More and more Irish consumers are turning to brands that are environmentally friendly, ethically or empowering minority groups. With Christmas fast approaching there are lots of grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends looking for gifts for parents of young children. So in an effort to encourage more consumers to buy Irish this year. Here are just some of the Irish companies doing proactive things in Diversity and Inclusion
(All the information was sourced from the company’s website, social media or this article on thinkbusiness.ie)
Bainisteoir® is a unique, Irish designed and locally manufactured board game that will appeal to GAA supporters of all ages. The game was created by primary school teachers with the aim of offering young GAA followers a board game which contains all the classical elements of gameplay but with a Gaelic Games theme.
The game has many traditional styles of board game play that children will be very familiar with. Each player must carefully manage their team’s finances throughout and face the consequences of jeopardy cards. The game also contains many trading card style, head-to-head contests which ultimately decides who becomes the All-Ireland winning Bainisteoir®.”
Protecting the planet we all call home has been a priority for us at BeoVERDE since day 0one. We are a family business based in Ballymount, South-West Dublin (Ireland) and our vision is to source and to support the development of ethically crafted natural & organic products for babies, toddlers & young kids and to use the power of our business to drive positive change and create value for all of us. We focus on screen-free toys for under 7-year olds and provide worry-free, ethical shopping for kids, artists & creative minds. We thrive on providing you with a curated selection of toys and books that are a great alternative to screen time and will let you find that special something for your little on.
A family-run business, run by brother and sister Conor Brady and Ruth Roberts and their cousin Alan Condon. As the ‘Brain’ in the name suggests they sell smart and unique toys, puzzles, games and books for all ages.
A fun quality product designed to build better brains and learn through play, whatever your age. In the store you can find children’s educational toys, adult brain games, and strategy games for children and adults. They have a fantastic, affordable range of clever games, puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, wooden toys, a wide range of unique desk toys and brain teasers. Cogs The Brain Shop also supplies schools with word skill games, fast talking games, mathematical games, reading games and toys, games which are recommended for dyslexia, and games which are recommended for ADHA.
It all started on the 9th October 2020 when Ruadhan, our little boy was 9 months. Up until that point he had ZERO INTEREST in toys and then we found some wooden bits for him! We haven’t looked back…
Our gorgeous Daniela selects, tests & approves all our toys. She helps create play sets, chooses toy combinations and lets her imagination run wild! Without her, DluluKaloo would not exist. The name is created by Daniela. These were her first two words: ‘Dlulu’ meaning ‘Elephant’ and ‘Kaloo’ meaning ‘a Ball’.
The benefits of wooden toys are endless – they encourage a child’s imagination. They are safe, durable, and of course environmentally friendly. If you have a similar passion, we’re delighted you found us and are willing to join!
We started Blithe Spirit Limited in 2007 to sell educational toys and games that were hard to find in Ireland on our website http://www.blithe.ie. Our children are now young adults, but when they were growing up we saw the value in combining play with learning.
Our son had great fun with his Brio wooden railway while our daughter loved memory games like Orchard Toys shopping list. We have learned over the years what our customers value in wooden toys and we now believe our range is second to none.
Our toys and games are despatched from our warehouse at Unit 16 Bluebell Business Park, Old Naas rd Dublin 12 and it takes max 2-3 working days.
We have changed our website to http://www.educationaltoys.ie and are now running on the Shopify platform which offers greater flexibility in terms of offers.
One summer evening in June 2013 four friends sat around a kitchen table and through a conversation about their children’s imagination and how much joy it brings, The Irish Fairy Door Company was born!
Their journey has been amazing. Like all small business it has had many ups and downs but one thing is for sure, finding human homes for fairies has been and still is their proudest achievement.
We help fairies relocate into homes and gardens all over the world by producing high quality fairy doors. Our aim is to create memorable family moments and a little magic all year round – all YOU need to do is believe!
Their fairy doors are stocked in more than 800 stores worldwide and the company has won numerous awards.
I’m Sharon and I started Jiminy – Ireland’s eco toystore – to inspire a playfully sustainable world.
Choose from 750 toys and books for all ages from babies through teenagers.
Our toys delight our planet as well as the child. They’re climate-kind and minimal-waste, being made locally from plants or waste (recycled materials).
As seen on: RTE News, Late Late Toy Show, Irish Times 100 Retailers. Winner: Chambers Ireland Sustainable Business Impact Awards 2022. Runner-up: Small Business Website of the Year 2021.
The birth of her first daughter Lily-Marie inspired her to jot down a few of her daddy’s stories on one of the many sleepless nights! 12 years after that, her mother encouraged her to ‘do something with the stories’ as it was approaching her 30th birthday. With no aspirations for becoming an author, Emma-Jane self-published her first story, “Johnny Magory in the Magical Wild’ purely for family and friends, whilst working full time in Bord na Móna. The team in her office told her they also knew the ‘story about Johnny McGory’ from their childhood… Much to EJ’s shock as her father had her and her siblings convinced that he himself had invented the rhyme!
The buzz of creating her first book had EJ hooked up and she continued to self-publish more adventures whilst working full time in some of Ireland’s biggest corporates as the popularity and word about the books organically grew and spread.
She eventually left her HR career in the corporate world to pursue her passion full time in April 2019. Johnny Magory Business was established as an independent publishing house and has gone from strength to strength.
Johnny Magory (and Emma-Jane) have taken part in programmes such as Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine’s Acorns 5 and DCU Ryan Academy Female High Fliers.
Little AngelRose was born out of my passion for boho interiors, toys and natural materials. I designed a collection of sustainable rattan dolls furniture and decor, thought and handcrafted to blend into your home, to delight little ones and adults too.
Our rattan collection is inspired by vintage rattan furniture but with a modern approach. Every little detail has been thought of with children in mind. All kinds of children. To make children with extra needs feel that they belong, and help abled children to see beyond disability. To educate through play, to develop compassion and understanding that people have different challenges. Those differences are to be celebrated. I designed our toys based on how they play, and with their safety as a priority. Our rattan range is made with natural sustainable materials and are treated with water based coatings
Little AngelRose rattan collection is a reflection of the deep change that has happened in the recent years. A change in ecological awareness and a change in family life and our relationships with our homes. I believe that surrounding yourself with calming, natural, beautiful objects can have an enormous beneficial effect on your mental health.
Our Wheelchair and some of the dolls with Down Syndrome were seen in the Late Late Toy Show 2022,
Based on the average proportions of a nine-year-old child rather than those of an adult, Lottie Dolls celebrate childhood and promote the empowerment of children by encouraging kids:
- to be themselves
- to play – imaginatively and adventurously
- to have fun!
Based in Donegal, on the North-West coast of Ireland, Team Lottie is made up of people – who are passionate about preserving the magic of childhood.
Our products are manufactured in ICTI approved factories in China. We have warehousing facilities in USA, Canada, UK and China.
All Lottie Dolls are tested for compliance with all federal and state requirement in USA, Canada and EU.
Their mission is “To promote the health and welfare of children with special needs and children in need of additional supports by managing and operating a centre in County Kildare to enable such children to develop to their full potential by providing clinical assessments, occupational therapy, sensory integration therapy, speech and language therapy, psychological services and evidence-based therapies which impact on child development and wellbeing, and to make such services available to a wider population within the Republic of Ireland by endeavouring to open further such centres.””
With our online store and retail shop helping to subsidise our services, Sensational Kids has already saved families in Ireland over €2 million in therapy fees alone, providing a practical, accessible, and affordable service for those in need.
Their online store includes sensory toys for all the family from learning needs, to sensory toys, to teaching resources or bigger items like swings or toy kitchens.
A simple child’s request ignited the idea for a new business venture for Padraic Cuddy and his family. Padraic’s then three-year-old son Tommy wanted a toy field to graze his many farm animals.
Padraic obliged by handcrafting a realistic model toy field complete with hedging and traditional timber gate. His company Class Grass providers of artificial grass products proved most useful with both the field and hedging crafted from this natural looking grass product, the timber gate was fashioned out of scape wood.
The toy, yet simple in idea and design, proved most popular among family and friends.
The Field story has gone from strength to strength with a second appearance on the Late Late Toy Show in 2016. The original product offering of a single model toy field has now been developed to include The Field Farm, The Compound and The Grass Roll, with the addition of two new field products, The Half Acre Field and The Field Paddocks (3 fields in one!), launched at The National Ploughing Championships September 2017. The greatest success lies in one boy’s present having created a truly Irish toy for both boys and girls igniting their development through creativity and imaginative play!
We at The Learning Lab believe that in finding the best quality at reasonable prices on toys and games that appeal to both parents & children.
Our toys & books are picked by our staff so you can be sure they are of the highest standard.
We hope you will find an ever expanding collection of the best toys & games on offer and we will continue to do to bring you the newest quality educational toys & games on the market.
We are a family business established in 1989 initially to sell books, school books & stationery.
The Learning Lab first opened in Mullingar in 2013 selling educational quality toys & games along with school books & supplies.
A second shop opened in Celbridge in 2017. This website was launched in 2019.
The Learning Lab website offers a huge range of educational & fun toys, books arts & crafts & stationery from brands such as Djeco, Kaloo, Janod & many more. We ship nationwide.
It is a family business set up by myself (Aine) and Michael inspired by our eldest child Ailis (now 26), who has Sturge Weber Syndrome and who had major brain surgery when she was 2 years old. The frustration and difficulties we endured in trying to source suitable products that would assist in her development was a catalyst in deciding to try and reduce this frustration for other parents in similar situations.
The most extensive range of products available in Ireland (over 4,000 products on our website)
Most competitive pricing (please compare!)
Products in stock and available for immediate shipping (not easy with a range of more than 4,000 products but we succeed most of the time)
We aim to eliminate this frustration by carrying sufficient stock levels to ensure that products are dispatched within 2 to 3 days of receiving an order. Sometimes we fail in this, but we will always let customers know if there is going to be a delay at the time of placing an order
Totally Toys is a family run toystore located in Castlebar, Co. Mayo. We stock all the biggest toy brands such as Lego, Hasbro, Rolly, Britains, Playmobil, Siku and many, many more.
We always strive to bring you the best prices and keep the best range of toys in store. If you don’t see what you’re looking for don’t hesitate to give us a call.
The company stocks a range of toys from educational to farm and fashion, to outdoor play, lego and playmobil.
Focusondiversity.ie 