Want to give out goodie bags at your child's next birthday party? Goodie bags are standard at most parties and kids love taking them home. Printed plastic bags are readily available as are paper bags with plastic coatings. These goodie bags often filled with small Chinese imported toys and preservative-and-artificial-flavor-filled candy. Why not try something better for kids, the environment and the parents?

Re-useable Bags

There are many ways to incorporate different types of more healthy, imaginative and sustainable items into the goodie bags. Cotton drawstring party bags can be re-used in the future to wrap a present. Then the recipient can pass the bag along to the next person, and so on. The bag is made to be used many times. These can also be handy in your own house as a way to store puzzle pieces, small toy parts or sets of marbles, etc.

Fill the bag with a few toys made from sustainable wood and painted in non-toxic paint. Pristine planet has a great list of toy suppliers online and there are many stores that carry these items in New York. Art supplies are great as are whistles, flutes and other musical toys. Also, think about hair bands and clips for girls. You could include some organic lollipops, fair trade chocolates or some dried fruit for a treat. You can easily put something together that is eco-friendly and affordable.

This is only one way to teach children the proper way to approach sustainability. When you make an effort, you can come up with some great, interesting goodie bags!