMUNITY PARTNER GREEN TOYS
By: Pamela Parker | Photographed by Cristen Wright | August 12, 2021
Video by Pamela Parker
Tiburon dad Charlie Friend has seen toys flying across the room enough times to know that a durable toy is of unquestionable importance for a young child’s safety.
“All my kids abuse these toys,” he laughs. “We see them constantly break the ones that are not Green Toys.”
Charlie and Danielle Friend moved from San Francisco to Marin with their dog, Reggie, in 2017. Today, they have a busy house with three bouncy boys all under the age of three.
Photo credit: Cristen Wright
Danielle is an active SMMC mom involved in several playgroups and their company, Green Toys, joined the Club as a community partner in 2021 (check it out here).
When Charlie isn’t busy being dad to his three toddlers, he is President of Green Toys and has been so since 2013.
This popular eco-friendly toy company, like so many Bay Area businesses, began life in a Mill Valley garage.
The story of Green Toys started in 2008 with business school classmates Robert and Laurie. The duo got together with the idea of producing classic toys that would stand the test of time.
Photo credit: Cristen Wright
In their quest for the perfect material to make their toys with, they discovered that milk jugs were the second-biggest contributor to landfill outside of water bottles, with only 30% ever making it to the recycling plant.
With 70% of milk jugs staying in the landfill, the pair made it their mission to do something about it. Today, the company has recycled over 110 million milk jugs to date by bringing them back into our living rooms, creating toys loved so well by toddlers and babies.
“It’s food safe, has no BPA or PVC, so it's super clean. Being in Marin, everyone has this outdoor lifestyle that moves inside and outside. So, we injection-mold the toys. The color is baked in and it will never fade. You can leave them outside and clean the toys by putting them in the dishwasher; they will never break,” Charlie says.
Designed and manufactured purely in the US, these toys surpass US and international standards for BPA and phthalates. The company works hard at designing unquestionably safe toys that don’t cut corners by using screws, glue, metal or paint.
Photo credit: Cristen Wright
Charlie comes from a long line of business entrepreneurs so running a business has always been in his blood.
“After WWII, my grandfather started a frozen meat company by making patties by hand in the basement of his in-laws’ house. He grew the business from one truck, to two trucks to eventually five factories. So, I grew up with that entrepreneurial spirit and always wanted my own business, something I could be passionate about and also do good in the world.”
And he found just that when he bought Green Toys in 2013.
“Toys are at the forefront of our world. We have a ton of fun and I'm learning so much from (my boys) about what toys they play with and how they play with them,” he says.
Photo credit: Cristen Wright
Charlie gets involved in all aspects of the business. From design team meetings, to figuring out what products to make, to working with all of their manufacturing partners in the Bay Area – he makes sure the company is run thoughtfully with heart and a personal touch.
The company has grown 300% in sales the last eight years and it is now about 20 people strong.
“We have a lot of momentum. A lot more people are buying toys and we are expanding where we sell.”
Green Toys not only sells toys through their own website, but also online through stores like Pottery Barn, Whole Foods, Target and Sprout San Francisco. They are available all over the world in over 3,000 physical stores in places as far as the United Kingdom, Japan and Taiwan.
“My plan for the future is to continue to grow the business to the best of my abilities. Grow the team, do more good and try to get into different categories,” he says.
“And someday, I would love for my boys to be a part of the business. They're only two and a half so there's a lot of time to go, but that would be awesome.”
Photo credit: Cristen Wright
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Pamela Parker lives in Mill Valley with her husband, son and cat. She began her journalism career writing for financial and legal magazines in Sydney, Australia. After spending almost a decade Down Under, she moved to Singapore where she worked as a TV news producer for BBC World News and local broadcaster Channel News Asia. She co-currently serves as Editor-in-chief of The Crier and on the board as the 2021 President-Elect.
Cristen Wright has lived all over the country with her husband and has even called the beautiful island of Dominica home before settling in Marin six years ago with their four beautiful girls. Her favorite things to do are spend time with her family, travel and photography. She is an official photographer for SMMC and a key member of the Crier photography team.