A company in New York City has come up with a clever alternative – bath toys made from cork. A Kickstarter campaign has just launched that shows off the preliminary designs of four cute sea creatures (turtle, whale, shark, crab) and a yellow submarine that measure between 5 and 7 inches in length.
Product designer Nick Cox explained in a press release that cork is a perfect material for bath toys, with its natural resistance to fungus and mold. It is non-toxic and floats in the water:
"Cork is produced from the bark of Quercus suber, better known as a cork oak tree. It is an astonishing tree, very long-lived and with an enormous capacity for regeneration. Cork trees are not harmed during harvesting, making cork a perfectly sustainable and environmentally friendly product. It also makes it ideal for bath toys."
Kids can chew on cork toys without fear of ingesting toxic chemicals. The cork is extremely durable and can withstand prolonged exposure to water; in fact, it is waterproof and will not rot or degrade over time, and it dries fully between baths.
