Eco-Friendly Mama: Safe product recommendations with a focus on organic and Made in USA!

Review of Philadelphia Doll Company! When this package arrived I opened it up and took the doll out of it’s cloth bag and presented it to my son for the 1st time, he reached out and gave it’s face the sweetest caress, it seriously melted my heart. I will get some shots of my babe playing with his doll, but for now I wanted to get a few photos uploaded to show you how adorable this guy is. Boy dolls are not easy to find, and I wouldn’t have a problem with my boy playing with a girl doll whatsoever, but think it’s fabulous that I found such a great option for him! The booties do fall off easily, so I generally leave the sweater and booties in the cloth bag. When my babe is a bit older (he’s 20 months currently), he can practice dressing & undressing him. Jessica, the mama who makes these wonderful dolls, is obviously very creative and talented, and up for a challenge any day. Each doll is custom made, you are able to choose skin/hair/eye color for yourself, which I think is fabulous. Please take a minute to browse through her Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Philadelphiadollco. If you don’t see something you love, contact her to discuss making you a custom design. It’s very obvious that these dolls are a true labor of love. I do have sewing abilities myself, but honestly can’t imagine how much time goes into one of these dolls.

I realized I had to show my son how to play with a doll, it’s not something that came naturally. After the sweet caress he gave it’s face initially, I believe he threw it up in the air & walked away– typical toddler   So, we have this guy join us while we’re dancing around the house, jammin’ out on the keyboard, jumping around, all the things my toddler loves to do. He’s starting to catch on, and initiates play with him now.

About the materials used, and my inquiry into the possibility of an organic doll, which several of you have expressed interest in: “I use kona cotton (which is a quilting fabric) for the skin. I use it because it is readily available, comes in a wide variety of great colors and has the right weight to tolerate firm stuffing. I haven’t searched for organic fabrics to replace the Kona cotton and I suspect that it would be difficult to find the same great range of colors. I’d be willing to try though. I use 100% wool stuffing for the dolls. I order it in bulk from the west earl woolen mill in Ephrata PA (Lancaster county). It is minimally processed–still has a strong “sheepy” smell and some plant matter in it occasionally. For the clothes I mostly use quilting weight cottons with some recycled/upcycled fabrics either from my kids’ outgrown clothes or vintage textiles that I get at yard sales, etc. Your doll’s shirt is made from the organic ‘swaddle-me’ blanket that I used for my youngest when he was tiny. The hair is made with a mixture of wool and mohair yarns. I’d be open to using different materials. The organic fabric tends to be 25-50% more per yard, but the dolls only use about 1/4th yard each so it probably wouldn’t add that much. Organic wool stuffing, yarn for hair and clothes would probably make things significantly more expensive.”