Traditional toys in Milford: why we stock wood, not plastic

Ask most gift shops why they sell wooden toys instead of the plastic, batteries-included kind, and you’ll get some version of “kids need to unplug.” True enough. It’s not our real reason.

Liam has spent the last few years writing a book about ending modern slavery — the supply chains behind the cheapest version of almost everything, including toys. A huge share of the world’s plastic toys are made fast, made cheap, and made possible by labor conditions nobody would accept if they saw them. That’s not a marketing angle. It’s the actual argument of the book, and it’s why the toy shelf at BetterWorld looks the way it does.

We can’t personally audit every wooden toy’s supply chain either — we’re not going to pretend otherwise. But smaller-batch, wood-based, built-to-last goods are structurally harder to make under exploitative conditions than a $4 plastic toy stamped out by the millions. Slower production, higher per-unit cost, and a maker who can’t hide behind ten layers of subcontracting. It’s not a guarantee. It’s a better bet.

What’s actually on the shelf

Right now that includes a wooden Viking shield — steel boss, knotwork carved into the face, sized for a kid who’s decided the back garden is a longship. No batteries, no app, nothing to charge overnight.

Alongside it: Elseware finger paint and beeswax crayons, both non-toxic and both made to be used with your hands rather than a screen. A copy of 1000 Hours Outside sits on the same shelf, which tells you what the whole corner is organized around — a case for less screen time, backed by the actual books making that case.

There’s a “Screen-Free Fun” section stocked with the kind of games and craft kits that don’t need charging: crystal-growing kits, card games, activity books. And on the reading side: The Daring Book for Girls and The Dangerous Book for Boys, the kind of thing a grandparent buys without needing it explained to them.

The honest caveat

A wooden toy costs more than the plastic equivalent, and it won’t do anything on its own — the kid has to bring the imagination. Some do. Some don’t, and for those kids, buy the thing they’ll actually play with. We’d rather say that than sell you a shelf ornament.

And we’re not claiming the whole shelf is independently audited back to the tree. What we can say is that we chose slower, smaller, wood over plastic — on purpose, for a reason that has nothing to do with nostalgia marketing.

As one recent review put it: “Toys I actually want my kids to play with… the ethos behind it all is fantastic.” That’s the shelf we’re going for.

Come and have a look

We’re at 320-322 Broad Street in downtown Milford, open 8am to 6pm every day. The toy corner is just past the register, in through the café side.