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White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning Group, Kansas City, MO, USA

By Community Playthings

"Rising global concern about climate change and environmental stewardship have led many manufacturing companies to reexamine their products and processes for ways to benefit the environment and the people that inhabit it. As manufacturers of wooden furniture and play equipment, Community Playthings contributes to quality early childhood environments through thoughtfully designed and exceptionally durable products. We have been making high quality solid maple furniture and toys for more than 50 years, and our primary concern has always been the wellbeing of children and those who care for them.

Because our concern includes the planet and future generations, we have long worked to ensure our products meet or exceed all legal requirements for environmental compliance and safety.  Even as we go about our work building furniture and toys that enrich indoor learning environments, we are mindful of our role in protecting the outdoor environment. For example, the hardwood maple we use grows fast, reforests well, and comes from the Northeast, close to our woodshops -- instead of thousands of gallons of gasoline away. That has always been the case. But more recently, we have instituted a number of new environmental initiatives designed to ensure our products meet the absolute latest environmental standards and customer needs.

We began by joining the U.S. Green Building Council, publisher of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System. To further ensure the sustainability of our forests, we offer products with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, a stringent product certification that guarantees our wood to be legally and responsibly harvested. FSC-certified furnishings also support customers who are participating in LEED building projects.

Additionally, in the materials, adhesives, and coatings we use, Community Playthings contributes to cleaner indoor air, healthier classroom environments, and the LEED goals of our customers. We are working with Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), one of the most respected U.S. certifying bodies for Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), to achieve IAQ certification for our products. Already, many of our products are now certified to Indoor Advantage Gold, one of the most stringent indoor air quality standards and the only one that is health based. This certification also supports credit for LEED projects.

Finally, while the safety of Community Playthings products has never come into question, we are taking energetic steps to test, certify and comply with the new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008. That extra measure will ensure our customers have an additional level of confidence when they choose Community Playthings products.

Today more than ever, our commitment to environmental responsibility and safety is as solid as they come. The children we all care about deserve nothing less."

Check out furniture made from sustainable wood at www.communityplaythings.com/resources/EcoCertifications/index.html. Community Playthings also offers great resources for directors and teachers. White Hutchinson contributed an article to one of the company's recent online resources, available at www.communityplaythings.com/resources/articles/environmentaleducation/index.html.

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