Either, I am having a run of bad luck, or Green Toys is no longer a company I feel confident investing in. I have been buying Green Toys since my first son (now almost 15) first started walking. He still had everything I ever bought him from Green Toys (and I bought him just about everything they ever produced), up until my two youngest sons (now 3 1/2 and 2) started abusing them. The toys stayed strong through years of use by my eldest, and were still going strong when my toddlers first started playing with them, but are now dropping like flies. I didn’t hesitate to replace the ones they’d started breaking, and also purchased some of the new releases. Green Toys had always been a company I was proud to invest in, and gift (time and time again) to every niece, nephew, cousin and friend’s children born throughout the years. When I attempted to replace the recycling truck, we received and subsequently returned, two with an open seam running all the way across the top/back/inside of the truck. The school bus arrived cracked (which could have been caused by carrier neglect, but noticing how much the quality of the plastic has gone down, can’t help but feel that contributed to it.) This was no easy feat either, since it’s come to my attention that they don’t make their products readily returnable. I’ve also ordered a second set of the tide pool bath set that comes in the green “seaweed” basket. The first one I’d ordered for my eldest originally came in a blue basket, and was handed down to my 3 1/2 year old. Which of course meant the need to order one of a different color for my 2 year old, so as to be able to discern “who’s is who’s, or all hell would break loose if my middle child was (heaven forbid) expected to share! After ordering this set in a manner of ways - about a half dozen times now - I am officially done. The plastic is clearly thinner, it does not have the heft it used to (it feels like cheap “Made in China” plastic). The water holes on most of them aren’t even fully formed holes! And then there are the colors. I intentionally purchased a different color set, for the aforementioned reason (I know those of you with one uptight toddler that won’t share, and one easy going toddler that is taken advantage of, know exactly what I’m talking about). Yet, every single time, the colors of the sea creatures do not match the pictures/description/reviews! They don’t even match the colors on the packaging wrapped around the product! So, I’m left receiving duplicates, which defeats the purpose. If the quality of the plastic wasn’t as good anymore, but the prices had also followed suit, I’d chalk it up to an American company trying to stay afloat and not outsource. But since these toys are relatively expensive, and have remained so as the quality of the plastic hasn’t, that just smacks of greed, IMHO. Has anyone else had this problem? Or been purchasing Green Toys for over a decade and found themselves recently disappointed with the quality? Normally, I’d be annoyed, but this time I’m genuinely saddened.
