Defeated, the sterile, plastic rod-ridden cribs and high chairs exit stage left. Followed by a soliloquy acknowledging their importance, we yawn. Yes, we know it’s another phase – skip the obvious metaphor. Wait just a second. What’s that?

Growing and strengthening, leaves brightening and loosening, we notice the silent integrity of the trees in the background. Just then, Scandinavian Child, a furniture distributor, proudly enters the scene with two shining stallions; its the children’s furniture lines Svan, of Sweden and Cariboo, of New Zealand! The curtains close but the message resonates: Wood is back with a sustainable vengeance, never to be phased out of children’s furniture.

Image courtesy of Piyu.net.

Svan, a furniture company from Sweden, proudly creates high chairs, bouncers, and scooters that pass JPMA/ASTM safety certifications without sacrificing beauty for function. As a flagship product of Scandinavian Child, the Svan High Chair was released in 2003. Being "the first fully adjustable wooden high chair on the market" it masquerades as a normal high chair but its versatility shadows your child’s growth into adulthood. It’s made of bent Birch wood in an environmentally-friendly process specific to European countries coming in five finishes: Natural, Cherry, Mahogany, White, and Espresso.

In three cascading tiers- a tray, foot rest, and rounded base- the underlying ergonomic component of the Svan high chair is like a humble Swede, made of completely sustainable wood.

An exciting addition to the Svan High Chair was introduced at the CA Boom Design Show: the Anka High Chair. Designed for children up to 5 years old, it maintains an attractive price point and displays an obvious extension of Svan’s creativity.

Svan High Chair (left). Anka High Chair (right). Designed by Anders Fallman and Kjell Hagstrom. Manufactured by Svan.

Cariboo

is a New Zealand-based company that also manufactures children’s furniture made of renewable timber. Although the company itself has been around for over twenty years, the new Cariboo Earth Collection, a "green" line of bassinets, changing tables, and nursery essentials made for newborns and toddlers, offers refuge for parents seeking a high-quality alternative. Created of sustainable Radiata pine with biodegradable stains, it comes with a natural fiber mattress with "e-zero board"- a 0% formaldehyde emission support system.

And through sustainability, the world lives happily ever after.

Earth Folding Bassinet. Manufactured by Cariboo.