Category: Caring for Stuffed Animals

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Japanese Company Gives Old Stuffed Animals New Life

child with stuffed animal

When you think back to your childhood and your favorite stuffed animal, what do you see? If it’s a teddy bear with loose stitching or a missing arm, it is obvious that your stuffed friend was well-loved. And while your mom might have replaced a missing eye with a button, or continually re-stitched the same hole, Second Life Toys – a Japanese campaign created by Dentsu Japan – has found a creative and beautiful way to give new life to old stuffed animals.

A country that has the lowest rate of organ transplants in the industrialized world, Japan wanted to spread awareness for the concept of organ donation and let individuals across the country know how it works with the help of stuffed animal transplants.

Participants will take a photograph of their toy for approval, sending the actual animal in for “surgery” through the mail once approved. Animals will be given new life with transplanted limbs, showing individuals that organ donation is an enhancement, not a compensation.

Examples include a deer with new, fuzzy pink back legs and a white bunny with a new, floral printed ear.

This program is especially wonderful for introducing the concept of organ donation to children, and we at The Zoo Factory think it is a beautiful project that combines learning with whimsical fun.

While there isn’t a program like this to bring new life to U.S. stuffed animals, we do have advice to help keep new stuffed critters in the best shape possible.

Especially for the stuffed animals that your children play with the most, pay close attention to their seams, checking them regularly for small rips and tears. A little hole under a bears arm is much easier to repair than a missing limb!

We recommend sewing injuries by hand, keeping stitches close and matching the thread to the fur color.

It is also important to keep your stuffed friend clean, but just throwing it in the washing machine could cause extra wear.

Our Teddy Needs a Bath Laundry Bags are the perfect alternative, preventing your children’s treasured stuffed animals from being damaged in the washing machine while providing them with the deep clean necessary to keep them looking their best for years to come.

For all your stuffable animal needs, visit The Zoo Factory online or contact us by phone at 866-993-3325. Whether you are hosting a birthday party or just looking for a fun activity to do with your kids, stuffing 8” or 16” animals is sure to be a fun time!

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Cleaning Your Stuffed Ani-pal

UnicornKids and stuffed animals; they go together like cheese and crackers. Your child’s favorite fluffy friend is a companion, confidante, and playmate. Keeping these treasures clean and cared for is something your child can get into quite easily with a little help from you.

 

Pookie the piglet or Snowflake the rabbit are going to get soiled and collect dust and your child should know that, just as he needs to take care of his body, his ani-pal’s body needs care as well. Showing him how to do this is not only instructive, but creates a deeper bond between child and stuffed animal.

 

A simple hand-held vacuum can be used regularly to remove surface dust, and even a young child can do this. Make sure to get into all of Snowflake’s crevices, to vacuum feet, and give the entire body a good overhaul. It might also be good to explain to your child that dust is bad for his pal as well as himself, and that removing dust is good for Pookie’s health. Children imbue their toys with human emotions and needs, and your child will want a happy and healthy stuffed animal.

 

dragonEvery few months it is a good idea to give your child’s stuffed animal a “bath” by putting it in the washing machine. Use cold water and a gentle cycle and follow the cleaning instructions on the animal. While you are doing this you will be teaching your child how to use the washing machine, as well as helping him understand that his ani-pal needs to be clean just as he does.

 

You can make these tasks fun events for your child, special times for him and his stuffed animal to share together. And they can be instructional as well. This is a time for teaching your child how to care for someone other than himself, and these times of growth are important and precious for everyone, even for you.
 
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Cotton Candy Dryer Sheets & Teddy Needs a Bath

 

The Zoo Factory is now offering awesome products from a Shark Tank success story! Shark Tank is an Emmy nominated reality show, in which self-made entrepreneurs search to invest in some of the best businesses and ideas in the country. A recent winner had an idea that was too awesome for us to forget about. Subsequently, The Zoo Factory now carries Cotton Candy Dryer Sheets and Teddy Needs a Bath Bags.

 

Teddy Needs a Bath

The National Allergy Association suggests cleaning your child’s stuffed toys often, at least once per month. Washing a stuffed toy in a traditional washer and dryer may effectively destroy bacteria, but it could destroy your son or daughter’s beloved ‘pet’ as well.

Teddy Needs a Bath is a safe, pediatrician recommended solution for removing bacteria and dust mites, while keeping the toy intact.

Cotton Candy Dryer Sheets

You can add to the excitement by drying the stuffed animal with a scented dryer sheet. Place it inside the Teddy Needs a Bath laundry bag, along with the toy, and it will come out smelling sweet and feeling soft.

For more information about these awesome products, visit: teddyneedsabath.com