Clothes sold in the West may now be 40 per cent cheaper than they were 10 years ago but the true cost is clear. Traditional cotton growing uses up to one-third of a pound of chemical pesticides and fertilizers to produce just one pound of cotton. These toxic chemicals can then soak through to the water table and as a result are believed to account globally for up to a million cases of poisoning and up to 20,000 deaths every year.

Many organizations, businesses and charities aim to raise awareness of these issues and encourage a life-long habit in consumers of asking for organic cotton when buying for babies and young children and selecting fair trade toys or toys from sustainable sources when thinking of gifts for their children.

The benefits to farming communities of avoiding so many hazardous chemicals in cotton production are obvious. However, as with organic foods, there are benefits to the consumer too. For example, formaldehyde, found in many fabric finishes has been identified as a cause of headaches, asthma attacks, rashes, general fatigue, and as a suspected human carcinogen. The absence of this, as well as any pesticide residue in the cotton, means organic clothing has been found to help many of those with acute allergies, asthma or sensitivities to chemicals. And because of the way it is grown organic cotton fibers are denser resulting in clothes that are soft but more durable making it perfect for a baby’s delicate skin.

Most fair trade toys are made on a small scale and due to the locations and economics of where they are made they are more likely to be made from locally sourced natural materials. This can result in a more sustainable toy avoiding a heavy dependency on plastic which is one of the show stoppers when it comes to any zero waste policy.

If parents discuss the choices available with their children it can foster a healthy awareness of the world around them. Increasing understanding of economics, and the impact the West has on less fortunate communities and the planet.

By describing this in terms of how the children of those families live can encourage empathy and trigger children’s natural tendency to make their mark and do some good.

Apart from changing the buying habits of themselves and their parents, some ideal small projects that children can get started on are collecting recyclables for charities to support families in developing countries and organizing a toy swap amongst their friends to reduce the amount of new plastic entering the supply chain.