FORT COLLINS, Colo., Feb. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Five years of eco-innovation by BeginAgain and the founders' iconic Sprig designs will power a new partnership with John Deere and more than a dozen new eco-toys from the BeginAgain workshop, including vehicles made in the USA from a bio-composite of sugar cane and corncobs. BeginAgain's 2016 line-up will debut this month in booth #5863 at the 2016 North American International Toy Fair.
BeginAgain recently acquired eco-friendly toy company Sprig, known for its playful, iconic designs and bio-composite plastic called Sprigwood. The popular brand was founded by BeginAgain's Chris Clemmer and David Bowen in 2007. In less than three years, Sprig earned 30 awards for its innovative, kid-powered toys, including a 2010 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Award from the Toy Industry Association for the Dolphin Explorer Boat and three 2009 TOTY nominations for the iconic Discover Rig.
"BeginAgain's mission to reduce the petroleum in creative play dovetails nicely with Sprig's focus on responsibly crafted toys for today's kids," said Bowen, who created many of the Sprig vehicles and characters before co-founding BeginAgain. "It feels so natural to welcome Sprig into the BeginAgain workshop and leverage our original designs with new bioplastics in partnership with John Deere."
Harvested in America's heartland, the corncobs in BeginAgain's "sweet" new bioplastic reduce the amount of plastic required in the new toys by 30 percent and give them a toasted-corn scent. This cutting-edge, plant-based material also contains sugar cane, but no petroleum.
"We are moving kids from oil to soil, using plants to create today's plastics," said Clemmer. "BeginAgain is proud to partner with John Deere to bring toys made from the bounty of American farms and produced in American factories, into the homes of families around the world."
Sprig is BeginAgain's second acquisition—ImagiPLAY was added to the workshop in 2011—and further expands BeginAgain's growing toolbox of innovative, award-winning eco-toys. BeginAgain has won 27 honors for its own designs, bringing the founders' total to 57 toy awards in the past eight years.
New for 2016 from the BeginAgain workshop
BeginAgain's John Deere Eco-Rigs—a Front Loader and a Dump Truck—have working scoop and dump features to encourage active, creative play. Made from plants in John Deere's signature green and yellow, the Eco-Rigs will retail for $24.99 and are recommended for ages 3 and up.
The John Deere Farmer's Lemonade Set serves four and all of the pieces pack inside the pitcher for easy clean-up and storage. Offering classic role-play fun for both boys and girls, this durable, plant-based playset will be priced at $19.99 and is recommended for ages 3 and up.
The newest addition to BeginAgain's popular line of wooden alphabet puzzles, The Farm A to Z is a complete farm playset and a learning toy in one. Each of the 26 chunky pieces is a familiar animal, plant, piece of equipment or person on the farm—from A for apple tree and C for cow, to T for tractor and V for veterinarian. Made from eco-friendly rubber wood with child safe stains, the new puzzle will retail for $39.99 and is recommended for ages 3 and up. The Farm A to Z Puzzle will be available in June 2016.
Tinker Totter Robots will please space-crazy kids and their eco-minded parents. Everyone loves to stack and connect the chunky components in this 28-piece set to create colorful robots of all shapes and sizes. Made from eco-friendly rubber wood with child-safe stains, the playset develops creative thinking and problem solving skills. Tinker Totter Robots is recommended for ages 2 and up and will retail for $24.99 starting in June 2016.
About BeginAgain
Created by toymakers David Bowen and Chris Clemmer, BeginAgain is focused on thoughtful product design and imaginative storytelling for today's kids. It is our goal to inspire children with stories of invention, adventure, and good old-fashioned fun. BeginAgain toys teach through play and nurture the development of the whole child. The company is based in Fort Collins, Colorado. Explore the BeginAgain workshop online at www.beginagaintoys.com.