Gigi The Giraffe

Colorful. Fun. Safe. Helps Save Elephants.

Meet Gigi the giraffe, a friend to all, small and tall. Gigi is lightweight and soft for snuggling, durable enough for everyday adventures, interesting enough to captivate. Her outfit is removable. She is 100% cotton and hand-stitched. The fabrics are woven with yarn that is colored with AZO-free, PCP tested, eco-friendly dyes. They are safe to chew and easy to hand wash. And, hard to part with. You might consider buying two, just in case. Approximately 13" long.

WHAT'S GOOD?

• 100% Cotton
• Handmade
• AZO-Free
• PCP* Tested
• Made in Sri Lanka
• Fair Trade 
• Your Mr. Ellie Pooh purchase makes an impact — saving elephants, creating jobs, protecting trees.

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*Thankfully, these toys contain none of the these: AZO is a toxic dye, and Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is often used for preservation finishing. PCP and its salts are highly toxic for aquatic systems, harmful to human health and highly persistent in the environment. Products containing PCP may form highly toxic substances when they are incinerated.

MATERIALS
100% Cotton, PCP and AZO Free.

SOURCE
In accordance with Fair Trade Principles, Mr. Ellie products provide sustainable artisan jobs in the Kegalle district of Sri Lanka. These jobs help build support of the local communities and are essential to the success of our conservation efforts.

CERTIFICATIONS
Green America Certified — Bronze
Fair Trade Federation Member

ABOUT THE COMPANY
Like many young people, Karl Wald always knew that he wanted to make a difference in the world. A trip to Sri Lanka and a chance meeting with a paper maker named Thusitha Ranasinghe turned out to be life-changing for Karl — and for the elephants.

Karl completed his post-doctorate studies at the USDA in 2004. In 2005, he arrived in Sri Lanka to shadow an elephant veterinarian. Dr. Wald also taught English classes. It was through his conversations with Thusitha that he was given a wonderful insight, which led him to become the founder of Mr. Ellie Pooh, LLC.

Both men, as it happened, had a love of animals and concern for the environment. Soon the two friends found themselves looking for a way to save the elephants in Sri Lanka. Elephants naturally are not favored as neighbors by farmers, who, in turn are shrinking the elephants’ habitat. When elephants trample and destroy valued crops, they are often shot and killed. Karl and Thusitha believe that providing sustainable jobs gives value to elephants.

While it may not completely resolve the human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka, Ellie Pooh is already going a long way toward raising the tolerance of farmers toward the elephants — by actually compensating them for damage to their crops. For this reason the elephant is seen more as an economic asset and less as a nuisance or threat. The people will not want to see the elephant disappear from their midst, and Ellie Pooh paper plays an important role in the saving the population of Asian elephants in Sri Lanka.

Every purchase you make increases demand for our products, creating more opportunity for our workers. Every Mr. Ellie Pooh gift makes an impact — saving elephants, creating jobs, protecting trees.

In accordance with Fair Trade Principles, we provide sustainable artisan jobs in the Kegalle district of Sri Lanka. These jobs help build support of the local communities and are essential to the success of our conservation efforts.

Advantages our workers enjoy: Most of our workers live local to the factory, and can conveniently walk to work To earn extra income, artisans may take work home Artisans have the freedom of expressing their creativity while earning an income Our workers are proud that their products are sold in America and other countries around the world.