What Is Rubberwood? The Sustainable Story Behind Our Toys

Pick up any Tender Leaf or Mentari toy and you’ll notice something about the wood. It’s pale, smooth, and beautifully grained — with a warmth and weight that feels quite different from the hollow plastic it replaces. That wood is rubber wood, and its story is one of the things we’re most proud of.

Because the material your child’s toys are made from matters. It matters for the planet, it matters for the people who make them, and it matters for the small hands that hold them every day.

So What Is Rubber wood?

Rubber wood — also known as parawood or by its botanical name, Hevea brasiliensis — is the timber from the rubber tree. These trees have been cultivated across Indonesia for over a hundred years, primarily for their latex, which is tapped to produce natural rubber. A rubber tree produces latex for around 25 years. After that, the yield declines and the tree reaches the end of its productive life.

Traditionally, these spent trees were simply felled and burned. The wood had no commercial value and was treated as waste. But over the past few decades, a far better idea has taken hold: instead of burning the timber, use it. Turn it into furniture, homeware, and — in our case — beautiful, lasting toys.

This is what makes rubber wood a genuinely reclaimed material. We’re not cutting down trees to make toys. We’re using timber that would otherwise be discarded, giving it a second life as something a child will treasure for years.

Why Rubber wood Works So Well for Toys

Rubber wood isn’t just sustainable — it’s also an exceptionally good material for children’s toys. It has a fine, even grain and a pale cream colour that takes water-based paints beautifully, which is why our toys have such a clean, contemporary look. The wood is dense and strong, but not too heavy — important when you’re designing toys for small children.

It’s also remarkably durable. A well-made rubber wood toy doesn’t chip, splinter, or crack in the way cheaper softwoods can. It survives being thrown, chewed, stacked, crashed, and loved intensely — which, if you’ve spent any time around a two-year-old, you’ll know is a non-negotiable requirement.

What Is SVLK Certification?

All of the rubber wood used in our Tender Leaf Toys and Mentari Toys ranges is SVLK certified. SVLK stands for Sistem Verifikasi Legalitas Kayu — Indonesia’s national timber legality verification system. It’s a government-backed scheme that ensures every piece of timber is legally harvested, properly documented, and fully traceable from plantation to finished product.

In practice, this means we can trace the wood in your child’s toy back to the specific plantation it came from. There’s no illegal logging, no deforestation, and no unverified sourcing anywhere in the chain. SVLK certification is one of the most rigorous timber assurance schemes in the world, and it’s a standard we insist on for everything we make.

The Replanting Cycle

Sustainability isn’t just about what you take — it’s about what you put back. For every rubber wood tree that’s harvested to make our toys, a new sapling is planted in its place. This isn’t a vague corporate promise — we work in close partnership with the plantations in Indonesia and are present for the continual replanting that keeps the cycle going.

A new rubber tree takes around seven years to reach the age where it can be tapped for latex, and it will then produce for another 25 years before its timber is harvested. That’s over 30 years of productive life from a single tree — first as a latex producer, then as the raw material for toys that will last for a generation themselves.

Beyond the Wood: Packaging and Production

The sustainability story doesn’t stop with the timber. Our approach extends to every part of how a toy gets from workshop to playroom.

Packaging: Our packaging is 97–100% plastic free and biodegradable. We use recycled cardboard, paper wrapping, and soy-based inks. No blister packs, no cable ties, no cellophane windows. When your child unwraps a toy, everything that comes out of the box can go in the recycling or the compost.

Paint: All of our toys are coloured with water-based, non-toxic paints that are fully EN71 and ASTM safety certified. The colours are designed to be soft and contemporary — part of Danielle’s design philosophy is that toys should look beautiful in your home, not just in a toy shop.

Production: From raw wood to finished product, every stage of production happens in the same family-run factory in Indonesia. The toys are hand-painted, assembled, and quality-checked by the same team. This isn’t outsourced manufacturing — it’s a close, long-standing partnership built on shared values. Our factory holds the ICTI Ethical Toy Program seal of approval for ethical and sustainable supply chain practices.

Eden Reforestation Projects

In addition to replanting within our own supply chain, we’re seed partners with Eden Reforestation Projects (now Eden People + Planet). For every order placed through ThreadBear Design, we plant 10 trees through Eden’s global reforestation programmes.

Eden works in some of the most heavily deforested regions on earth, restoring mangrove forests, coastal ecosystems, and tropical woodlands. Their model creates employment for local communities — hiring local people to grow, plant, and protect the new forests. It’s reforestation that serves both the planet and the people who live on it.

This isn’t an offset or a marketing gesture. It’s a tangible, ongoing commitment to putting more back into the natural world than we take out.

How to Spot Greenwashing

We understand that parents want to make good choices but find it hard to know which claims to trust. The children’s toy market is full of vague language — “eco-friendly,” “natural,” “sustainable” — that often means very little. Here are a few things worth looking for when you’re choosing toys:

Ask where the wood comes from. If a brand can’t tell you the species, the source, or the certification, that’s a red flag. Our rubber wood is SVLK-certified, traceable, and reclaimed.

Check the packaging. A toy marketed as eco-friendly but wrapped in plastic and cable ties isn’t walking the walk. Our packaging is 97–100% plastic free.

Look for specific certifications. SVLK, FSC, EN71, ASTM, ICTI — these are independent, verifiable standards. Words like “green” and “natural” are not.

Consider longevity. The most sustainable toy is one that lasts. A well-made wooden toy that’s played with for years and passed down to a sibling or a friend has a carbon footprint that shrinks with every use. A plastic toy that breaks in a month and goes to landfill does not. Browse our plastic-free collection to see what a genuine commitment to sustainability looks like in practice.

Why It Matters

We don’t talk about sustainability because it’s fashionable. We talk about it because it’s woven into the way we work — from the plantations in Indonesia to the cardboard box your child opens at home. Every wooden toy we make begins its life as a tree that has already given 25 years of service. Every tree we take is replaced. Every box is recyclable. Every paint is safe.

And at the heart of it is a simple belief: children deserve toys that are made with care, built to last, and kind to the world they’re growing up in. That’s the story behind the wood. It’s one we’re proud to tell.

To learn more about our approach, visit our Earth Friendly page or read about the people behind the brand.

Toys you can feel good about

Sustainably sourced, beautifully made, and built to last for years.

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