Company’s initial seven-strong product line receives strong reaction from retailers.
Best known for its collections of knitted and crochet toys, Best Years is expanding its roster with the launch of a new wooden toy range.
The company is starting with seven products – two dinosaur rollers, a wooden bus, a rainbow, clock and a space puzzle. These will begin to arrive in October with new designs being added over the next six months.
Best Years’ Gaynor Humphrey explained the story behind the new collection to PreschoolNews.net. “Back in 2018, Traidcraft – one of the oldest and most respected of fair trade wholesalers in the UK – became one of many UK retailers to have to readjust their business to accommodate the issues facing our high streets,” she explained. “They needed to reduce the amount of products they sold so reluctantly had to discontinue all non-food items. This had the unfortunate consequence of fair trade producers suddenly losing their UK customer and the call went out to other fair trade wholesalers to see if anyone could partner with these producers.”
Gaynor continued: “We had always wanted to offer wooden toys because we felt wooden and crochet toys made a great mix, and also that our customers would appreciate being able to buy both wooden and crochet toys from the same company.”
Best Years’ new partner also uses wood upcycled from the manufacture of wooden furniture, further proving that waste materials do not necessarily need to go into landfill.
Gaynor added: “From the reaction to this initial range, we are going to concentrate on ‘open play’ toys such as the rainbow and we already have plans to double the range based on this direction.”
